#mutiny at the nore

[ltwilliammowett]

Sword 1798-99

Small swords were items of male jewellery. By the 1750s, their elaborate gold and silver hilts, mounted with precious stones and fine enamelling, were the products of the goldsmith and jeweller rather than the swordsmith. They made fitting rewards for distinguished military and naval service. With their blades tucked away inside scabbards, it was their ostentatious and expensive hilts that carried their thrust.

This sword is inscribed: ‘PRESENTED by the Committee of Merchants &c OF LONDON to LIEUT.T FRANCIS DOUGLAS for his Spirited and active conduct on board His Majesty’s Ship the REPULSE. Ja.s Alms Esq.r Commander during the MUTINY at the NORE in 1797. Marine Society Office, May 1o 1798 } Hugh Inglis Esq.r Chairman’

Francis Douglas was rewarded for his role in suppressing a violent mutiny among sailors at the Nore, a Royal Navy anchorage in the Thames Estuary in 1797. According to an account by an eyewitness, published in The Sheerness Guardian 70 years later, the ship, Repulse, made a 'miraculous' escape from the mutineers reaching shore despite receiving 'as was calculated two hundred shot'.

[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)

[frontispieces]

Mutinies

So, who knew there were so many mutinies in the Navy? Well I didn’t. Apart from Mutiny on the Bounty, I had heard of not much of the (seemingly) many others. I am (still) on my research of a book about Admiral Duncan and the letter tucked inside, so if you haven’t read the relevant previous blog, you might find it a bit strange that I am writing about mutinies – don’t feel obliged to go back,…

[stoportotouch]

thinking deeply and academically about edward little today. i think he and hickey could have had quite an interesting dynamic if anything had ever come of that bit where hickey is trying to feel little out but little is not interested.

on the one hand. little probably has a far more personal and instinctual fear of mutiny than a lot of the other officers. since his dad was the clerk of the ship that sent the response to the spithead and nore mutinies. (and while goodsir is the Normal Audience Surrogate main character little is... arguably the Naval History Fan Audience Surrogate non-main character.) but, since spithead and nore was in part a response to mistreatment by officers, and since little and crozier are (or historically they were) from similar-ish backgrounds (little was a generation removed from working his way up but his dad very much wasn't. his mother was the daughter of a butcher and dad went in as an enlisted man and retired as a purser/paymaster), little is probably not just aware of that but uncomfortably aware of it.

we don't actually get to see little actively trying to undermine crozier even though like... i feel like he would try to do that passively or more sneakily. or he would if crozier wasn't onto him. i have said before that he is trying and ultimately failing to Play crozier by saying that a court martial is required when ships are lost.

which uh. sidenote but that is also a very interesting and dare i say even Telling exchange as far as character is concerned. little is saying "hey nobody here actually likes you, sir, and doing this is going to make more people than just the officers not like you" and crozier is saying "cool. i can do exactly the same thing back to you and i can do it better and in a more functional way."

unfortunately he and hickey are speaking completely different languages, figuratively speaking. also hickey cutting little's Boy Best Friend's dick off probably didn't help matters.

[zaftikat]

20 Questions

This is the most 2010s tumblr thing I can recall doing on this site, and I have participated in the supernatural fandom. (Tagged by @toopunkrockforshul )

ALL OF THIS UNDER A CUT

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Five, but like you know, I'm workin on it.

2. How many words?

16,320. 11.4k comes from one fic tho

Nine Worlds Series by Victoria Goddard (specifically: Greenwing & Dart and Lays of the Hearthfire)

Star Wars by way of @dangersquaremedia's Chicks with Dice

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

well, i've only got the 5 so...

1. It's just Intermundial Tax Law, how hard could it be?

2. On Escaping from Orio Prison

3. The Tanà's Daughter, or How Pinyë Got Her Groove Back (Hiatus)

4. If the Lady Wills it, Ever Onward (Ongoing)

5. The Poola Blossom

No because I'm afraid it might come across as weird? I don't read a lot of fic, so I'm not sure what the etiquette is?

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Implying I finish my fics instead of losing steam and forgetting them.

That said, when its finished, How Pinye Got Her Groove Back is going to be pretty fuckin angsty

Again, implying that I finish my fics.

The one I've gotten the most "this made me so sad" comments on is actually my happiest in my opinion. I wrote Intermundial Tax Law right as I was gearing up to move countries, and the story ends with the main character feeling confident and determined in his choice to leave home. That's the happiest ending I could have imagined at the time, because emigrating somewhere new is not a simple prospect, emotionally.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I write for very small fandoms full of predominantly very nice and supportive people. I would not change that.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I, a transfem on progesterone, have written smut, yes. The armpit licking kind. What other kinds are there?

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I love a good AU, but I'm not super into crossovers. Just not my bag.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

If I have, I apologize to the thief for the sort of mauve hue to my prose.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

no, but damn if I wouldn't love to have a yiddish fic

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

I have ideas for a cowritten fic with @toopunkrockforshul ! its a wrestling AU

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

oh, maybe HMS Agamemnon. She was a 64 gun third rate who participated in the battle of Egypt and then shortly thereafter the Nore Mutiny. Laid up in 1802 in poor condition, and then brought out of ordinary in 1804 because napoleon was going to invade and they needed all the ships they could get. She took and demasted the Spanish 112 gun Santisima Trinidad at Trafalgar which is pretty cool.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

How Pinye Got Her Groove Back probably won't ever get finished because I've lost the mindset. Its a fic about dysphoria and coming out and as I get farther away from the direct experience its harder to set in my mind.

