Tides in the Affairs of Men: The Social History of Elizabethan Seamen, 1580-1603

by Cheryl Fury

Overview

The age of maritime expansion and the Anglo-Spanish War have been analyzed by generations of historians, but nearly all studies have emphasized events and participants at the top. This book examines the lives and experiences of the men of the Elizabethan maritime community during a particularly volatile period of maritime history. The seafaring community had to contend with simultaneous pressures from many different directions. Shipowners and merchants, motivated by profit, hired seamen to sail voyages of ever-increasing distances, which taxed the health and capabilities of 16th-century crews and vessels. International tensions in the last two decades of Elizabeth's reign magnified the risks to all seamen, whether in civilian employment or on warships.

The advent of open warfare with Spain in 1585 resulted in a privateering war against the Spanish Empire, seen by some seamen as one of the few boons of the conflict. The other major development was the introduction of impressment, a deeply resented aspect of any naval war and one that brought great hardship to seamen and their families. The relationship between the Crown and its seafarers was a pull-haul between a state beset by financial problems of fighting a protracted war on several fronts and employees forced to work in dangerous conditions for substandard wages. The stresses of the war years tell us much about the dynamic of the maritime community, their expectations, and their coping strategies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313319488
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/30/2001
Series:	Contributions in Military Studies , #214
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

CHERYL A. FURY teaches British and European History at the University of New Brunswick and St. Stephen's University. Born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick, she attended the University of New Brunswick, obtaining a B.A. (English and History Honours) in 1988 and an M.A. (History) in 1990. She obtained her Ph.D. at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1998.

Table of Contents

Preface
Training and Manning the Maritime Community
Authority, Discipline, and the Maritime Social Order
Maritime Subculture, Labor Relations, and the Role of Custom
Victualling, Morbidity, Mortality, and Health Care
Life Ashore
Conclusion
Bibliography