CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IN THE ROYAL NAVY Discipline on the Leeward Islands Station 1784-1812

Hardback. There is a long tradition of viewing discipline in the Navy as being administered by tyrannical petty officers eager to use the 'cat' for any transgression of the draconian naval laws. Evidence mainly came from contemporary accounts designed more for political propaganda than historical accuracy. The author shows that the laws enforced at sea were in fact similar to those of the 18th-century English system of criminal justice. He redresses the balance and places naval law and its administration in a wider context. With Map, List of Tables, List of abbreviations, Conclusion, Appendices (one of which includes surveys of punishment meted out) + Index. 251pp. 8vo. h/back. With tiny label to fpd o/w F. in Vg+ dw. which has sl. creasing to top edge of back cover.