Shipwrecks and the Bounty of the Sea

Description

Shipwrecks and the Bounty of the Sea is a work of social history examining community relationships, law, and seafaring over the long early modern period. It explores the politics of the coastline, the economy of scavenging, and the law of 'wreck of the sea' from the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth I to the end of the reign of George II. England's coastlines were heavily trafficked by naval and commercial shipping, but an unfortunate percentage was cast away or lost. Shipwrecks were disasters for merchants and mariners, but opportunities for shore dwellers. As the proverb said, it was an ill wind that blew nobody any good. Lords of manors, local officials, officers of the Admiralty, and coastal commoners competed for maritime cargoes and the windfall of wreckage, which they regarded as providential godsends or entitlements by right. A varied haul of commodities, wines, furnishings, and bullion came ashore, much of it claimed by the crown. The people engaged in salvaging these wrecks came to be called 'wreckers', and gained a reputation as violent and barbarous plunderers. Close attention to statements of witnesses and reports of survivors shows this image to be largely undeserved. Dramatic evidence from previously unexplored manuscript sources reveals coastal communities in action, collaborating as well as competing, as they harvested the bounty of the sea. Cover Shipwrecks and the Bounty of the Sea Copyright Acknowledgements Contents List of Figures Epigraph Introduction Shipwrecks and Scholars Chapter 1. Ships at Risk Chapter 2. The Perils of the Sea Chapter 3. Wreccum Maris: The Law of ‘Wreck of the Sea’ Chapter 4. ‘The Barbarous Country People’ Chapter 5. ‘The Great Profit of the Lords of Manors’ Chapter 6. The Lord Admiral’s Droits and His Majesty’s Profit Chapter 7. Shipwreck Tales from Sea and Shore Chapter 8. The Bounty of the Golden Grape Chapter 9. Mariners in Distress Chapter 10. Material Bounty Brought Ashore Chapter 11. Deep Recovery Chapter 12. Eighteenth-Century Wrecking Revisited 1: Ships at Risk Numbers and Values Levels of Loss 2: The Perils of the Sea Ancient Mariners Renaissance Wrecks Shipwrecks of the Soul and State Shipwrecking Storms and Tempests Lost Sailors and Faulty Charts Unskilfulness and Insufficiency Leaky Vessels 3: Wreccum Maris: The Law of ‘Wreck of the Sea’ Statutes and Cases The Admiralty and the Common Law Commissions and Consequences Crimes and Remedies 4: The Barbarous Country People Moral Reproach Petitions and Complaints Inhumane Dealings 5: The Great Profit of the Lords of Manors The Bristol Channel Cornwall Devon Dorset Sussex Kent Norfolk Yorkshire and the North 6: The Lord Admiral’s Droits and His Majesty’s Profit Wardens and Admirals Admiral Buckingham The King’s Admiralty Restoration Bounties Customs Demands 7: Shipwreck Tales from Sea and Shore Northumberland, 1559 and 1565 Pevensey 1569 and 1575 Bishopstone, 1578 Goodwin Sands¸ 1585 Stokenham, 1601 Goodwin Sands, 1616 Seaford, 1633 The Essex Sands, 1634 Sidestrand, 1636 Seaford, 1637 Littlehampton, 1654 The North Sea, 1660 The Isles of Scilly, 1665 Cakeham, 1676 8: The Bounty of the Golden Grape Commissioners and Deponents Pieces of Eight Men of Authority Raisins Galore The Wreck Economy Wrecking and the Social Order 9: Mariners in Distress Shipwrecked Sailors Ship-Broken Men 10: Material Bounty Brought Ashore Goods from the Sea Mixed Cargoes Pieces of Ships Ordnance Wine Oil Textiles Clothes from the Sea Culinary Delights Seaborne Wood Varied Findings Coin and Bullion Shipwrecks and the Economy of Makeshifts 11: Deep Recovery Intrepid Divers Fishing for Guns Fishing for Treasure 12: Eighteenth-Century Wrecking Revisited The Shipwreck Environment Barbarous Shores New Laws Customs versus customs Shipwreck Episodes The Anna and Helena, Devon 1738 The Boscawen, Cornwall 1745 The Nympha, Sussex 1747 The Hope, Dorset 1749 Conclusion APPENDIX: Two Centuries of Shipwrecks Bibliography Manuscript Sources Newspapers Printed Primary Sources Modern Sources Index