# Hierarchies among 18th century British sailors.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hierarchies-among-18th-century-british-sailors/679615>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 24, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hierarchies-among-18th-century-british-sailors/679615 "2014-01-24T15:44:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hierarchies-among-18th-century-british-sailors/679615/21 "2014-01-26T15:19:03Z")

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> [@Snnipe\_70E](#):
>
> But US it is Hawspipe.

Actually, hawsepipe.

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hierarchies-among-18th-century-british-sailors/679615/22 "2014-01-26T19:56:12Z")

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> [@davidmich](#):
>
> If N A M Rodgers “The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy” is the definitive book on the Royal Navy what in your opinion would be the definitive book on the Georgian British Army?  
> davidmich

Actually Rodgers is a little dated now:

Try: \*Life in Nelsons Navy \*by Dudley Pope,  
_Feeding Nelsons Navy_ by MacDonald  
_Between the Devil and the Deep Blue sea_ by Rediker  
_The Life & Times of Horatio Hornblower_ by Parkinson

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**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hierarchies-among-18th-century-british-sailors/679615/23 "2014-01-26T23:24:22Z")

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Thanks for those titles Dr Deth. Thank you all.  
davidmich

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**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hierarchies-among-18th-century-british-sailors/679615/24 "2014-01-27T01:04:53Z")

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Not as scholarly as what’s been suggested, but [Stephen Biesty’s Cross-Sections: Man-Of-War](http://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Biestys-Cross-Sections-Richard-Platt/dp/156458321X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1390784009&sr=8-6&keywords=Biesty) is a fascinating book, covering not just the physical layout of the ship but also the crew and what everyone did.

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**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hierarchies-among-18th-century-british-sailors/679615/25 "2014-01-27T03:30:06Z")

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Thanks Lumpy. Any opinions on a definitive book on the Georgian British Army?  
davidmich

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**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hierarchies-among-18th-century-british-sailors/679615/26 "2014-01-27T20:00:30Z")

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> [@MarcusF](#):
>
> … N A M Rodgers, whose book \*The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy \*is the definitive text…

That book has a wonderful chapter on patronage, which explains the whole system very clearly (especially for this not-very-social guy) and shows that, contrary to our modern-day attitude, the system worked pretty well.

in fact, a number of large corporations are run by it even now. 🙂

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