Sources and methods in the British impressment debate. (November 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dancy, J. Ross
• Is Part Of: International journal of maritime history. Volume 30:Number 4(2018)
• Page Start: 733
• Page End: 746
• Publication Date: 2018-11
• Subjects: 18th century -- British naval recruitment -- impressment -- law -- protest -- Royal Navy; Navigation -- History -- Periodicals; Shipping -- History -- Periodicals; 387.509005
• DOI: 10.1177/0843871418808934
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0843-8714

Abstract

British naval impressment has been the subject of debate for centuries. In the 18th century, it produced political debates and resistance from maritime communities, and it was generally disliked by naval officers tasked with pressing men into naval service. After the effective end of the practice in 1815, it was hotly debated in parliament and finally abolished in the mid-19th century. Since then, impressment has been the topic of a scholarly debate that has become increasingly active over the last two decades. In the 21st century, impressment matters for its political and moral implications. The modern debate has, regrettably, broken down and entrenched historians into camps where the different sides have begun to talk past one another, rather than examining how different approaches to the subject actually fit together. This article examines the current state of the debate and offers a path forward that illustrates that none of the scholarly approaches are mutually exclusive. Rather, they can be combined to produce a greater historical understanding of the 18th-century Atlantic world.