Mustering The Company
Navigation
- The Author
- ►The Battles
- ►The Books
- 01. Master and Commander
- 02. Post Captain
- 03. HMS Surprise
- 04. The Mauritius Command
- 05. Desolation Island
- 06. The Fortune of War
- 08. The Ionian Mission
- 09. Treason’s Harbour
- 10. The Far Side of the World
- 11. The Reverse of the Medal
- 12. The Letter of Marque
- 13. The Thirteen Gun Salute
- 14. The Nutmeg of Consolation
- 15. The Truelove/Clarissa Oakes
- 16. The Wine-Dark Sea
- 17. The Commodore
- 18. The Yellow Admiral
- 21. The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey
- Spoliers
- ►The Characters
- ►The Dear Surprise
- ►The History
- ►The Images
- ►The Media
- ►The Movie
- ►The Resources
- ►The Royal Navy
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Subjects Commonly Addressed
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law Archive
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Napoleon and the Jews
While Mr. Canning is the only Jewish character of any importance in the Aubrey/Maturin series (I think, correct me if I’m wrong), the history of Jews during the Napoleonic era is fascinating because it shows perfectly the contradictions in Napoleon’s character. On the one hand, he was as Stephen would say a tyrant, a despot, [...] -
Law and Morality in Patrick O’Brian’s Post Captain
One of the things that makes our beloved series so, um, belovable, is the incredible density of the details packed into it. There’s more in every book than just an enjoyable adventure. Within each book one can find discourses on nature (both animal and human), medicine, science, politics, technology… Every aspect of Napoleonic Era life [...] -
Transportation as Punishment: The Voyage of the Courtesans
In The Nutmeg of Consolation and The Truelove/Clarissa Oakes, the practice of transportation as punishment for crimes committed in Britain forms the background for the action of the novels. Transportation was, in essence, a life sentence of exile, as the transports had very little chance of ever seeing home again. In some cases the convicts [...] -
Napoleonic Era Naval Tactics (1/5): Battle Formation and Cutting-Out
Throughout the Age of Sail, boarding was the primary tactical objective at sea. Long after the advent of gunpowder and the broadside cannon, victory at sea was achieved mainly by the boarding of seaborne armies. Well into the nineteenth century the most common weapon for sailors was the sword or cutlass. Beginning sometime after 1300, [...] -
The Execution of Admiral Byng
“Any court-martial is a perilous thing, whether you are in the right or the wrong – justice has nothing much to do with it. Remember poor Vincent of the Weymouth: remember Byng – shot for an error of judgment and for being unpopular with the mob.“ – Captain Ferris to Jack Aubrey, Master and Commander [...] -
An Introduction to Life at Sea in Aubrey’s Royal Navy
The full experience of life aboard a man o’ war in Aubrey’s Royal Navy is not something that can be easily summed up in a short article. It’s not something that can be easily summed up in 20 novels, though Patrick O’Brian gives us an incredible window into that world long past. However, this introductory [...] -
The Romance of Duelling
The men of our beloved series are all profoundly concerned with honor in a way that is difficult for members of the modern world to comprehend. Furthermore, many of us harbor misconceptions about this now extinct practice thanks to movies and modern literature. This excerpt from The Romance of Duelling in All Times and Countries [...] -
Naval Punishment For Boys: “Kissing The Gunner’s Daughter”
In the eighteenth century the Royal Navy encouraged boys as young as nine to enlist as ‘servants’ (the lower age limit was raised to 13 in 1794). They acted as cabin boys to officers and senior seamen, but they were also apprentice seamen, ‘learning the ropes’ (literally) as they underwent sail training on the rigging. [...] -
Breaking the 29th Article
“It is odd how the law always harps upon the unnaturalness of sodomy,” observed Stephen. “Though I know at least two judges who are paederasts; and of course barristers. What will happen to him?” “Oh, he’ll be hanged. Run up at the yard-arm, and boats attending from every ship in the fleet.” – Conversation between [...] -
An Introduction to Punishment in Aubrey’s Royal Navy
Discipline in the Royal Navy of Nelson’s time is often seen as a harsh and unbending code of ‘starting’, flogging and hanging. But to take punishment out of the context of the times is to miss the comparison between life on land and life at sea during the Georgian period. The Georgian code of justice [...]