Prize money and the
Royal Navy
by Jayne Davis
In
Persuasion, Jane Austen’s Lieutenant Wentworth was considered an
unsuitable match by Anne Elliot’s friend Lady Russell, as he was not rich nor
did he have high family connections. Lady Russell persuaded Anne to end the
engagement. Years later he returns as Captain Wentworth, considerably richer
due to prize money, and that is where the novel starts.
What
was prize money?
I
have read one or two Regency novels where the author refers to an army officer
becoming rich from prize money, but this was much more likely to happen in the navy. Army prize money was paid for a whole campaign and, like naval prize money, was the income from selling captured enemy goods. It was shared out between all the men who took part in the campaign--a far larger number of shares than would be involved in a sea battle. Look out for a future blog post on this.
Attention
often focusses on the large and famous battles, such as Trafalgar, but many
naval actions were small-scale: capturing an enemy frigate or sloop, or a
merchantman. Prize money was intended to motivate sailors, and it certainly
did.
Most
prize money came from the sale of such merchant ships and their cargoes,
although the sale could not take place until a Prize Court had assessed the
capture and confirmed it was legitimate. For example, a captured merchantman
from a neutral country would have to be returned to its owners. Lest this prize
money encourage naval captains to concentrate their efforts on merchantmen
instead of enemy warships (which is what they were supposed to be doing), ‘head
money’ was paid for every sailor on board captured naval vessels. If in good
condition, the Admiralty might buy a captured warship and use it, and the sale
price became part of the prize money.
Frigates
often operated alone or in small groups, and stood the best chance of capturing
valuable prizes. Large warships like HMS Victory operated in fleets, and
usually engaged other enemy fleets rather than chasing down merchantmen. The
chances for winning prize money were much less than for crews of smaller
vessels.
How
was the money shared out?
The
prize money from an action was shared out between all ships involved. Fair
enough, you might say, if two frigates collaborated to capture a small convoy,
then all on board both frigates should share the reward. However if another
naval ship was in sight they, too, would take a share of the money even if they
had taken no part in the action. The reasoning behind this was that the
presence of that other ship (or ships) might encourage the enemy captain to
surrender rather than continuing to fight—knowing that even if he defeated his current
attackers, there were more to come and he would likely lose in the end.
If
the ships involved were sailing under the command of a local Admiral (as
opposed to sailing under direct orders from the Admiralty), that flag officer
took 1/8 of the prize money.
Once
a share of the prize money had been allocated to each ship involved in an
action, it was further divided between members of the crew. Ignoring the Flag
Officer’s 1/8th:
1/4
to the Captain
1/8
shared between the Master and Lieutenants, Captain of Marines, Surgeon
1/8
shared between Lieutenants of Marines, Principal Warrant Officers
1/8
shared between Midshipmen, other Warrant Officers, Sergeants of Marines
1/4
to everyone else
Within
these groups of people, the money was not shared equally. For example, able
seaman (the most highly trained/skilled) got more than ordinary seamen, who in
turn got more than landmen.
The
actual sharing out of the prize money was done by prize agents, who often hung
onto the money for some years (accruing interest), to the frustration of the
intended recipients.
An
interesting snippet that I came across while researching for this post was that
the prize was property that belonged to the whole crew. For example, a frigate
might capture a small merchantman that the captain didn’t consider worth the
loss of manpower to take back to Britain. He could confiscate and sell the
cargo, and sell the ship back to its owners – but only if the majority of the
crew agreed with this course of action.
 HMS Blanche towing la Pique, a French prize.The tactical situation might not always allow a prize to be delivered to a suitable port. |
How
much was it worth?
This blog
post includes
a table of the pay of officers and warrant officers. An able seaman would earn
around 24 shillings a month, an ordinary seaman 19 shillings, and a landman 18
shillings. Deductions were made for contributions to the Greenwich Hospital and
the Chatham Chest (which provided pensions for the ‘sick and hurt’), amounting
to around 1s 6d per month.
The
naval ‘month’ was the lunar month, so there were 13 months in a year (they
weren’t actually paid monthly, but that is for a different post). After
deductions the above becomes annual pay of £14 12 s 6d for an able seaman, down
to £10 13s 2d for a landman. In the mid 19th Century these were good
wages compared to agricultural workers, but inflation in the latter part of the
century (and no naval pay rises) gradually changed this situation. This was one
of the factors that caused the mutinies in 1797, after which pay was increased.
I
haven’t been able to find average amounts of prize money; the example that
always seems to be quoted is the capture of two Spanish frigates by four
British frigates in 1799.
The Spanish ships were carrying a valuable cargo, resulting in one of the
largest prize money payouts ever made – a total of nearly £620,000. Each
captain gained over £40,000, each seaman £182 (many times their yearly pay).
 |
| HMS Ethalion in pursuit of the Thetis – two of the six ships involved in the action described above. |
Most
price money payments would be far less than this, but even £20 would be more than
a year’s wages for an able seaman.
Sauce for the
Gander
By Jayne Davis
A duel. An
ultimatum. An arranged marriage.
England, 1777
William Stanlake,
Viscount Wingrave, whiles away his time gambling and having affairs, thwarted
in his wish to serve his country by his controlling father. Then a deceived
husband and a challenge to a duel change everything.
Constance Charters
is an unwanted daughter, relegated to keeping house for her impoverished but
socially ambitious father. When the Earl of Marstone wants a bride at short
notice for his errant son, her father eagerly accepts the match. But Connie
wants a husband who will respect her for herself, not an idle profligate.
Both are coerced
into the marriage, but their new home holds unexpected dangers. Can they
overcome the forces against them and forge the lives they want for themselves?
Sauce for the
Gander is the first book in the Marstone Series--a set of standalone
stories with some characters in common. Each book is a complete story with no
major cliffhangers, although there might sometimes be a minor plot thread to be
resolved in a later book.
Pick up your copy
of
Sauce for the
Gander
Or, read for FREE
with
Jayne
Davis
Jayne
Davis writes historical romances set in the late Georgian/Regency era,
published as both ebooks and paperbacks.
She
was hooked on Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer as a teenager, and longed to
write similar novels herself. Real life intervened, and she had several
careers, including as a non-fiction author under another name. That
wasn't quite the writing career she had in mind...
Finally,
she got around to polishing up stories written for her own amusement in long
winter evenings, and became the kind of author she’d dreamed of in her teens.
She is now working on the first few books in the Marstone Series, set in the
late Georgian/early Regency period.
References
N A M Rodger, The Wooden World.
Nelson and His Navy – Prize Money, The Historical Maritime
Image
rights
All ship
paintings – Wikimedia commons
Header
image – flag and coins bought from Deposit photos under subscription
arrangement, ship is one of the paintings above.
What an interesting article, Jayne. It was very good to see how a prize was divided up between a ship's crew.
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