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John Perkins (Royal Navy Officer)
John Perkins (died 27 January 1812), nicknamed Jack Punch, was a British Royal Navy officer. Perkins was perhaps the first mixed race commissioned officer in the Royal Navy. He rose from obscurity to be a successful ship's captain in the Georgian Royal Navy. He captained a 10-gun schooner during the American War of Independence and in a two-year period captured at least 315 enemy ships. Later in his career Perkins acted for the navy as a spy and undertook missions to Cuba and Saint-Domingue (modern day Haiti). At the start of the slave revolt in Saint-Domingue he was captured in Cap-Français and sentenced to death for supplying the rebel slaves with weapons. After his rescue he was promoted commander in 1797 and then post-captain in 1800. Perkins went on to cause an international incident with Denmark when he fired on two of their ships during peacetime. Toward the end of his career he participated in the capture of the islands of Saint Eustatia and Saba from the French. Pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The National Archives (United Kingdom)
, type = Non-ministerial department , seal = , nativename = , logo = Logo_of_The_National_Archives_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg , logo_width = 150px , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , jurisdiction = England and Wales, HM Government , headquarters = Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU , region_code = GB , coordinates = , employees = 679 , budget = £43.9 million (2009–2010) , minister1_name = Michelle Donelan , minister1_pfo = Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport , minister2_name = TBC , minister2_pfo = Parliamentary Under Secretary of State , chief1_name = Jeff James , chief1_position = Chief Executive and Keeper of the Public Records , chief2_name = , chief2_position = , chief3_name = , chief3_position = , chief4_name = , chief4_position = , chief5_name = , chief5_position = , agency_type = , chief6_name = , chief6_position = , chief7_name = , chief7_position = ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Post-captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) addressed as captain regardless of rank; * Commander (Royal Navy), Commanders, who received the title of captain as a courtesy, whether they currently had a command or not (e.g. the fictional Captain Jack Aubrey in ''Aubrey-Maturin series#Master and Commander, Master and Commander'' or the fictional Captain Horatio Hornblower in ''Hornblower and the Hotspur''); this custom is now defunct. In the Royal Navy of the 18th and 19th centuries, an officer might be promoted from commander to captain, but not have a command. Until the officer obtained a command, he was "on the beach" and on half-pay. An officer "took post" or was "made post" when he was first commissioned to command a vessel. Usually this was a rating system of the Royal Navy, ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible government, the House of Assembly superseded the (usually unelected) Legislative Council as the colonial legislature, often becoming the lower house. List of Houses of Assembly Extant National Sub-national Defunct National Sub-national See also * Legislative Assembly * Legislative Council *Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ... References {{DEFAULTSORT:House Of Assembly Legislatures ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schooner also has a square topsail on the foremast, to which may be added a topgallant. Differing definitions leave uncertain whether the addition of a fore course would make such a vessel a brigantine. Many schooners are gaff-rigged, but other examples include Bermuda rig and the staysail schooner. The origins of schooner rigged vessels is obscure, but there is good evidence of them from the early 17th century in paintings by Dutch marine artists. The name "schooner" first appeared in eastern North America in the early 1700s. The name may be related to a Scots word meaning to skip over water, or to skip stones. The schooner rig was used in vessels with a wide range of purposes. On a fast hull, good ability to windward was useful for priv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Chronicle
The ''Naval Chronicle'' was a British periodical published monthly between January, 1799 and December, 1818 (Huntington). It contained information about the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, including biographies, histories, news, and essays on nautical subjects, as well as poems and ballads on a variety of related topics (Jeffery). The founders were James Stanier Clarke and John McArthur, and the editorial staff included Stephen Jones and his brother John Jones (father of John Winter Jones). Contributors included Francis Gibson, and Charles Vinicombe Penrose under initials as pseudonyms. Nicholas Pocock Nicholas Pocock (2 March 1740 – 9 March 1821) was an English artist known for his many detailed paintings of naval battles during the age of sail. Birth and early career at sea Pocock was born in Bristol in 1740, the son of a seaman.Chatte ... provided a long series of illustrations. Notes {{reflist References *Huntington Library Catalog *Jeffery, Walter James. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maritime Pilot
