Life at sea being a hard one, as I think we all realize, it has also in a limited way offered more in the way of equal opportunity at least below decks it appears to me. The U.S. Navy even before the Civil War and especially during it, had freedmen and former slaves in its ranks (though not among the officers and possibly not among the ncos?) but if you look at early photos of contemporary ship's crews you can see it. How true might this have been of Nelson's Navy?
It's difficult to say with precision. Some men clearly volunteered in the hope that they would progress in learning skills that they could then use in peace as well as in war. But in a society so socially stratified as eighteenth-century Britain, "equal opportunity" doesn't really apply. I don't think many volunteer sailors expected to gain anything more than skills and some prize money--perhaps enough to set up a pub when they grew too old?
I am currently reading the entire series again (second time) and again am struck by the terms used in their day that have carried through over the centuries in naval tradition. One in particular - the refit of ships after a patrol. Our Polaris FBM boat (617) went through 6 refits when I served on her out of Rota and made patrols during the Cold War in the Med and above the Arctic Circle. Reading your commentary today enlivens O'Brian's work. MT1(SS)DV 1967-37
Life at sea being a hard one, as I think we all realize, it has also in a limited way offered more in the way of equal opportunity at least below decks it appears to me. The U.S. Navy even before the Civil War and especially during it, had freedmen and former slaves in its ranks (though not among the officers and possibly not among the ncos?) but if you look at early photos of contemporary ship's crews you can see it. How true might this have been of Nelson's Navy?
It's difficult to say with precision. Some men clearly volunteered in the hope that they would progress in learning skills that they could then use in peace as well as in war. But in a society so socially stratified as eighteenth-century Britain, "equal opportunity" doesn't really apply. I don't think many volunteer sailors expected to gain anything more than skills and some prize money--perhaps enough to set up a pub when they grew too old?
I am currently reading the entire series again (second time) and again am struck by the terms used in their day that have carried through over the centuries in naval tradition. One in particular - the refit of ships after a patrol. Our Polaris FBM boat (617) went through 6 refits when I served on her out of Rota and made patrols during the Cold War in the Med and above the Arctic Circle. Reading your commentary today enlivens O'Brian's work. MT1(SS)DV 1967-37