Northern Exposure: Resistance to Naval Impressment in British North America, 1775–1815
Abstract: Focusing on resistance, this article examines naval impressment in British North America from 1775 to 1815. Although neglected in Canadian historiography, press gangs sparked urban unrest and political turmoil in seaports such as Halifax, St John's, and Quebec City. Impressment reache...
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University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress)
2010
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/chr.91.2.199 https://utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/chr.91.2.199 |
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crunivtoronpr:10.3138/chr.91.2.199 2024-02-11T10:06:26+01:00 Northern Exposure: Resistance to Naval Impressment in British North America, 1775–1815 Mercer, Keith 2010 http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/chr.91.2.199 https://utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/chr.91.2.199 en eng University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) Canadian Historical Review volume 91, issue 2, page 199-232 ISSN 0008-3755 1710-1093 Religious studies History journal-article 2010 crunivtoronpr https://doi.org/10.3138/chr.91.2.199 2024-01-16T19:06:08Z Abstract: Focusing on resistance, this article examines naval impressment in British North America from 1775 to 1815. Although neglected in Canadian historiography, press gangs sparked urban unrest and political turmoil in seaports such as Halifax, St John's, and Quebec City. Impressment reached into most coastal areas of British North America by the early nineteenth century and its sailors and inhabitants employed a range of strategies to resist it. They also confronted it directly, sometimes with violent results. Press gang riots in St John's in 1794 and Halifax in 1805 led to a prohibition on impressment on shore for much of the Napoleonic Wars. Popular protest served as the catalyst for official resistance to the British Navy and had a lasting impact on civil–naval relations in the North Atlantic world. While the study of popular disturbances in Canadian history usually begins in the mid-nineteenth century, this paper shows that they were important in earlier generations as well. This was often the result of tensions caused by imperial warfare and quarrels with military personnel. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic University of Toronto Press (U Toronto Press) Canadian Historical Review 91 2 199 232 |
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University of Toronto Press (U Toronto Press) |
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crunivtoronpr |
language |
English |
topic |
Religious studies History |
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Religious studies History Mercer, Keith Northern Exposure: Resistance to Naval Impressment in British North America, 1775–1815 |
topic_facet |
Religious studies History |
description |
Abstract: Focusing on resistance, this article examines naval impressment in British North America from 1775 to 1815. Although neglected in Canadian historiography, press gangs sparked urban unrest and political turmoil in seaports such as Halifax, St John's, and Quebec City. Impressment reached into most coastal areas of British North America by the early nineteenth century and its sailors and inhabitants employed a range of strategies to resist it. They also confronted it directly, sometimes with violent results. Press gang riots in St John's in 1794 and Halifax in 1805 led to a prohibition on impressment on shore for much of the Napoleonic Wars. Popular protest served as the catalyst for official resistance to the British Navy and had a lasting impact on civil–naval relations in the North Atlantic world. While the study of popular disturbances in Canadian history usually begins in the mid-nineteenth century, this paper shows that they were important in earlier generations as well. This was often the result of tensions caused by imperial warfare and quarrels with military personnel. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mercer, Keith |
author_facet |
Mercer, Keith |
author_sort |
Mercer, Keith |
title |
Northern Exposure: Resistance to Naval Impressment in British North America, 1775–1815 |
title_short |
Northern Exposure: Resistance to Naval Impressment in British North America, 1775–1815 |
title_full |
Northern Exposure: Resistance to Naval Impressment in British North America, 1775–1815 |
title_fullStr |
Northern Exposure: Resistance to Naval Impressment in British North America, 1775–1815 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Northern Exposure: Resistance to Naval Impressment in British North America, 1775–1815 |
title_sort |
northern exposure: resistance to naval impressment in british north america, 1775–1815 |
publisher |
University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/chr.91.2.199 https://utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/chr.91.2.199 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Canadian Historical Review volume 91, issue 2, page 199-232 ISSN 0008-3755 1710-1093 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3138/chr.91.2.199 |
container_title |
Canadian Historical Review |
container_volume |
91 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
199 |
op_container_end_page |
232 |
_version_ |
1790604146889457664 |