Could You Survive in the Lord Nelson’s Royal Navy? 

"The floggings will continue until morale improves'-British captain just before he was thrown overboard

One of my ancestors did, he was pressed into the navy, twice (once he got away!). He was a protected man, being a married man and ships master in the East India Company. It didn't stop him eventually being pressed into the Navy, where he served as a Master's Mate during the second battle of Copenhagen.

I was a journalist in Sarajevo during the seige in 1993 and was twice press ganged to go to the front line and dig trenches. Both times the guy in charge spotted me as a reporter and told me to get off the truck. The other guys were not too happy about where they were going.

Heart of oak are our ships, heart of oak are our men; We always are ready, steady, boys, steady! We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.

Another reason why the Officers quarters were in the rear, the Royal Marines had their quarters between the Officers and Warrant Officers, and the crew, and they always had their weapons by their hands. The crew weapons were stored in the armory for which the Master at Arms had the keys. So in case of a Mutiny the crew Had No access to pistols, muskets or cutlasses. For the same reason the Marines were positioned between the Officers and the crew during a punishment.

Not even Nelson could survive in Nelsons navy.

In 1804 my 3 times G grandfather was listed as being 'prest' in the pay book of HMS Aimable. In fact he escaped slavery from St Kitts by volunteering when the ship visited the island. He served just short of 11 years in the navy.

A lot if not all cannons in the British Navy would have used a flint lock mechanism to fire the cannons, first introduced in 1745 mainly as it made it so much safer because you don't need a constantly smouldering slow burn fuse. Something the French hadn't yet adopted by Trafalgar

Regular filling meals was a big recruitment game incentive. One major thing of being in the navy vs army was that you where carrying your food with you.

No one can ever imagine what Trafalgar must have been like. The noise, the smoke, the screams. Men of solid iron back then, for sure

Ah, the romance of the Age of Sail... The violence, the ungodly stench, the beatings, the malnutrition, the lashings, the endemic wage theft, the more violence, the institutionalized kidnapping, the brutality, the system-wide corruption, the diseases, the stench, the brutal repression, the lice, the overcrowding, the "medical care", the even more violence, the stench...

My, great, great, great grandfather served on the HMS Bellerophon in 1815 under a Captain Maitland who took on board and accepted the surrender from Napoleon Bonaparte. During Napoleons stay on the ship he was by this account viewed with affection by the crew

There's an urban myth that the oldest surviving pub in Plymouth (Minerva Inn) had a tunnel from it to the Barbican that the press gangs would use to sneak into areas like the so-called 'Damnation Alley' (Castle Street) and grab men too drunk or...er...distracted to resist.

Part of the problem with ship’s biscuits in the Royal Navy was that they were not kept in casks. The were stored in “bread sacks”. This made them even drier and encouraged infestation with insects. The US Navy stored theirs in casks. This kept them slightly more palatable and reduced insects.

I had an ancestor that fought at Trafalgar…a common seamen. The only anecdote of his life is that it was reported he once fell from the highest rigging and landed on his feet without injury.

You can today, board "The Endevour" in Fremantle, Western Australia (when she is in port, or maybe even a port near you. She sails worldwide) you experience first hand, what it is like to board and work on one of these mighty ships. It's not something you will ever forget. It makes you even more proud of the men that served. My forefathers (Codrington Ball) served under most of the famous british admirals, they were even mentioned in dispatches for gallantry, amongst other mentions. Fantastic reading their journals. All the mutinies and chaos they endured but still came out on top.

Dans one of those guys you ever saw in a pub your buying him a drink as a thanks for all his great teachings

I find it interesting how many common expressions we use here in the States apparently originated in the Royal Navy. My father was in the Merchant Marine and would often tell us as kids to "Pipe Down" if we were making too much noise. In the US, we use the term "Slush Fund" to describe a secret money account kept by a dishonest politician. And of course "Learning the Ropes" is universally used to describe someone learning a new job.

