Life & Conditions at Sea - Social history since the 1840s

Over the years there have been a number of memoirs of merchant mariners published and these can be absolutely fascinating. Sail has been regarded as far more ‘glamorous’ and a standard work was Basil A. Lubbock’s Round the Horn before the Mast. Originally published in 1902, it has been reprinted by it’s publishers Brown, Son & Ferguson Ltd, of Glasgow. Very different in style and far more believable in my opinion, was Eric Newby’s The Last Grain Race, which has been published periodically since 1956. Although dealing with a similar subject, this eloquently shows the very real problems and hazards for youngsters at sea: as well as informing (or reminding) one of all the rotten and dangerous jobs to be done. Another, The Wheel’s Kick and Wind’s Song - The Story of the John Stewart Line of Sailing Ships, 1877-1928 by Captain A.G. Course, although apparently out of print, contains fascinating insights, by and large from those that began their careers as apprentices and went on to command. Life in steamships too has been written about. Captain Sir David Bone is probably best known for his Merchantmen Rearmed (London: Chatto & Windus, 1949) dealing with command during the Second World War. This can not infrequently be picked up in second-hand book shops, but his less well known books on other and earlier aspects, if found, are equally humane and readable.

Some social histories have also appeared but often these have been in the form of ‘sea stories’. Again these can be interesting and useful, but I would suggest that these should be used with a degree of care. These are invariably sprinkled with references to Acts of Parliament, some of which I have found to be factually inaccurate. (For a prime example of a piece of law widely misunderstood see the page on ships’ official logs.) In all likelihood these inaccuracies are the result of regurgitating, in good faith I hasten to add, the analysis of earlier less than competent researchers. Of course, one can resort to reading the original legislation itself, but not only is this very time-consuming, it too requires care (not to mention cynicism), which is probably why so few authors care to do this.

Anyway, laws have long been used as a means of creating an aura of action thereby assuaging consciences and creating the impression of state protection. However, unless enforced these fine words have all too often remained utterly empty. This was overwhelmingly the case with the supposedly socially enlightening laws in respect to mariners of the 1840s and 1850s. As far as I can determine, neither the main members of the Board of Trade itself, nor its headquarters staff actually took any direct interest in enforcing legislation. Instead this was left to local boards and at best seems to have been patchy. (See link below in scope of enforcement.)

Following are sections from some of the Parliamentary legislation mentioned above:-

The law in 1844 regarding the issue of lime juice to British merchant mariners

Offloading Parish Poor as Apprentices in 1844

Proposed aim of the 1845 Protection of Seamen Act

Seamen Officers’ Certificates of Competency and Service as of 1850

Scope in enforcing the Mercantile Marine Act 1850

Dealing with the effects of dead seamen in 1851

Accommodation: minimum requirements for merchant mariners in 1854

Complaints against Masters: rules in 1854

Certification of Engineers: rules in 1862

Legislated Improvements in Merchant Mariners’ Diet 1907 & certification of cooks 1908

It is more than apparent from reporting on court cases and other sources that very little changed for mariners at sea and in spite of laws supposedly protecting them: They still had to resort to employing lawyers to sort out their disputes. There is considerable evidence that mariners were often still not clear as to what they had agreed to in articles, which is hardly surprising since even elementary education in Britain was not required by law until 1870. The reality of these laws as experienced by merchant mariners can be seen in one specimen set of court cases of the mid 1850s reported in the shipping press. Separately, one excerpt from a ship’s official log shows an extremely brave (or naive) apprentice initiating legal proceedings against the First Mate for assault, but withdrawing them at a crucial stage. Law, or not, in such a closed community one can only speculate on what fate would have befallen the young apprentice if he had gone through with his action and had the mate prosecuted.

‘Crimps’ too, having been put to disadvantage by crews formally signed on in the presence of an official, were not in reality put out of business either. Their role merely changed. So, the significance of ‘money advanced’ may not have changed much in reality: still going to pay debts accrued ashore between voyages. And, in some respects as in the later recruitment of Arab firemen from the British Protectorate of Aden, a form of licenced agent (a failed concept of the Seamen’s Protection Act of 1845) was regarded by the state as essential in curbing ‘illegal’ immigration to the U.K. during the 1920s and 1930s. Other types of non-White mariners in British service, such as Lascars, also operated only through enduring multi-layered systems of ‘agents’ - often known as Serangs. [Introductions to various aspects of ‘native labour’ can be found in Diane Frost (Editor): Ethnic Labour and British Imperial Trade - A History of Ethnic Seafarers in the UK (London: Frank Cass, 1995).

So, mariners were still treated badly and continued to resort to the traditional ways: alcohol abuse, physical violence, casual sex and desertion. And, even if drinking and fighting was punished, sometimes severely, desertion overwhelmingly was not. Even under the ‘ticketing system’ it had been publicly admitted that the sections of the relevant Act on the state punishing merchant mariner deserters were not to be enforced. While some efforts were made to bring deserters to book by local police in isolated outposts of Empire such as Moulmain, in Burmah, overwhelmingly this was not done. So, occasionally one will see the correct paperwork completed, with certificates of desertion duly filled in and processed by Consular Officials (especially in ports of the U.S.A.’s south west), but that did not mean that these ‘marked’ men did not return to the sea, or even the same ports. Casual sex had it’s own downside, especially in terminally debilitating effects of syphilis.