16. What are your writing strengths?

idk. it feels odd to talk about my strengths when I'm so very green at this. I think I'm pretty alright at knowing when to kill a darling.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I tend to get lost in the middle between where I know I'm going and where I currently am. It slows me down a lot.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Like, maybe I could do Jack Aubrey quality french.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Greenwing & Dart

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

If the Lady Wills it, Ever Onward its just the most complex and well written thing I think i've ever done, and I can't wait for something else to replace it as my favourite.

I don't know enough people who write fic to tag them, so have fun if you want

[inn-witch]

billy budd drinking game: every time something homoerotic happens take a shot. at the end of the book you will have killed as many as the Nore Mutiny

[marryat92]

The mutiny at Spithead was soon followed up by that at the Nore; and the ringleader, Parker, like a meteor darting through the firmament, sprung from nothing, corruscated, dazzled, and disappeared.

— Frederick Marryat, The King's Own

'Richard Parker President of the Delegates in the late Mutiny in his Majesty's Fleet at the Nore For which he sufferd Death on board the Sandwich the 30th of June 1797': hand-coloured etching of 1797 in NMM collection.

[laidlawsrule]

There is perhaps no event in the annals of our history which excited more alarm at the time of its occurrence, or has since been the subject of more general interest, than the Mutiny at the Nore, in the year 1797. And then the murders began.

There is perhaps no event in the annals of our history which excited more alarm at the time of its occurrence, or has since been the subject of more general interest, than the Mutiny at the Nore, in the year 1797. And then the murders began.

— laidlawsrule (@laidlawsrule) May 11, 2021

from Twitter https://twitter.com/laidlawsrule

[captainflirt]

“Richard Parker, President of the Delegates in the late Mutiny in his Majesty's Fleet at the Nore For which he sufferd Death on board the Sandwich the 30th of June 1797.”

Parker was court-martialled and hanged on his ship, the ‘Sandwich’, on 30 June, ‘for having been the Principal in a most daring Mutiny on board several of his Majesty’s Ships at the Nore, & which created a dreadful alarm through the whole Nation’. The political message of this print is underscored by the fact that Parker is shown twice, heroically posed in dress reminiscent of French Revolutionary style in the foreground, but pointing with his sword to a hanged body (presumably his own) on the yardarm behind, as a warning to other possible lower-deck subversives. The print can therefore be regarded a visual equivalent of the, often repentant, gallows speeches rushed out in popular editions at this time after the public executions of notorious criminals.

Source: rmg.co.uk

[theamericanparlor]

Presentation Smallsword with Scabbard, hallmarked for 1797–98                

James Morisset, British    

English, gold or silver-gilt, set with colored enamels, were the specialty of the London goldsmith James Morisset. The majority were created for presentation to British naval officers during the Napoleonic wars. This example is inscribed on the underside of the shell: "The Committee of Merchants of London presented this sword to Lieutenᵗ John Burn for his active and spirited conduct on board His M.S. the Beaulieu during the late mutiny at the Nore in 1797. Hugh Inglish Esq., Chairman."

[ltwilliammowett]

Drum, HMS St. Fiorenzo, 18th century

Drum said to have used to beat to quarters aboard HMS St Fiorenzo ( a frigate with 40 guns) during the Nore Mutiny, May 1797. The mutineers had ordered St Fiorenzo, anchored off Sheerness, to join the rest of the ships under their control off the Nore.  Her crew remained loyal and her captain - Sir Harry Burrard Neale (1765-1840) was eventually able to get her away into the Channel on the 31st May.

[clove-pinks]

I feel personally dragged by this tweet every time I come across something about England and/or maritime history that makes me think about Frederick Marryat and his books.

*sees something about the Solent* "omg just like a Marryat novel!"

*a reference to the Lizard* "just like sailing to England in a Marryat novel! 😭❤"

*watches youtube vid about the Spithead and Nore mutinies* "WOW just like that scene in The King's Own!"

*watches any early-mid 19th century period drama with the Royal Navy in it* "Getting a lot of Frederick Marryat vibes from this..."

[tortoisesshells]

I have had to wade through some extremely Spicy Takes on the Spithead and Nore mutinies of 1797 from the 19th century American press today and suffered greatly for this knowledge. Therefore, I am rewarding myself with finally watching Damn the Defiant. Surely a movie about mutiny made in 1962 could not have any worse takes.

I'm gonna liveblog it, too. If you don't want to see me losing my damn mind over Obi Wan Kenobi trying and failing to be a Good Captain to his men while Syndey Carton deliberately abuses the crew to the point of mutiny, then at least temporarily block #polkaknox watches damn the defiant.

[stoportotouch]

it is... a thought that edward little is the son of a man who was directly involved not just in the first naval engagement of the anglo-french wars but in the response by the navy to one of the first full-scale mutinies (spithead and nore). and then he's the one tozer tries to go for and genuinely convince to run away.

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 12 May 1797, the crew of the Sandwich ship anchored at Nore in the Thames estuary seized control of their ship. They were following the example of sailors at Spithead and Plymouth who mutinied the previous month. Several other ships' crews also mutinied, but some managed to be sailed away by their captains, retreating under gunfire from the mutinous ships. In addition to the demands made by the other mutinies for better pay and conditions, the Nore mutineers also demanded an end to the war with France. This was too much for the Admiralty, who were prepared to agree the material demands but not the political one. The mutineers escalated their protest by blockading London, preventing merchant vessels from entering the port. Some sailors' delegates made plans to sail the ships to revolutionary France, but when Richard Parker, who was elected president of the delegates, gave the order to do so, the other ships instead deserted and the mutiny failed. In the repression which followed, Parker and 29 others were hanged, 29 imprisoned, 9 flogged and others sentenced to transportation to Australia, however the majority of the men escaped punishment. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1122615051256977/?type=3

[towel-pisser-nationalism]

HMS 'Clyde' Arriving at Sheerness After the 'Nore' Mutiny, 30 May 1797