When I was in the RN in the sixties we understood that one of the Royal Marines roles was to protect the officers from the ratings. Also we were all subject to the articles of war which were draconian and they were not abolished till about the 90’s.

Currently reading Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies. This video really helps me visualize!!!

Master and Commander was a brilliant movie for the effects of cannon fire.

Fantastic work Dan! Some of the finest British history content to be found anywhere.

Absolute respect for Dan climbing the Rigging

I actually worked in a rope factory for two years, we were paid by the length of rope we produced, the machines varied in size, some had only three bobbins spinning through the die, others had twenty or more for huge rope for modern shipping, other rope was as thin as your finger, but they all worked on the same principle, twisting together, under a lot of strain, using a 'Z twist' dont ask i dont know why its called a Z twist, separate threads fed off separate bobbins of varying size through a die and pulled off onto a drum, depending on the thread size some jobs were doffed at say 50 yards onto a spinning head but no drum. Its not that exciting realy just very dirty, dusty, and in the shed i worked in if it rained you got wet because of the holes in the roof lol

Great insight Dan. Makes you appreciate the lives we lead today. The navy knew what worked to make us the most efficient fighting force in the world. Brilliant viewing. Love these.

My biggest weakness, were I press-ganged into the sail navy: I'm not a fan of heights? 😱 And of course personal safety gear, like that worn here, was unheard of. Just the size of this brig's mast would give me the willies... But imagining being sent to trim the royals of a 2nd rate? That's the stuff of nightmares. Just stepping up to the edge of a building in an FPS video game gives my guts a swoop.

One of the many in-depth history lessons we like to attend here 👏🏽

Please don't stop making these documentaries Mr Snow I could listen to you all day describing things!

Been on the HMS Victory a few years ago, what a ship that is. Dont really understand its size till you go aboard. As well as HMS Warrior.

Imagine being the bricky turning up at that rope place first day of construction, "you want it how long?!?" 😂😂😂

Well done Dan, a magnificent portrayal...

Always find this period interesting. Two of my ancestors served in the Royal navy at the Battle of Trafalgar. One was a ships master and the other a gunner.

Dan is incredibly brave. Top man

Pill, Somerset made some of the finest sailors because it was the home of the Bristol pilots for 500 plus years! The press gangs visited Pill many times and would hold meetings across the river in the Lamplights pub. A Pill lady called Nancy Carey worked in there and would keep a close ear to the door to find out when the next raid would be so she could warn Pill that a raid was imminent. There’s is an account of the Press gangs arriving in Pill to press some men and the villagers put up a fight and after a battle in Pump square the Pill boys sent them running… the gutters were running with blood apparently! Lol Pill was always known for it’s tight knit community and didn’t like outsiders sticking their nose in! ⚓️🦈

This is seriously my favorite video you guys have ever put out! What a wealth of fascinating information. Thank you!

Really interesting and enjoyable! For those who are keen on the Napoleonic wars at sea, I'd strongly recommend the novels of Patrick O'brien (think 'Master & Commander').. Fiction, but informed by real research, these books are BRILLIANT. Nice one Dan and team! ⭐👍

Perfect video to watch as im slightly over half way through the Aubrey-Maturin series

As a rope geek myself, I appreciate the correct use of the terminology! Wonderful, all the small details is what makes this an excellent show

I was once in Portsmouth and saw a HMS Victory, that moment I fall in love with these ships!

Heard Dan had a hard time finding a Napoleonic era type ship due to a great many of them being employed in the making of Ridley Scott's soon to be released "Napoleon". So well done getting one!

Loved the Ropewalk! Wish you had talked more about sailmaking -- how they were woven, especially, as well as coopering.

Heaven knows how Captain Hardy did. Six feet four inches tall, aboard a ship where deck space was five feet nine inches.

