Pirates and Privateers - Margarette Lincoln's Books

Trading In War: London’s Maritime World in the Age of Cook and Nelson
By Margarette Lincoln
Yale University, 2018, ISBN 978-0-300-22748-2, US $35.00 / £27.00

Trading in War begins with a walking tour through Deptford, Wapping, Shadwell, and other mid-eighteenth-century London districts situated along the Thames River. The pubs and ale-houses people frequented, the churches where they worshipped, and the types of housing where they lived are described in great detail. So, too, are the crowds of ships on the river and the various businesses concerned with building, repairing, and servicing those vessels.

Before the American colonies revolted, the East India Company utilized most of the warehouses and vendors aligned with the shipbuilding industry. Voyages of exploration, beginning with the first of Cook’s Pacific journeys in 1768, were all fitted out at Deptford Yard. Innovations and experimentation were ongoing in the effort to make ships last longer and improve sailors’ diet and health.

At the same time this quest for more scientific methods began to impact the shipwrights and other workers in the yards. These “reforms” meant more work for less pay and benefits, which were resisted by yard workers, but supported by their communities and radical politicians. Strikes and protests became frequent occurrences, especially during the wars with America and France when the shipwrights’ services were needed the most.

Efforts to recruit men as soldiers and sailors included capturing and forcing men into the militia and Royal Navy. These often led to disturbances and even violent confrontations throughout the maritime districts. Sailors went into hiding during a “heavy press” and the river was clogged with fully-loaded ships that lacked crews to sail them.

Women and the poor were overburdened by the departure of these family breadwinners. Various social programs to assist these women were established and arrangements could be made for a sailor’s pay to be collected by a wife or mother. Still, these steps were often not enough since the funds were only available in London and pays were often late, so they went to workhouses or turned to crime to provide for their means. Expecting “crime” to have meant prostitution and pick pocketing, I was surprised to read of women involved in felonies. In 1776, “two women were caught red-handed in Golden Lane, Smithfield, stealing 300 lb of lead from some houses belonging to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.”(106)

A woman named Mary Lacey dressed as a boy and ran away from home. A naval carpenter in Chatham took her on as his assistant, and she sailed with the fleet. After four years, “she left the navy and trained as a shipwright at Portsmouth dockyard, still dressed as a man.”(144)

Some women, despite laws to the contrary, took over an existing business on the deaths of their husbands. Ship chandler Michael Browne of Wapping died at his home in 1777. His widow immediately signaled her intention to run his business. She ran ads indicating she hoped for “the continuance and favors of all the friends and customers of her late husband.” (207)

Amazingly, in 1795, Frances Barnard took over the private shipyard her late husband had established in Deptford. She continued to be awarded contracts by the Navy Board and several merchants.

The history of shipping on the Thames always included problems with goods being smuggled ashore to avoid tariffs and thefts from cargoes still on ships, while being transported ashore, or from the warehouses where the goods were stored. Congestion on the river was another difficulty faced by the shippers and mercantile companies.

By the time of the war against the French Revolution, there was a push to build enclosed “wet docks” where ships could quickly be unloaded directly onto the docks instead of “lightered” into boats first. The dock complex would have many berths, freeing places on the river where the increasing number of vessels calling on London could anchor. Tariffs on goods were replaced by fees charged to the dock companies and recouped by berthing fees.

Each complex required large tracts of land that completely disrupted the affected communities. Local businesses were impacted by the decline of the population as housing and other structures were torn down where the docks would be built. Many “lightermen” who transported goods from ship to shore were no longer needed and cheaper labor could be used to unload ships at the docks. The West India Dock was opened in 1802 and others would follow in a constant upheaval of the maritime districts.

In presenting the information in this book, the author uses a variety of contemporary sources that are carefully indicated in the notes after the text. A wonderful sixteen-page inset of color paintings and maps illustrate the text. Many references and books for further reading are listed in the bibliography, which is followed by an extensive index.

My only criticism pertains to the main title. “Trading in War,” by itself, gives the impression that the effects on trade during the wars are covered. I had hoped to read about depredations by privateers, increases in insurance rates, and the need for ships to be convoyed for protection. If these three words were eliminated from the title, this omission would not mislead the reader. At the same time, the book jacket clearly indicates what the subject matter actually is and only those of us who often skip this information are led astray.

This is an excellent portrayal of the districts along the Thames and the many ways they formed the backbone of London’s establishment and growth as a world port. Many topics are covered, but the use of various individuals’ stories makes it easy to understand and remember them.

Anyone interested in a glimpse waterfront life during these war years, the development of London and the Port of London, and those wanting to know more about shipbuilding or the Royal Navy will all be happy they read this wonderful book.

Read an excerpt

Review Copyrighted ©2018 Irwin Bryan