The 1797 Naval Mutinies and Popular Protest in Britain Negotiation through Collective Action

This book offers a holistic re-evaluation of the Spithead and Nore mutinies of 1797, which immobilised the two Royal Navy fleets responsible for Britain's defence at a time when invasion seemed likely. The mutinies represent two of the most serious manifestations of collective resistance in eighteenth-century Britain, yet they have received relatively little attention in recent historiography. This book challenges the predominant view that the mutinies represented attempts at revolutionary uprising, arguing that the mutineers were instead focused on the mutineers' understanding of 'fairness' and focused on securing appropriate wages. In doing so, it presents an opportunity to scrutinise foundational elements of British society, from notions of reciprocal rights and responsibilities, to relations between the state and individuals.

Ch 1: Introduction.- Part I: Causation.- Ch 2: Wages of Discontent.- Ch 3: A Matter of ‘Good Usage’.- Part II: Course.- Ch 4: The Wooden World Turned Upside Down.- Ch 5: The Everyday Life of Mutiny.- Part III: Aftermath.- Ch 6: Mercy Strained: Punishment and the Restoration of Order.- Ch 7: A Contest of Memory: Forgetting the Fleet Mutinies.- Ch 8: Conclusion.

Callum Easton is a social, economic, and maritime historian of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain and the British maritime world, based in the United Kingdom. In 2025 he was awarded the Sir Julian Corbett Prize in Modern Naval History.