Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany Read Online Free Page B
Author: Julian Stockwin
was escorted back to his ship’s boat and allowed to return safely to Africa , which went on to seek other opponents . Santissima Trinidad eventually surrendered to another English warship, HMS Neptune , but sank in a storm the day after the battle.
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DON’T LIKE THE CUT OF HIS JIB – put off by a person’s outward appearance. DERIVATION : for an experienced sailor the cut of a jib, a triangular sail on the foremast, was a characteristic indicator of the type of ship, and sometimes the nationality. French and Spanish ships often had their jibs cut very much higher than British ships.
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W ATCH THE WALL, MY DARLING, WHILE THE GENTLEMEN GO BY
In the days before income tax the government of England had to raise money however it could. In the eighteenth century there were over 2,000 items subject to customs duty. This was the heyday of the smuggler and large numbers of people were either directly or indirectly involved – to many it was a perfectly acceptable way of behaving. Some newspapers ran advertisements such as this one from a Sussex paper of 1785 offering: ‘A very useful cart, fit for a maltster, ash-man, or a smuggler… and many articles that are very useful to a smuggler.’ Not only did the authorities often turn a blind eye: some were happy to fill their own cellars with contraband goods.
Some smugglers have endeared themselves down the years. Harry Paulet was master of an English vessel trading in North America when he was taken prisoner by the French. He contrived a daring escape, carrying with him important official documents that he had stolen from his captors, and he handed these over to the captain of an English ship. The information they contained proved valuable to the navy, and with the reward money he was granted Paulet went back to England and promptly purchased a vessel that he used to run contraband across the Channel.
He was returning from France in 1759 when he spotted the French fleet leaving Brest, headed for England. Paulet threw over his helm and sailed to Admiral Hawke’s squadron with the news. Upon hearing what he had to say the admiral told him that if he was right he would make his fortune, but if it was deceit he would hang at the yardarm. With Paulet on board the British set off and subsequently gained a decisive victory at the Battle of Quiberon Bay. Paulet’s cash reward enabled him to retire in style, and for the rest of his life he took much pleasure in recounting these exploits at his local tavern.
Perhaps the most famous Cornish smuggler was John Carter, ‘the king of Prussia’, a nickname from a favourite boyhood game. He had his headquarters in a remote inlet between Penzance and Helson, which became known as Prussia Cove. Carter was a devout Methodist who banned swearing on his smuggling vessels. He once suffered the indignity of having goods seized by the revenue men that he had promised to one of his regular customers. He broke into the customs house and reclaimed ‘his’ property but left everything else untouched. The matter was taken no further.
On the other hand, there were bands of smugglers who terrorised whole areas and were quite prepared to maim and murder to protect their interests. The notorious Hawkhurst gang of Kent could raise 500 armed men in less than an hour to defend their goods, and the customs officers were unable to touch them.
Despite generous rewards offered, smugglers were rarely turned in to the authorities .
‘I HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT!’
John Paul Jones, one of the American navy’s first heroes, was born in a humble gardener’s cottage in Kirkbean, Scotland. He joined the merchant marine at 13 and sailed to the West Indies. In 1773 he was involved in an incident there in which a man was killed and John Paul, as he was then, fled to the United States, changing his name to John Paul Jones.
Commissioned into the Continental Navy, the new navy of the United States, he took part in several actions in the early stages of
----
DON’T LIKE THE CUT OF HIS JIB – put off by a person’s outward appearance. DERIVATION : for an experienced sailor the cut of a jib, a triangular sail on the foremast, was a characteristic indicator of the type of ship, and sometimes the nationality. French and Spanish ships often had their jibs cut very much higher than British ships.
----
W ATCH THE WALL, MY DARLING, WHILE THE GENTLEMEN GO BY
In the days before income tax the government of England had to raise money however it could. In the eighteenth century there were over 2,000 items subject to customs duty. This was the heyday of the smuggler and large numbers of people were either directly or indirectly involved – to many it was a perfectly acceptable way of behaving. Some newspapers ran advertisements such as this one from a Sussex paper of 1785 offering: ‘A very useful cart, fit for a maltster, ash-man, or a smuggler… and many articles that are very useful to a smuggler.’ Not only did the authorities often turn a blind eye: some were happy to fill their own cellars with contraband goods.
Some smugglers have endeared themselves down the years. Harry Paulet was master of an English vessel trading in North America when he was taken prisoner by the French. He contrived a daring escape, carrying with him important official documents that he had stolen from his captors, and he handed these over to the captain of an English ship. The information they contained proved valuable to the navy, and with the reward money he was granted Paulet went back to England and promptly purchased a vessel that he used to run contraband across the Channel.
He was returning from France in 1759 when he spotted the French fleet leaving Brest, headed for England. Paulet threw over his helm and sailed to Admiral Hawke’s squadron with the news. Upon hearing what he had to say the admiral told him that if he was right he would make his fortune, but if it was deceit he would hang at the yardarm. With Paulet on board the British set off and subsequently gained a decisive victory at the Battle of Quiberon Bay. Paulet’s cash reward enabled him to retire in style, and for the rest of his life he took much pleasure in recounting these exploits at his local tavern.
Perhaps the most famous Cornish smuggler was John Carter, ‘the king of Prussia’, a nickname from a favourite boyhood game. He had his headquarters in a remote inlet between Penzance and Helson, which became known as Prussia Cove. Carter was a devout Methodist who banned swearing on his smuggling vessels. He once suffered the indignity of having goods seized by the revenue men that he had promised to one of his regular customers. He broke into the customs house and reclaimed ‘his’ property but left everything else untouched. The matter was taken no further.
On the other hand, there were bands of smugglers who terrorised whole areas and were quite prepared to maim and murder to protect their interests. The notorious Hawkhurst gang of Kent could raise 500 armed men in less than an hour to defend their goods, and the customs officers were unable to touch them.
Despite generous rewards offered, smugglers were rarely turned in to the authorities .
‘I HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT!’
John Paul Jones, one of the American navy’s first heroes, was born in a humble gardener’s cottage in Kirkbean, Scotland. He joined the merchant marine at 13 and sailed to the West Indies. In 1773 he was involved in an incident there in which a man was killed and John Paul, as he was then, fled to the United States, changing his name to John Paul Jones.
Commissioned into the Continental Navy, the new navy of the United States, he took part in several actions in the early stages of
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