How the Age of Revolutions rocked the Royal Navy
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The Rise of the Sailors in the 1790s
Sailors were not just one homogenous mass. They were a community that held very different ideas. What happens at sea or what the Admiralty is trying to achieve at sea can't help but also affect what's going on in Britain and across British society at the same time. Impressment was certainly not new. It had been used since the late 17th century by a navy actively seeking to secure trained maritime manpower. And similarly sort of resistance to impressment wasn't new. But I think what is happy to get the 1790s is you're seeing sailors acting collectively to resist impressment, and also acting in league with communities.
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