"The black heroes of Trafalgar" Topic

…The crews on board the English fleet were renowned for their toughness. Public floggings were frequent, there was a lack of drinking water, food was in short supply and scurvy was common. They were also the best-drilled and most disciplined force on the seas.

Many of the foreigners on board may have been press-ganged, the hated system of recruitment that was still rife in the Royal Navy, which was always short of sailors to man the so-called "wooden walls" of England.

Little is known about the foreigners who made up nearly a third of Nelson's flagship, and the many more who served on the other men of war in Nelson's fleet that day…."
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Amicalement
Armand

Wasn't there a post not long ago Tango about how the crews in the Royal Navy were actually fairly well fed?

At any rate, the title is a bit misleading there – the bulk of the article is about the multi-national nature of the crews rather than specifically about their color. Apparently the Royal Navy of the time only cared where you came from when recording you on the rolls, not what your color or ethnicity were…

About the multi-national nature of the crews… which was the highest rank achieved by a colored sailor of Nelson?….

Amicalement
Armand

I believe that would be this person:

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EDIT: He did make full Captain, but only ever served in the West Indies. He was bi-racial, or as they said back then, "a mulatto."

Many thanks!…. a very interesting character for a wargame!….

Amicalement
Armand