Watching this to help put the Aubrey Maturin series in context. Very very helpful. Thanks for another great video.

this was excellent, brought alive through the dedication and passion of rhe military experts herein. I served 11years and so grateful it was recently the poor guys on these "men o war" were giants of men great show all thank you respect from a navy veteran in Suffolk, England. yours aye!

Even Lord Nelson couldn't survive in Nelson's navy

Nice introduction and informative video about Britain 🇬🇧 sea fleets during the 17th century ... where toughest sailors survived...

history is so fascinating

This is an excellent presentation.

When ships were made of wood Men were made of steel

Have a 1827 naval officer fighting sword it's such a well made thing it's like a piece of art I look at it and think of the life it had where it went the hands that made it was it ever in a battle love these programs thanks for history lesson.

There are several phrases from the use of flintlock weapons that we still use today. If you fire your weapon, but the spark doesn't travel down to the main charge in the barrel you have a 'flash in the pan'. As a safety measure, a firearm was not supposed to be able to fire unless it was at full cock. However, sometimes the mechanism was so worn that it would 'go off half-cocked'.

Wow! What an incredible insight. This was brilliant, inspiring and so fascinating.

This also happend in early Australia thier are still tunnels under the street still where press gangs would forcably drag new sailers to circular quay

If Nelson himself didn't survive how do you expect me to?

Great piece of living history lesson ... like so often ... love it

These pieces are so much fun to watch~Thanks Dan & HHit

I was very surprised you didn't point out the age-old connection between the English and their nickname of "limeys", precisely because of all those limes consumed by sailors of the Royal Navy!

4 hr on 4 off, the sleep deprivation must of been mind bending

Brilliant in depth documentary, thoroughly enjoyed...

Really good vid. Thanks for this

What got me was the lack of headroom on the Victory - and Hardy as in Kiss me Hardy was 6’4” - he must have had a permanent stoop

One thing that drives me crazy about many Age of Sail battle scenes is how little the ship's guns recoil, if at all. In reality they'd have a hell of a kick, whereas in most movies and shows they might just slowly and gentle move back a few inches. Loved watching that 12 lbr kick like a mule, and I'm sure they weren't even using a full charge

Great video Dan,. Thank you sir and huge respect for climbing the mast. Brilliant documentary. 😄😄😄👍👍👍

Wow! History Hit and Mr. Dan Snow this is awesome history presentation!! Thank you!

I remember reading that before the War of 1812, when the Royal Navy stopped American ships, the Yanks were so impressed by the Brits, they joined up on the spot!

My cousin Henry Cranwell died on The Victory 3 days after Trafalgar. He was described as a "landsman". He had been pressganged 2 years previously.

This was top notch. Dan Show has a dream job.

Loved the flintlock pistol part. I own an original British sea service pistol just like the one in this video. It was a battlefield pickup from the battle of New orleans during the war of 1812.

Two Jane Austen’s of brothers were pretty high up in the navy. One was an admiral.

Rich man`s war, poor man`s fight. The Royal Navy was the very model of that phrase...

The guy showing Dan the 12-pounder. He was really dedicated to his subject and would've said a lot more if he could have. Probably years of studying this stuff. I love that there are pockets of people like this, even and especially today.

Very interesting documentary, thank you

These sailors were tough as nails. I loved this video. I once owned a book called fighting sail. Beautiful binding and illustrations showing life on these sailing ships. This book inspired me to apply to join the navy. But, in 1976 life on board a warship wasn't as rugged.

