press gangs

[cavalier_pyrate]

press gangs............................i know only a little about them , anyone who is familiar with the history of and or how they opperated please reply, ............and were they mostly attriputed to the royal navy or did private navies like privateers and merchantmen use the same techneques?

[JoshuaRed]

I'm not an expert on this, but I'm fairly sure that it was limited to royally backed ships. It needed to be done "by authority of the king/queen" or else I don't think they would have been as successful as they were. A private captain trying to send a press gang ashore would probably have a hard time of it without official orders. I think private pressings were more subtle, usually by buying round after round until the hapless sailor passed out, and woke up the next day out to sea.

[hitman]

We covered a lot of the press gang history a while back here is the link to the thread (Press Gang History).

https://pyracy.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1222

[Fox]

There are a couple of important errors on the thread mentioned which I'll comment on here;

Not everybody was liable to be pressed. In theory only seamen could be forced to join the Navy, though what constituted a seaman could be vague at times and include inshore fishermen, river boatmen, ferrymen etc. That it was possible to bring claims against press gangs who picked on men other than seamen is shown by the case mentioned on the other thread of agricultural workers being pressed and their wives successfully lobbying to have them released.

Secondly, it is important to get out of the idea that the quality of life at sea was the principal reason for the need to impress men. Life on a Royal Navy vessel was no worse necessarily than life on a merchantman or privateer. The food was no worse, the work was easier and the officers were more strictly controlled in terms of what punishments they could mete out. Certainly some RN ships were worse than others and some merchantmen were better than others, but the idea that all RN ships were terrible places to work compared to merchantmen is balderdash. In time of war the fleets grew, sometimes literally overnight, and many thousands of men were needed in a hurry to man the ships brought out of the yards. Because of the extra demand seamen could command higher wages and the wages offered by merchantmen could be as much as 3 or 4 times those offered in RN ships so it's no wonder that merchantmen had no trouble manning while the RN had to resort to the press.

Finally, the method of the press described on the other thread is somewhat stereotyped. Certainly there was an element of knocking people on the head in pubs, but it became more prevalent after the Golden Age of piracy - in the later 18th century. In the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries it was just as common for men to be impressed by receiving a note telling them they were now in the navy, and offering them a small sum to cover their expenses as they made their own way way to the port they were required. Local officials would be told how many men were needed from them and they would arrange for the right number of local seamen to go to the ships. Ignoring a press summons was a serious offence so only a few ignored it. It didn't always work well of course, men who were unfit, unsuitable or couldn't find other employment were often picked on by the local officials so standards were often low, and officials often complained that they could not find enough men.

[Calico Jack]

In 1781, six Lunenburg [NS] farmers were impressed in Halifax [NS] by the Royal Navy whilst out on the town for a celebratory pint after selling their wares. It went to court, and six months later after much debate, it was determined that the impressment was unlawful - the farmers were not skilled seamen in any sense, and the farmers were to be released. Of course, they were six months to sea already by that point...

Not everyone was liable to impressment. Citizens who were skilled sailors, and who did not have an exemption for other reasons, were those impressable.

One of the reasons for the War of 1812 was that there was such an underground trade in forged "American citizenry exemption papers from British Impressment" that the British navy started to ignore such papers when presented. The American government claimed the impressment of _truly_ American citizens as one of the reasons to go to war. The British cited the forgeries which outnumbered the Real Thing as the excuse for the impressment.

It got a bit ... heated.

[cavalier_pyrate]

thanks , it is quite an interesting and sometimes heated subject , i take by reading over all the posts and replys, ................now this brings me to something else.......tis is the third time i have posted somthing which has already been posted..........i have looked over all the avalible posts and dont see any of the like then after posting i get a link too the latter........i cannot find any posts prior to oct 2004, ...is there a archive or such that im missing or ?

anyway i would take that the (vagracy act of 1587 ) was subjected as impressment?

[Calico Jack]

Another interesting bit on the subject as wasn't covered in an earlier thread: from The Seaman's New Vade Mecum, by R. Liddel, purser in the Royal Navy, M,DCC,LXXVII (1877)

"Certificate of impressed Men at End of the Account.

THESE are to certify the principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy, that the Men above mentioned were impressed by Lieutenant _______, of his Majesty's Ship _______, under my Command, and by him delivered on Board the said Ship at ________, and I do find them as above duly qualified, and fit and able to serve his Majesty, and that I find them neither Foreigners nor impressed from Protections.

Given under my Hand, &c.

_______ Captain."

This gives some indications by its very nature of those who were exempt from impressment - those with Protections [exemptions], those Foreign to the Empire and nor British citizens [with British Impressment into the Royal Navy], those not fit and able. Basically, sailors hale and whole, British. Generally found aboard fishing or merchant vessels, and there impressed, or in dockside taverns and streets.

[hitman]

If you scroll down to the bottom of the captian twill page (or any other forum) you will find a set of guidelines for the threads one of witch limits the threads displayed to those of the last 90 days. change it to "the beginning" In total the line reads like this Showing xx of xx topics sorted by "last post date" in "descending order" from "the last 90 days" GO *everything in "" is selectable. Hope this helps mate.

[cavalier_pyrate]

If you scroll down to the bottom of the captian twill page (or any hat do other forum) you will find a set of guidelines for the threads one of witch limits the threads displayed to those of the last 90 days. change it to "the beginning" In total the line reads like this Showing xx of xx topics sorted by "last post date" in "descending order" from "the last 90 days" GO *everything in "" is selectable. Hope this helps mate.

that will do it..................was wonderin what all that was just never bothered to look into it

by the way as long as we are on press gangs, i was reading last night , and am not surprised at the power that the east india company had over the admrialty.............was mentioned that crews of the company , that were on an active ship were protected, and that many who were pressed were usually returned by orders of the admiralty, but were subjected to impressment when the ships contract was up, and it stated that many crews mutinied when returning to england and the pressing sloop was seen aproaching, ...........and for some odd reason the RN were a bit leary of boarding an east indiaman..........................and for good reason too, the crew of an indiaman was just as well armed and trained as any RN ship and there moral was higher

[King's Pyrate]

press gangs............................i know only a little about them , anyone who is familiar with the history of and or how they opperated please reply, ............and were they mostly attriputed to the royal navy or did private navies like privateers and merchantmen use the same techneques?

In studying piracy I have found that they often Pressed Or "forced" men of skill found on the ships they took. For example a carpenter of navigator and on some occasions a fiddler. On one pirate ship some of the men wanted to keep a parson to ease their way to heaven but they were out voted. For more examples read "Under the Black Flag, Exploits of the Most Notorious Pirates" by Don C. Seitz......stories of 41Pirate captains are told.

Fair Winds

KP

[Story]

Stumbled upon this -

THE PRESS-GANG AFLOAT AND ASHORE

BY J. R. HUTCHINSON

http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext04/7pgaa10.txt