Also, although there was provision made for monthly allotments and savings banks, partly to beat the crimps and also to allow merchant mariners to be socially responsible, it does not automatically mean that this was taken up. In fact, it seems from crew-lists and agreements that the allotment system was overwhelmingly ignored: even by known married men on very long-haul voyages. (Interestingly allotments were not necessarily designed purely for married men, as they could also be made out to parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, or siblings.) I have found no evidence of the activities of seamen’s banks whatsoever.

So, it was hardly surprising then that in the 1870s, two decades after the passing of this apparently socially enlightening legislation, reports similar to those of the 1840s were again in circulation around Whitehall. For all the self-congratulation of the great and the good, without active enforcement of legislation and proper education for all, it was all hot air. Conditions on board vessels, especially smaller coastal varieties remained absolutely foul and even crews’ quarters on the luxury passenger liners were far from cosy.

An unrelated subject very often overlooked was in relation to health, or rather the destruction of good health, at sea. Occasionally entries in ships’ logs (see link in above paragraph) give insights into the health problems of seamen, as do comments in books by authors such as Basil Lubbock. Apart from some modern academic papers, there is nothing like primary source material. As well as The Ship Captain’s Medical Guide that was apparently officially backed by the Board of Trade, there were also a number of publications written specifically to help masters diagnose and deal with medical problems at the time. These can be absolutely fascinating in their detail.

Other legislation was passed and dealt with safety. An important strand of this had begun with perceptions of the danger of steam-navigation in the 1840s and formed the first coherent rules as regards passengers, for the prevention of collisions at sea, fog warnings and of ‘steaming lights’. Of great importance was Samuel Plimsoll’s ‘agitation’, since eventually it had brought about loading lines as of 1875, curtailing overloading of cargoes to a degree. In spite of many terrible incidents better protection was at last afforded passengers at least, in regards to provision of lifeboats, but only after the loss of the TITANIC in 1912 and all the attendant publicity. (There is evidence that even the legislation which was in force prior to TITANIC’s maiden voyage was actually not even adhered to by the Board of Trade inspectors on her sea trials. See Robin Gardiner & Dan van Der Vat: The Riddle of the Titanic (London: Orion Paperbacks, 1995).) However, there is a recurring theme to all of this - the state only acted to legislate when absolutely forced. Samuel Plimsoll went as far as to accuse the main Board of Trade of being corruptly in the pocket of the shipowners. Much has been written on these subjects and if one really wants to go into this in detail, many Select Committee reports are absolutely fascinating.

The closing decades of the 19^th century brought about the organisation of mariners (and officers) into various trades’ unions and trade guilds. Unfortunately, most of the early union records appear not to have been kept for posterity. Nevertheless, if hunted down union publications can yield very interesting information: not all of which shows mariners in a good light. Of course, there is also information on the Shipping Federation, founded by shipowners in the 1890s to counter union action, which again can be very useful in gaining an understanding of seamen’s lives. Poor industrial relations and the weakness of union positions, especially during the 1920s and 1930s, can also be seen within the personnel records of surviving corporate collections of papers: such as those of the ‘P & O Group’. Although overwhelmingly forgotten/ignored, details of how mariners’ frustrations were vented ashore post 1918 can be found if sought out. One article dealing with this is Jacqueline Jenkins: ‘The 1919 Riots’ in Panikos Panayi (Editor): Racial Violence in Britain in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (London & New York: Leicester Univsity Press, revised 1996).

Propaganda material (overwhelmingly) from the Second World War era can also give insights into how ships then operated and merchant mariners lived. One very readable and still relatively common publication was Britain’s Merchant Navy. Nevertheless, this must be taken with buckets of salt. Some of the claims, such as to the efficiency of the British shipbuilding industry were not just a little over emphasized - they were downright lies. Something of an antidote to this can be found in Correlli Barnett: The Audit of War - The Illusion and Reality of Britain as a Great Nation, currently in print through Pan Books.

Ephemera from the passenger-liner and cruising companies, particularly post 1945 but not exclusively, can also impart ideas of at least the corporate image of voyages for passengers. There is now a small industry in the trade of these artefacts: from brochures to ashtrays. Nevertheless, other documents such as instructions to crew-members in the more esteemed companies can also occasionally be found. The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich has a number of these on their library bookshelves (as well as their corporate holdings in the manuscript section).

On a subject that some family historians might find distasteful, there is a Board of Trade precedent book (TNA: PRO BT 167/169) relating to disciplinary matters 1944 to 1994. The findings of Naval and Colonial Courts as well as investigations held by local Marine Boards these can give very useful info. Unindexed, they are entered by year. Not only does this cover certificated seamen officers and engineers, but also other crewmen. All sorts of offences are logged, such as drunkenness, indecent behaviour, desertion, neglect, assault, being AWOL, embezzlement, theft, wounding, riotous and disorderly conduct, and being in ‘closed areas’ (during the Second World War). For certificated officers also see ‘Black Books’. 

The above information has been drawn from a number of sources. For the general reader two publications may be of interest. The first, recently published is Ronald Hope: Poor Jack - The perilous history of the merchant seaman (London: Chatham Publishing, 2001) is a book of ‘sea stories’ and is useful for finding good earlier publications. The second, Alison McLeay: The World of the Onedin Line (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1977) is as far as I understand out of print, but second-hand copies can be found. In spite of it’s lightweight title this gives realistic information on life in 19^th century sail. 

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