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

“This is a truly original and convincing interpretation, which not only explains the naval mutinies of 1797 much better than any previous attempt, but throws out new and persuasive ideas in every direction. It’s a real firework, which I expect will inspire all sorts of new initiatives in different periods and contexts.” (N.A.M. Rodger, Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford, UK)

“Callum Easton has thought deeply about the complexities of the great naval mutinies of 1797, and why they happened. Other historians have pushed these events into ideological frameworks, or considered only part of the evidence. He delves painstakingly into the ordinary resentments of seamen, over pay and their feeling that they had been forgotten by the state. This is a comprehensive and well-organised book, with convincing conclusions. In all, a very important contribution.” (Roger Knight, author of Convoys: The British Struggle against Napoleonic Europe and America)

“Enhanced by widely researched chapters on the crucial role of ships’ masters and the civilian/judicial context of courts martial, which negotiated justice, punishment and reconciliation, Easton meticulously contextualises the 1797 naval mutinies within “new naval history” and the wider historiography of collective protest. He differentiates them from contemporary social protests by ships’ physical isolation from land, which itself distinguishes seaboard culture. While authenticating their many ties to terrestrial culture, Easton delivers an exceptional delineation of the sailors’ particular behaviour during a remarkable wartime event.” (Ann Veronica Coats, Associate Professor in Maritime History, University of Portsmouth, UK)

“It is one of the great failings of British naval history—indeed, British history—that the great mutinies have escaped academic scrutiny. No longer! Finally, we have the study we’ve been waiting for. Easton provides a reasoned, detailed account, informed by the latest scholarship. Unlike so many who have gone before him, he refuses to be distracted by conspiracy theories. He evokes the hopes and fears of the mutineers through a close reading of the available sources, while simultaneously situating the mutinies in their time and place. This book is a truly remarkable debut from a scholar of great promise.” (Evan Wilson, Associate Professor, John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research, U.S. Naval War College, Annapolis, Maryland, US)

“Callum Easton’s compelling new analysis situates these totemic events in the wider context of war and social unrest – critically the Navy managed the crisis without weakening national security.” (Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History, King’s College, London, UK)

“This is a truly original and convincing interpretation, which not only explains the naval mutinies of 1797 much better than any previous attempt, but throws out new and persuasive ideas in every direction. It’s a real firework, which I expect will inspire all sorts of new initiatives in different periods and contexts.”

—N.A.M. Rodger, Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford, UK

“It is one of the great failings of British naval history—indeed, British history—that the great mutinies have escaped academic scrutiny. No longer! Finally, we have the study we’ve been waiting for. Easton provides a reasoned, detailed account, informed by the latest scholarship. Unlike so many who have gone before him, he refuses to be distracted by conspiracy theories. He evokes the hopes and fears of the mutineers through a close reading of the available sources, while simultaneously situating the mutinies in their time and place. This book is a truly remarkable debut from a scholar of great promise.”

—Evan Wilson, Associate Professor, John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research, U.S. Naval War College, Annapolis, Maryland, US

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.

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.