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| Philip K. Allan |
In the heart of London is Trafalgar Square,
where the figure of Nelson stands on top of his column and gazes out over the
city’s traffic with his single good eye. The base of the column is decorated by
four bronze reliefs which commemorate some of his victories. The one for the
Battle of Trafalgar shows the admiral being carried from the quarterdeck of the
Victory, moments after being shot by
a French marksman. The scene has several people in it, including Nelson, one
of whom is clearly a black sailor. He has been given a prominent role, standing
with a musket held across his chest as he looks towards where the shot has come
from, as if about to revenge the dying hero.
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| The Death of Nelson at Trafalgar the relief on the south face of the plinth |
The relief was produced by the Irish artist John
Edward Carew. In an era before notions of political correctness or ethnic balance
could have influenced him, he chose to include a black sailor in his scene. A
study of the work gives us some clues to Carew’s motivation. The relief shows a
desire on his part to achieve a good level of historical accuracy. In which
case, it may indicate that black sailors were a sufficiently common sight on
board Royal Navy ships at Trafalgar to make the unknown sailor’s inclusion
unremarkable.
Researching the prevalence of black sailors
in the 18th century navy is problematic. The principle source of
data on crews comes from ships’ muster books, many of which still survive. But
black sailors almost always appear under their western ‘slave’ names, rather
than their African ones. How are we to know which, if any, of three sailors
called John Smith was black? But there is other evidence for their presence.
For example, we have a letter that Captain Martin of the Implacable wrote to his brother in 1808 in which he listed the
origins of his crew. From this letter it is clear that at least eleven of the
hands were black, and possibly several more. This compares with twenty-five
shown as Welsh.
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| Billy Waters 1820 |
Some black sailors are known to us because they
became more visible after they left the service. Billy Waters was born in
America during the War of Independence. He served in the Royal Navy for many
years until an unfortunate accident while he was serving aboard the Ganymed. He was badly injured when he
fell from the topsail yard and had to have his left leg amputated. After he was
discharged he had a second career as a street entertainer in London, and was a
sufficiently well know figure to have been featured in contemporary
illustrations. Black sailors also appear in other
contemporary cartoons and painting, as well as being mentioned in diaries and
other correspondence.
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| Greenwich Pensioners 1854 |
Other black sailors lived long enough to
appear in early photographs. Some veteran sailors who had particularly
illustrious careers became Greenwich Pensioners and where housed in Wren’s
fabulous Royal Navy hospital by the river Thames. Old sailors, often amputees,
with their 18th century style frock coats and cocked hats, were a
familiar site in the area. The picture above was taken in
1854, and shows some survivors of Trafalgar seated outside the hospital. The
pensioner third from the left has been identified as Richard Baker, a black
sailor born in Baltimore in 1770. He entered the Hospital in 1839, having served
aboard HMS Leviathan during the
battle. He is also thought to have started life as a slave.
Richard Baker’s case was almost certainly not
unique. It is possible that the majority of black sailors in the navy were run
slaves. In 1772 a landmark ruling in the case of Somerset vs Stuart, stated
that slavery did not exist in English Common Law. This effectively meant that
if a slave could escape from their plantation and find his or her way to a
place where such law held sway, they would become free. For slaves on the sugar
islands of the Caribbean, this meant the deck of a Royal Navy or British ship.
In an era when manning for the navy was a problem, captains would not need much
temptation to turn a blind eye to a useful looking recruit’s origins.
This was also an era where slavery was coming
to an end, at least in the British Empire. The slave trade was banned in acts
passed in 1807 and 1811, and progressively stronger measures were put in place
until 1833, when slavery itself was finally abolished. When I was taught about
the abolition of slavery at school, it was William Wilberforce and his fellow
Evangelical Christians that were said to have been responsible. Later in life,
I began to question the simplicity of this view. What role was played in all of
this by the slaves? Did they do anything to liberate themselves, or did they
wait patiently in the cane fields of Barbados for the machinations of the
British Parliament to run their course? The drivers of abolition are complex, but
what is beyond doubt is that many slaves did seek to liberate themselves. For
some this took the form of organised slave revolts, as took place unsuccessfully
in several of the British sugar islands; and happened successfully in French
run Saint Dominique, later Haiti. But for most, resistance would have come in
the form of an individual throwing off his chains and escaping. And to escape
completely from an island, requires a ship.
It is interesting to speculate what effect
all of these black sailors in the Royal Navy had on the abolitionist cause.