Really informative! Well done. Interesting. Trying to imagine that life, especially if press ganged, must have been incredibly difficult. And deadly. Disease was indeed rampant. But that so many died of disease is unsettling. Starvation? No. Dysentery? Yes. But we're your chances any better on land? In my city on Lake Ontario, Canada, there was a rope works many years ago (long gone now), because there were several ship building yards. My husband's uncle (always the tease) when hubby was young, told him it was four blocks long. Hubby didn't believe him. Until he saw a picture. It was at one time the longest building in Canada! Fascinating stuff this. My grandparents (paternal) were immigrants from Britain. Hubbies dad was from London. Anything British holds our attention. Now~about those ads! Bloody hell 🙄! Every five minutes or less! It's hard to hold attention when ~he starts biking down the rope making line~advert~right as the cannon goes off~advert~5 minutes later~advert~5 minutes or less~advert. And WORSE it says "skip ads" after 5~10~15 seconds or so, so you expect to go back to the show but! no. It simply opens yet another 15sec un -skippable advert for Frasier!! It's frustrating yes, I understand you have to receive revenue, but when there are THAT MANY ADVERTS, you have to REALLY want to watch to the end, otherwise we'd have stopped watching and not given a thumbs up. That happens a lot with HH videos. The sheer number of adverts is off-putting. Don't know how to fix that but you're definitely losing the interest of a lot of people with the number of adverts. Hello 👋 from Jenn in Canada 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦

One problem gents Nelson time first rate ship will have much thicker hull sides than your lovely planking, especially on the lower decks. HMS Victory had a hull thickness of two ft at the water line. Further naval gunnery was not as simple exercise as shooting from your fixed position. This is why boarding was such a common occurrence at that time.

Great stuff.

0:20 HARDTACK *CLACK CLACK*

My best friend joined the Duyfken (Little Dove) crew in Sydney as she sailed up the east coast of Australia. It’s a replica of the original Dutch sailing vessel. 80 feet, 3 masts. A beautiful looking and fast sailing vessel. Amazing replica, just stunning.

This was fantastic.

This was very informative

As a child, I won a book-token at school and bought a book about Nelson, I still have it and re--read it every now and again !. The thing that stands out, for me,is the full explanation of whar 'Keel-hauling' meant - imho NO-ONE from this day and age would survive in Nelson's navy, it was just too savage !

One can avoid press gangs but one cannot escape the draft board without great cost in short press gangs are a rough draft board

Awesome, great video.

Lord Nelson is my 11th great grandfathers son.. ive just found this out..omg how exiting it is to find all this information on him..

They had to replace lemons with lime when Napoleon invaded Spain as they couldn't get the lemons from Spain anymore so they had to utilize Caribbean colonies to get limes.

Dan is so much his fathers son. As he gets older, the resemblance has become uncanny to Peter.

Having served in the British military, I find it interesting that Nelson understood the importance of good food to keep up morale. But recent senior officers didn’t understand this and allowed awful, private companies to feed our troops.

Excellent video..👍👍

Press gangs was just conscription for the georgian age. According to lord cochrane in his memoirs, press gangs weren't really needed on successful ships with a famous captain. The prize money would get plenty of volunteers.

Why can´t we have a Dan Snow in Germany...😭

outstanding!

What a fantastic channel this is. Very interesting 🤔

At my age 67 no chance. However, if one was used to the life of 1800 then yes. The navy on a “ happy “ ship gave the ordinary bloke a good life with the chance of prize money. Much better than the army or being a causal farm labourer . True there was danger , hardship and violence .

Before I watch the video, I’m going to respond “No” to the question if I could survive this. My spoiled self in no way could handle these conditions.

Fantastic video

Fantastic stuff.

Two items that would have helped make it even more interesting would be, what did they get paid and how, secondly how long were they expected to serve? Assuming they lived long enough!

No, I would not have survived in the RN, but I doubt I would have survived in that era, period. I am too attached to my creature comforts. Geneology and DNA research led me to a 10th or 11th (?) great grandfather who served as a captain in Sir Francis Drake's fleet when he went to the West Indies and fought the Spanish Armada. His ship (Bark Talbot) was used as a fire ship. I read letters he wrote to Lord Walsingham, begging to be reimbursed for losing his ship. Apparently he suffered bouts of malaria for a few years, then died. He did get reimbursed, however.

Great video

Thank you