observer Posted May 14, 2011 Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 Some guy on the news said this was instituted by Henry VIII? Perhaps it should have been written into law then, it could have saved - the victors of the Armada being left to die of disease on their ships, while waiting to get paid; or the victors of Trafalgar and Waterloo being reduced to begging in the streets of London; or winners of the VC winding up destitute and being buried in paupers graves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
algy Posted May 18, 2011 Report Share Posted May 18, 2011 Very interesting program on tele the other week regarding Trafalgar, I wasn't previously aware how many foriegn and black sailors there were in the Royal Navy at that time and also that on the base of Nelsons column there is a plaque depicting the death of Nelson with a black sailor cast in relief on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted May 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2011 It's part of modern historians attempt to infer a multi-ethnic past - it's not surprising that the RN had to resort to press gang recruitment from foreign ships and shores to fill their ranks - but these recruits still represented a tiny proportion of the whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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