Sons of the Waves by Stephen Taylor

Sons of the Waves by Stephen Taylor ISBN-13: 9780300245714 Hardcover: 416 pages Publisher: Yale University Press Released: May 19th 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
British maritime history in the age of sail is full of the deeds of officers like Nelson, but has given little voice to plain, "illiterate" seamen. Now Stephen Taylor draws on published and unpublished memoirs, letters, and naval records, including court-martials and petitions, to present these men in their own words.

In this exhilarating account, ordinary seamen are far from the hapless sufferers of the press gangs. Proud and spirited, learned in their own fashion, with robust opinions and the courage to challenge overweening authority, they stand out from their less adventurous compatriots.

Taylor demonstrates how the sailor was the engine of British prosperity and expansion up to the Industrial Revolution. From exploring the South Seas with Cook to establishing the East India Company as a global corporation, from the sea battles that made Britain a superpower to the crisis of the 1797 mutinies, these "sons of the waves" held the nation’s destiny in their calloused hands.


My Review:
Sons of the Waves is a history of the common British sailor during 1740-1840. This period witnessed the rise of the sailing ship to prominence up to the beginnings of steamships. The author quoted from the journals, memoirs, and letters of the common sailor and double checked these with the official records of the time, like ship logs and court records. He often picked vivid descriptions of exciting or unique events. He covered both merchant and Navy ships, wars, scientific voyages, shipwrecks, mutinies, trading, and topics like privateering, ship food, gear, and discipline, battle procedures and experiences, ship boys, press gangs, sailor's first visits to China, India, and various islands, disease, living conditions, shore leave, sailor's families, wages and reforms, pensions, and the naval battles against the slave trade. Overall, this book was both informative and interesting to read. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in this topic.


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