#spithead mutiny

[clove-pinks]

HMS 'Clyde' Arriving at Sheerness After the 'Nore' Mutiny, 30 May 1797, painting by William Joy, 1830 (NMM).

Following the Spithead and Nore mutinies of 1797, which saw British sailors rebel against poor treatment and low pay, aspiring Royal Navy officers required greater diplomacy and tact, even as employment opportunities diminished:

As early as 1800, passed midshipman Edward Baker recognized the limited prospects for gaining a commission: 'It is only by an instant and immediate application that I can hope for success as there are at this time near one thousand young men in my situation'. Young gentlemen also faced a changing social dynamic within the shipboard society which involved them on three distinct levels. The first dealt with quarterdeck authority as it related to a ship's people and the care with which it had to be administered in the aftermath of fleet-wide mutiny. The need for young gentlemen to be sensible of the delicate nature of their authority demanded a degree of personal and professional maturity that had, until then, been without obvious life-or-death consequences.

— S.A. Cavell, Midshipmen and Quarterdeck Boys in the British Navy, 1771-1831

Royal Naval Midshipman with a Globe, British (English) School c. 1800–1815 (Art UK)

[ltwilliammowett]

The Outbreak of the Mutiny at Spithead 1797 – The Sailors Refusing to Put to Sea. Illustration from Epochs and Episodes of History, by Ward Lock, ca. 1880 

The Spithead Mutiny, like the Nore Mutiny, were two of the most important mutinies the Royal Navy experienced. In 1797, the Sailors refused to report for duty and went on strike, the so called Spithead Mutiny, to make it clear to the Admiralty that they needed better pay and rations, increased shore leave, and compensation for sickness and injury. The mutiny went on from 16 April to 15 May 1797 and 16 ships of the Channel Fleet were affected.The mutineers maintained regular naval routine and discipline aboard their ships (mostly with their regular officers), allowed some ships to leave for convoy escort duty or patrols, and promised to suspend the mutiny and go to sea immediately if French ships were spotted heading for English shores.

It was ultimately Lord Howe who negotiated with the mutineers and spoke to every Sailor on every ship to listen to their problems and ultimately was able to change many things to a certain extent for the benefit of the Sailors.

[ltwilliammowett]

The Mutiny at Spithead: Hauling down the Red Flag on the "Royal George". Illustration from Cassell's History of England (special edition, AW Cowan, c 1890)

The Spithead and Nore mutinies of 1797 were not actually mutinies but rather a strike that lasted four weeks. The main issues to be negotiated with the Admiralty were better pay, the abolition of a levy on the purser ("purser's pound") and the replacement of some unpopular officers. Neither flogging nor pressing was brought up. The mutineers maintained their daily navy routine and discipline on their ships (mostly with their regular officers) and also allowed some ships to leave the Spithead to go on patrol, for example. 

As a result of these negotiations, the worst abuses in the Royal Navy, such as bad food, brutally enforced discipline and withholding of pay, were alleviated or abolished. And an increase in pay was introduced.

[verecunda]

On this occasion Admiral Sir John Colpoys, whose behaviour during the Bantry Bay affair had not endeared him to his men, refused to allow the delegates to come on board his ship. A party of seamen on the fo'c'sle thereupon unleashed a gun and pointed it at the quarter-deck. The first lieutenant warned them that he would fire if they did not desist. One of the men dared him to do so. He fired and the man fell dead. Immediately the whole crew forced their way shouting, 'Blood for blood!' There was a good deal of wild shouting, in which three men were killed and several others, including a delegate, were wounded. A rope was rove to haul the first lieutenant up to the yard-arm, but Valentine Joyce, the leading spirit of the whole affair, thrust his way forward to stop further bloodshed and at the same time Colpoys bravely shouted that the responsibility was his. 'You're a damned bloody scoundrel,' shrieked one of the 800 men now facing him. 'How dare you speak to the admiral in that manner?' shouted another. Tension relaxed while the ship's surgeon persuaded the men to give Colpoys a hearing.

St Vincent and Camperdown, Christopher Lloyd

I shouldn’t laugh, but that one guy going “DON’T BE SO FUCKIN RUDE GARY” in the middle of all the murder and mayhem is my hero. :’)

The Spithead Mutiny truly was the most reasonable mutiny ever, in so many ways.