Many naval officers, like the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Barham, were
prominent opponents of the slave trade. Long established practices often
founder when they come to seem hopelessly anachronistic in an ever-changing
world. The knowledge that large numbers of former slaves were bravely fighting
in the armed services of the nation responsible for their enslavement must, at
the very least, have given supporters of slavery pause for thought. No case
would have made this clearer than the remarkable career of John Perkins, know
by the nickname Jack Punch in the service.
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| 'Jack Punch' |
His origins in Jamaica are obscure, but naval
historian Nick Rodger believes that John Perkins was probably born as a slave. He
joined the Royal Navy in 1775 as a local pilot, and his career progressed
rapidly. His first command was the Punch,
a schooner, and was a brilliant success. In 1782 he was commissioned as a
lieutenant, and by 1800 he had risen to the position of post captain. He went on
to command a number of ships, including the frigates Arab and Tartar, both of
which had officers and crews who were predominately white. Over the whole of a
glittering career, he is said to have captured over three hundred enemy ships,
and died a very wealthy man in 1812.
© Philip K. Allan
About Philip
Philip K Allan comes from Watford in the United Kingdom. He still lives in Hertfordshire with his wife and his two teenage daughters. He has spent most of his working life as a senior manager in the motor industry. It was only in the last few years that he has given that up to concentrate on his writing full time.
‘I well remember the evening around the dinner table when I first suggested that I should give up my job to try my hand as a novelist,’ says Philip.
Philip chose to set his first series of novels on board a Royal Navy frigate at the end of the 18th century. ‘It’s a period I know well,’ he says. ‘On the one hand you have the strange, claustrophobic setting of the ship and on the other the boundless freedom to move around the globe wherever the author chooses.’
Philip has written his novels in spite of his dyslexia. ‘No one had heard of dyslexia when I was at school,’ he explains. ‘We were labelled as inattentive or lazy, and told that if only we made more effort we would surely get better. Well, I have read thousands of books and written millions of words, and guess what? I am still dyslexic!’
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| Book One Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com |
After a century of war, revolutions, and Imperial conquests, 1790s Europe is still embroiled in a battle for control of the sea and colonies. Tall ships navigate familiar and foreign waters, and ambitious young men without rank or status seek their futures in Naval commands. First Lieutenant Alexander Clay of HMS Agrius is self-made, clever, and ready for the new age. But the old world, dominated by patronage, retains a tight hold on advancement. Though Clay has proven himself many times over, Captain Percy Follett is determined to promote his own nephew.
Before Clay finds a way to receive due credit for his exploits, he’ll first need to survive them. Ill-conceived expeditions ashore, hunts for privateers in treacherous fog, and a desperate chase across the Atlantic are only some of the challenges he faces. He must endeavor to bring his ship and crew through a series of adventures stretching from the bleak coast of Flanders to the warm waters of the Caribbean. Only then might high society recognize his achievements—and allow him to ask for the hand of Lydia Browning, the woman who loves him regardless of his station.
"The author writes with admirable precision and fluency. His plot construction and narrative flow are tight and compelling, never losing momentum..." Jeffrey K. Walker Discovering Diamonds
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| Book Two Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com |
Alexander Clay brings the battered Agrius together with her captured French prize into Barbados. He is rewarded with promotion to master and commander and his first independent command, the sloop of war HMS Rush. He is sent to blockade the French sugar island of St Lucia, and helps in its capture. But dangers surround the newly promoted Clay. When a run slave joins his crew he finds his ship divided over the growing conflict between Caribbean slave owners and the abolitionist movement. Lieutenant Windham is determined to find out the truth behind the convenient death of his uncle, the Agrius’s former captain, while blundering around the Caribbean is the rogue Spanish ship of the line , the San Felipe.
links
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Twitter: @PhilipKAllan
Secret history, or simply something nobody thought worth writing about in school history books? Thank you for this post.
ReplyDeleteI would guess that it was 'conveniently' ignored and then forgotten.
DeleteFascinating post - gives me pause for thought because it was a topic I had never considered before ...
ReplyDeletesame here Richard. I knew black men were aboard pirate ships (most were escaped slaves) but never thought about the R.N. - daft really because it is obvious they served aboard!
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the article - It is certainly something I was not taught about at school, although these things are better handled today. As a postscript, Rodney tried to promote John Perkins in 1780, but was overruled by the Admiralty on a technicality. Had he done so, Jack Punch might have been an Admiral by the time of Trafalgar. Now there is a thought!
ReplyDelete