A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professionals in navigation as they are required to know immense details of waterways such as depth, currents, and hazards, as well as displaying expertise in handling ships of all types and size. Obtaining the title 'maritime pilot' requires being an expert ship handler licensed or authorised by a recognised pilotage authority. History The word ''pilot'' is believed to have come from the Middle French, ''pilot'', ''pillot'', from Italian, ''pilota'', from Late Latin, ''pillottus''; ultimately from Ancient Greek πηδόν (pēdón, "blade of an oar, oar"). The work functions of the pilot can be traced back to Ancient Greece and Rome, when locally experienced harbour captains, mainly local fishermen, were employed by incoming ships' captains to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamaica Station (Royal Navy)
The Jamaica Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed at Port Royal in Jamaica from 1655 to 1830. History The station was formed, following the capture of Jamaica, by assembling about a dozen frigates in 1655. The first "Admiral and General-at-Sea" was Sir William Penn.Cundall, p. xx Its main objectives in the early years were to defend Jamaica and to harass Spanish ports and shipping. In the late 1720s three successive commanders of the station lost their lives to tropical diseases while undertaking a Blockade of Porto Bello during the Anglo-Spanish War. The general ill-health associated with the station continued throughout the century. An assessment of Navy strength at the Jamaica station in 1742 found around 3,000 men were fit to serve out of a total Navy complement of 6,620. A Navy hospital was constructed in 1745 but its location was poor and many patients brought in for shipboard diseases developed additional tropical illnesses while i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the first, largest, fastest, most heavily armed, or best known. Over the years, the term "flagship" has become a metaphor used in industries such as broadcasting, automobiles, education, technology, airlines, and retail to refer to their highest profile or most expensive products and locations. Naval use In common naval use, the term ''flagship'' is fundamentally a temporary designation; the flagship is wherever the admiral's flag is being flown. However, admirals have always needed additional facilities, including a meeting room large enough to hold all the captains of the fleet and a place for the admiral's staff to make plans and draw up orders. Historically, only larger ships could accommodate such requirements. The term was also used by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Lucayan Archipelago. The subregion includes all the islands in the Antilles, plus The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are in the North Atlantic Ocean. Nowadays, the term West Indies is often interchangeable with the term Caribbean, although the latter may also include some Central and South American mainland nations which have Caribbean coastlines, such as Belize, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname, as well as the Atlantic island nations of Barbados, Bermuda, and Trinidad and Tobago, all of which are geographically distinct from the three main island groups, but culturally related. Origin and use of the term In 1492, Christopher Columbus became the first European to record his arri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuverability, intended to be used in scouting, escort and patrol roles. The term was applied loosely to ships varying greatly in design. In the second quarter of the 18th century, the 'true frigate' was developed in France. This type of vessel was characterised by possessing only one armed deck, with an unarmed deck below it used for berthing the crew. Late in the 19th century (British and French prototypes were constructed in 1858), armoured frigates were developed as powerful ironclad warships, the term frigate was used because of their single gun deck. Later developments in ironclad ships rendered the frigate designation obsolete and the term fell out of favour. During the Second World War the name 'frigate' was reintroduced to des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ship-of-the-line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two columns of opposing warships maneuvering to volley fire with the cannons along their broadsides. In conflicts where opposing ships were both able to fire from their broadsides, the opponent with more cannons firingand therefore more firepowertypically had an advantage. Since these engagements were almost invariably won by the heaviest ships carrying more of the most powerful guns, the natural progression was to build sailing vessels that were the largest and most powerful of their time. From the end of the 1840s, the introduction of steam power brought less dependence on the wind in battle and led to the construction of screw-driven wooden-hulled ships of the line; a number of purely sail-powered ships were converted to this propulsion mechani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
74-gun
The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-developed 64-gun ships. Impressed with the performance of several captured French seventy-fours, the British Royal Navy quickly adopted similar designs, classing them as third rates. The type then spread to the Spanish, Dutch, Danish and Russian navies. The design was considered a good balance between firepower and sailing qualities. Hundreds of seventy-fours were constructed, becoming the dominant form of ship-of-the-line. They remained the mainstay of most major fleets into the early 19th century. From the 1820s, they began to be replaced by larger two-decked ships mounting more guns. However some seventy-fours remained in service until the late 19th century, when they were finally supplanted by ironclads. Standardising on a common ship s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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