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(More customer reviews)The pure savagery of the Royal Navy in Lord Nelson's era is hard to comprehend; yet despite brutal punishment and appalling conditions, it produced some of England's finest sailors.
So, what does that have to do with an American reader? The War of 1812, for one thing. One reason for "Mr. Madison's War" was an response to the Royal Navy practice of stopping American merchant ships on the high seas to seize real or alleged RN deserters. Pay in the RN was 1 pound 12 shillings per month, compared to 5 pounds 10 shillings on American ships.
Robinson wrote this to encourage reforms for sailors; briefly, in 1805 conditions for free Englishmen serving in their navy were worse than slavery. As he wisely learned on entering the Navy, a sailor "must confine his thoughts to the hold of his mind, and never suffer them to escape the hatchway of utterance."
When spoken to by an officer, even if it was a bullying 12-year-old midshipman, the ordinary seaman was only allowed to say, "Aye, aye, sir" while touching the rim of his cap. Were he to say more, he could be flogged for insolence. In one instance, after two marines threw an officer overboard, they were seized and hanged from the yardarm.
Conditions were appalling; discipline was by sheer terror, not by reason or persuasion. Yet, when pennants were hoisted stating, "England expects each man will do his duty" these sailors responded with a pride and courage that made England master of the seas for centuries.
It's a marvelous glimpse at the brutality that was all too common; and the pride of Englishmen in their country. It's the reality of the class distinctions of England, and why the Industrial Revolution spawned the appalling conditions that made Karl Marx inevitable.
Reading this book, and understanding the everyday conditions of those times, explains why so many Englishmen and Europeans were willing to risk so much to get to America -- truly a paradise.
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