History Doesn’t Have to be Boring

By Earl Hunsinger

Are you interested in history? Do you enjoy learning about it? Even if you don’t consider yourself a history buff, don’t be too quick to deny enjoying learning about history. If you saw the 2003 movie "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" you probably learned something about history. The same could be said about the "Horatio Hornblower" series on A&E, as well as numerous other movies and television series set in various historical periods. Of course, the primary role of fiction is to entertain. Still, while some historical fiction takes great liberties with the facts (artistic license), many stories are remarkably accurate.

Consider as examples the works of fiction cited above. The movie "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" was based on a book by Patrick O'Brian, who wrote a series of books about the same characters that appear in the movie. The "Horatio Hornblower" television series was based on a series of books by C.S. Forester. Both authors relate, with a fair degree of accuracy, what life was like in the British navy during the Napoleonic era. Some practices that were common then may seem strange to us now.

• Child Officers
  
  As Navies in Transition, The British Navy Past and Present shows, it was a common practice for officers to be commissioned and enter active service in the British navy between the ages of 12 and 15. These youthful midshipmen were expected to learn their duties while at the same time maintaining the discipline among common sailors old enough to be their fathers or grandfathers.
  
  
• Press Gangs
  
  This was the interesting, and government sanctioned, practice of filling out a ship’s crew by grabbing men from a port town and impressing them into service. At times, they would even stop merchant ships at sea and forcibly kidnap sailors to fill up a ship’s company. As the free online study guide SparkNotes shows, this practice was one of the factors leading to the War of 1812.
  
  
• Prize Money
  
  A fascinating aspect of naval service in this period involves the spoils of war. The British navy had a policy whereby during times of war the officers and crew of a warship could profit by the capture of an enemy ship. This prize money came from the value of the ship when it was sold, any cargo it carried, and a small bounty for any prisoners taken. The Historical Maritime Society gives an explanation of how this money was divided. While the capture of enemy merchant ships was more profitable, money could also be made from the capture or destruction of enemy warships. This site also contains a wealth of other information about the British navy of this period.
  
  
• Rum Rations
  
  For over 300 years, the British Royal Navy included rum as an official part of each sailor’s daily food ration. Each seaman was given an eighth of a pint of 100 proof rum per day. The senior rates were allowed to drink theirs neat, while the junior rates were given their rum mixed with water. The official reason for stopping the practice was that the navy had more sophisticated equipment and weapons on board and needed sober sailors to operate it. The website Rum in the Royal Navy documents some of the ceremonies that took place when this practice was discontinued on July 31, 1970.

Many of these practices, or similar ones, were also commonly carried out by the navies of other nations during this period.

Learning about history doesn’t have to be boring. While a history textbook contains a larger quantity of information, and is (perhaps arguably) more accurate, historical fiction presents information in a form that may be more readily grasped and retained. While many pieces of historical fiction do more to confuse than to educate, entertainment value doesn’t preclude historical accuracy. So the next time you watch a movie or read a book that is set in another country and time period, be careful, you just might learn something!