Table Of ContentOUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,6/6/2022,SPi
Shipwrecks and the Bounty of the Sea
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,6/6/2022,SPi
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,6/6/2022,SPi
Shipwrecks and the
Bounty of the Sea
DAVID CRESSY
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,6/6/2022,SPi
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OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,6/6/2022,SPi
Acknowledgements
This book began in healthier times and was written under the shadow of the
pandemic. Many of the libraries and archives Ineeded had to close during2020
and2021.Myworkwouldhavecometoahaltwithoutcontinuingaccesstoonline
databases of the Huntington Library, the libraries of Ohio State University, the
Claremont Colleges, and The National Archives. Especially valuable were State
Papers Online, Early English Books Online, Eighteenth-Century Collections
Online, and the Cecil Papers. Colin Greenstreet introduced me to the database
of the Marine Lives Project, and shared images of depositions before the High
Court of Admiralty. Archivists at the Somerset Heritage Centre, Wiltshire and
SwindonHistoryCentre,GuildhallLibrary, andTheNationalArchives supplied
crucial copies. Other scholars who answered queries and lent support include
AmandaBevan,TomCogswell,LoriAnneFerrell,DagmarFreist,IanFriel,Paul
Halliday, Simon Healey, Steve Hindle, Eleanor Hubbard, Krista Kesselring,
Paulina Kewes, Michael Leslie, Andrea McKenzie, Geoffrey Parker, Glyn Parry,
CathrynPearce,NicholasRogers,RichardUnger,andChristopherWhittick.Iam
gratefultootoOxfordUniversityPress fortheirconfidenceinmywork,andfor
producing such handsome books. Valerie Cressy accompanied me to shipwreck
beachesfromCornwall toNorthumbria intimeswhentravelwaspossible. Most
memorableweretherocksoftheIslesofScilly,thesteepshinglesofChesilBeach,
Dorset, the chalk cliffs near Seaford, Sussex, and the low bluffs of Winterton,
Norfolk.Wehavemorejourneystomakeinbettertimes.
Shipsinearlymodernsourcesaregenerallyregardedasfeminine,andIretain
thisusagewherecitationrequiresit.Distancesaregiveninmiles,currencyvalues
in pounds, shillings, and pence. Weights and measures follow the Imperial and
Avoirdupois conventions of the past. Spelling and punctuation have been mod-
ernized,exceptwherenecessaryandappropriate.Datesaregiven‘oldstyle’,except
that the year is taken to have begun on 1 January. All books were published in
London,unlessotherwiseindicated.StandardabbreviationsincludeBLforBritish
Library, HCA for High Court of Admiralty, PC for Privy Council, SP for State
Papers,andSTACforStarChamberrecordsinTheNationalArchives,Kew.
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,6/6/2022,SPi
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,6/6/2022,SPi
Contents
ListofFigures ix
Introduction 1
1. ShipsatRisk 16
2. ThePerilsoftheSea 29
3. WreccumMaris:TheLawof‘WreckoftheSea’ 54
4. TheBarbarousCountryPeople 71
5. TheGreatProfitoftheLordsofManors 84
6. TheLordAdmiral’sDroitsandHisMajesty’sProfit 103
7. ShipwreckTalesfromSeaandShore 116
8. TheBountyoftheGoldenGrape 155
9. MarinersinDistress 175
10. MaterialBountyBroughtAshore 188
11. DeepRecovery 215
12. Eighteenth-CenturyWreckingRevisited 234
Appendix:TwoCenturiesofShipwrecks 263
Bibliography 281
Index 305
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,6/6/2022,SPi
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,6/6/2022,SPi
List of Figures
1. WenceslasHollar,‘DutchFluyt’,fromNaviumVariaeFiguraeetForma,1647.
UsedcourtesyoftheHarrisBrisbaneDickFund,1925,TheMet. 19
2. ClaudeLorrain,‘LeNaufrage’,c.1638–1641.AilsaMellonBruceFund.Courtesy
oftheNationalGalleryofArt,Washington. 24
3. SimonNovellanusafterCorneliusCort,‘TheShipwreck’,c.1595.Rosenwald
Collection.CourtesyoftheNationalGalleryofArt,Washington. 30
4. AnExactMap...withtheSeverallCoastings,inRobertCodrington,His
MajestiesPropriety,andDominionontheBritishSeas(1665).©TheBritish
LibraryBoard,G.18167. 45
5. ADraughtoftheGoodwinSands,c.1750.©RoyalMuseumsGreenwich
Images,G216:6/7. 129
6. TheEssexSands,fromDeZeeCustentusschenDovereenOrfordtsNess,
daerdeTeemse(Antwerp,1588).WikimediaCommons. 138
7. AfterClaude-JosephVernet(1714–89),‘ShipwreckedSailors’.Dulwich
PictureGallery,London,DPG610. 179
8. LamentableNewes,ShewingtheWonderfullDeliveranceofMaisterEdmond
PetSayler(1623),titlepage.©TheBritishLibraryBoard,C.31.e.24.(6). 216
9. GeorgeMorland,Wreckers,c.1790.SouthamptonCityArtGallery/Bridgeman
Images. 239
10. ‘TheWreckoftheNymphaAmericana,aSpanishCorsair,nearBeachy
Head’.©RoyalMuseumsGreenwichImages,PAF7693. 255
