The early years of the war had…
April 1797 CE
The navy has expanded from one hundred and thirty-four ships at the start of the conflict in 1793, to 633 by 1797, and personnel had increased from forty-five thousand men to one hundred and twenty thousand an achievement possible only as a result of the impressment service, which abducts criminals, beggars and unwilling conscripts for compulsory service at sea.
Wages have not been increased since 1653, and are usually months late, rations are terrible, shore leave forbidden and discipline harsh.
Tensions in the fleet have been gradually rising since the start of the war, and in February 1797, anonymous sailors from the Channel Fleet at Spithead had sent letters to their former commander, Lord Howe, soliciting his support in improving their conditions.
The list had been deliberately ignored on the instructions of First Lord of the Admiralty Lord Spencer, and, on April 16, the sailors respond with the Spithead Mutiny: a largely peaceful strike action led by a delegation of seamen from each ship tasked with negotiating with the authorities and enforcing discipline.
For a month the fleet remains at stalemate, until Lord Howe is able to negotiate a series of improvements in conditions that enable the strikers to return to regular service.
The mutiny has achieved almost all of its aims; increasing pay, removing unpopular officers and improving conditions for the men serving in the Channel Fleet and, ultimately, the whole navy.
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