The Napoleonic Wars Forum

Easton, C. (2020). A Social and Economic History of the 1797 Fleet Mutinies at Spithead and The Nore Abstract This thesis presents an analysis of the 1797 fleet mutinies at Spithead and the Nore based on an application of methodologies drawn from social, economic, and cultural history. Using both quantitative and qualitative sources, I present a new interpretation of these momentous events that reveals the centrality of perceptions of fairness and ‘good usage’ to their causation, course, and legacy with implications for historiographies of labour relations and popular protest. I have analysed the evidence used in previous studies to support the interpretation that the mutinies were revolutionary in their intentions and concluded that this does not provide a credible case. For the first time, I have quantified the impact of the stagnation of sailors’ wages between 1653 and 1797 on their purchasing power and conclude that this was a, but not the, cause of mutiny. Through the study of mutineer writings, rhetoric, and behaviour, I argue that insult and hurt pride were key motivators of mutiny and that relative rather than absolute naval conditions were pivotal causes of dissatisfaction. I assert that complex social inversions were employed by mutineer leaders to create legitimacy and encourage obedience towards their regime while minimising the need for violence or coercion. The practical challenges inherent to daily life during mutiny are contended to have encouraged continuity and moderation on both sides. Far from a ‘terror’, the judicial response to the mutinies was, I conclude, both pragmatic and conciliatory, while also within precedent for naval justice and reflective of judicial practice in civil society. The public perceptions of the mutinies are found to have been hotly contested and rehabilitation of the navy had to wait for redemption provided by victory at sea. Frequent comparisons are drawn between naval practice and the wider attitudes and prevailing circumstances in British society on shore. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/09e468f6-187b-4b02-8b31-2324940cae8f

King George’s Army. British Regiments and the Men Who Led Them 1793-1815 Volume 4: 61st to 104th Regiments of Foot (From Reason to Revolution) Steve Brown Publisher ‏ : ‎ Helion and Company (February 15, 2025) Paperback: ‎ 416 pages ISBN: ‎ 9781804516768

Portugal 1808: Wellington’s First Peninsular Campaign Tim Saunders Publisher: ‎ Pen and Sword Military (December 31, 2024) Hardcover: ‎ 216 pages ISBN: ‎ 9781036104382 When Napoleon overreached himself by usurping the Burbon throne of Spain in early 1808, the resulting Spanish resentment and the brutal suppression of the Dos di Mayo Rebellion in Madrid turned Spain, a long-term enemy of Britain, into an ally. Sir Arthur Wellesley’s expedition to South America was promptly cancelled and redirected to the Peninsular.Eventually landing in Portugal at the mouth of the Rio Mondego, the army found itself with little transport, but by keeping close to the coast and with logistical support from the Royal Navy, Wellesley set off south to confront Marshal Junot and liberate Lisbon. The first clash of arms was at Obidos and, days later, at the Combat of Roliça, Wellesley achieved his first victory in battle against the wily General Delaborde.With word that reinforcements were expected to arrive at Maceira Bay, the army was deployed at Vimiero to protect their landing. Meanwhile, Junot had assembled his army and decided to attack at Vimiero. In a short but hard-fought battle, Wellesley was victorious, however an opportunity for total defeat of the French was squandered in succession by generals Burrard and Dalrymple, who instead accepted an armistice. This eventually became the notorious Convention of Cintra.