Poseidon's Curse
British Naval Impressment and Atlantic Origins of the American Revolution

An investigation of the Atlantic origins of the American Revolution, focusing on the British navy's impressment of American ships and mariners.

Christopher P. Magra (Author)

9781107531055, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 21 February 2019

349 pages
22.8 x 15 x 2.1 cm, 0.45 kg

'Magra's study is distinguished by the attention given to merchants and to impressment's effect on their commerce. Most studies of impressment focus on the conflicting interests of the British Admiralty and the sailors, with mercantile interests presented primarily as competitors with the former for the labor of the latter. Few provide anything like the detailed examination of merchants' commercial relationships that Magra supplies. Merchants' economic experiences are reconstructed in powerful and engaging detail in Poseidon's Curse.' Timothy Jenks, The American Historical Review

Poseidon's Curse interprets the American Revolution from the vantage point of the Atlantic Ocean. Christopher P. Magra traces how British naval impressment played a leading role in the rise of Great Britain's seaborne empire, yet ultimately contributed significantly to its decline. Long reliant on appropriating free laborers to man the warships that defended British colonies and maritime commerce, the British severely jeopardized mariners' earning potential and occupational mobility, which led to deep resentment toward the British Empire. Magra explains how anger about impressment translated into revolutionary ideology, with impressment eventually occupying a major role in the Declaration of Independence as one of the foremost grievances Americans had with the British government.

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Seapower and commerce: an Atlantic minuet
2. British naval impressment in the Atlantic world
3. Profits
4. Property
5. Liberty
6. Earnings
7. Employment
8. Liberty
9. A spirit of rebellion
10. Rebellious acts
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Colonialism & imperialism [HBTQ], Maritime history [HBTM]