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Shanghai (verb)
Shanghaiing or crimping is the practice of kidnapping people to serve as sailors by coercive techniques such as trickery, intimidation, or violence. Those engaged in this form of kidnapping were known as ''crimps''. The related term ''press gang'' refers specifically to impressment practices in Great Britain's Royal Navy. Etymology The verb "shanghai" joined the lexicon with "crimping" and "sailor thieves" in the 1850s, possibly because Shanghai was a common destination of the ships with abducted crews. The term has since expanded to mean "kidnapped" or "induced to do something by means of fraud or coercion." Background Crimps flourished in port cities like London and Liverpool in England and in San Francisco, Portland, Astoria, Seattle, Savannah, and Port Townsend in the United States. On the West Coast of the United States, Portland eventually surpassed San Francisco for shanghaiing. On the East Coast of the United States, New York easily led the way, followed by Boston, Phil ...
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Sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the sailor is old, and the term ''sailor'' has its etymological roots in a time when sailing ships were the main mode of transport at sea, but it now refers to the personnel of all watercraft regardless of the mode of transport, and encompasses people who operate ships professionally, be it for a military navy or civilian merchant navy, as a sport or recreationally. In a navy, there may be further distinctions: ''sailor'' may refer to any member of the navy even if they are based on land; while Seaman (rank), ''seaman'' may refer to a specific enlisted rank. Professional mariners Seafarers hold a variety of professions and ranks, each of which carries unique responsibilities which are integral to the successful operation of an ocean-going vesse ...
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Maguire Act Of 1895
The Maguire Act of 1895 (, enacted February 18, 1895) is a United States Federal statute that abolished the practice of imprisoning sailors who deserted from coastwise vessels. The act was sponsored by representative James G. Maguire of San Francisco, California. Before this legislation, a right to leave the ship existed only for a seaman who "correctly" believed his life to be in danger. This law extended the right in cases where the seaman feared physical abuse from other shipboard personnel. Notes References * * * * * See also * White Act of 1898 * Dingley Act of 1884 *Shanghaiing *Maritime history of the United States *Shipping Commissioners Act of 1872 The Shipping Commissioners Act of 1872 was a United States law dealing with American mariners serving in the United States Merchant Marine. Among other things, the act: *was passed to combat crimps.Bauer, 1988:284. *required that a sailor had to ... {{DEFAULTSORT:Maguire Act Of 1895 1895 in American law United ...
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Sinking Of The RMS Titanic
The sank in the early morning hours of 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, ''Titanic'' had an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg at around 23:40 (ship's time) on Sunday, 14 April 1912. Her sinking two hours and forty minutes later at 02:20 (ship's time; 05:18 GMT) on Monday, 15 April, resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. ''Titanic'' received six warnings of sea ice on 14 April but was travelling about 22 knots when her lookouts sighted the iceberg. Unable to turn quickly enough, the ship suffered a glancing blow that buckled her starboard side and opened six of her sixteen compartments to the sea. ''Titanic'' had been designed to stay afloat with four of her forward compartments flooded but no more, and the crew soon realised that the ship ...
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Dingley Act (shipping)
The Dingley Act of 1884 was a United States law introduced by U.S. Representative Nelson Dingley, Jr. of Maine dealing with American mariners serving in the United States Merchant Marine. Among other things, the act: *prohibited advances on wages,Bauer, 1988:285. and *limited the making of seamen's allotments (payment of part of a seaman's wages to another party) to only close relatives. In 1886, a loophole to the ''Dingley Act'' was created, allowing boardinghouse keepers to receive seamen's allotments. The legislation replaced the Shipping Commissioners Act of 1872. Notes References * * See also *Shanghaiing *Maritime history of the United States The maritime history of the United States is a broad theme within the history of the United States. As an academic subject, it crosses the boundaries of standard disciplines, focusing on understanding the United States' relationship with the ocea ... 1884 in American law United States federal admiralty and maritime l ...
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Shipping Commissioners Act Of 1872
The Shipping Commissioners Act of 1872 was a United States law dealing with American mariners serving in the United States Merchant Marine. Among other things, the act: *was passed to combat crimps.Bauer, 1988:284. *required that a sailor had to sign on to a ship in the presence of a federal shipping commissioner. *required that a seaman be paid off in person. The presence of a shipping commissioner was intended to ensure the sailor wasn't "forcibly or unknowingly signed on by a crimp." The legislation was modeled on England’s Merchant Shipping Act of 1854. See also *Shanghaiing *Maritime history of the United States *Slave Trade Act Slave Trade Act is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and the United States that relates to the slave trade. The "See also" section lists other Slave Acts, laws, and international conventions which developed the conce ...s Notes References * * 1872 in American law United States federal admiralty and marit ...
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Klondike, Yukon
The klondike () is a region of the territory of Yukon, in northwestern Canada. It lies around the Klondike River, a small river that enters the Yukon River from the east at Dawson City. The area is merely an informal geographic region, and has no function to the territory as any kind of administrative region. The Klondike is famed due to the Klondike Gold Rush, which started in 1896 and lasted until 1899. Gold has been mined continuously in that area, except for a pause in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The name "Klondike" evolved from the Hän word ''Tr'ondëk'', which means "hammerstone water". Early gold seekers found it difficult to pronounce the First Nations word, so "Klondike" was the best approximation. Climate The climate is warm in the short summer, and very cold during the long winter. By late October, ice forms over the rivers. For the majority of the year, the ground is frozen to a depth of . Politics Klondike is a district of the Legislative Assembly of ...
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Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., it borders the Canadian province of British Columbia and the Yukon territory to the east; it also shares a maritime border with the Russian Federation's Chukotka Autonomous Okrug to the west, just across the Bering Strait. To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas of the Arctic Ocean, while the Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southwest. Alaska is by far the largest U.S. state by area, comprising more total area than the next three largest states (Texas, California, and Montana) combined. It represents the seventh-largest subnational division in the world. It is the third-least populous and the most sparsely populated state, but by far the continent's most populous territory located mostly north of the 60th parallel, ...
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Joseph Kelly (crimper)
Joseph "Bunko" Kelly was an English hotelier of the 19th century who kidnapped men and sold them to work on ships. The terms "Shanghaiing" and "crimping" are used to describe this type of activity. By his own account, he Shanghaied about 2,000 men and women during his 15-year career, beginning in 1879. History Kelly, later called "The King of the Crimps", received his "Bunko" nickname in 1885 Spider Johnson says October 189/ref> by providing a crewman that turned out to be a cigar store Indian. Kelly made $50 on the deal. In one infamous deal in 1893, he delivered 22Some sources say 20, other say 24. men who had mistakenly consumed embalming fluid from the open cellar of a mortuary. He sold all the men, most of whom were dead, to a captain who sailed before the truth was discovered. He got $52 for each man. Once, he set a record for crimping, by rounding up 50 men in 3 hours. Kelly was never arrested for crimping because it was not illegal at the time. He was however arrested ...
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James Kelly (crimper)
James Kelly, better known as "Shanghai" Kelly, was an American crimp of the 19th century who kidnapped men and forced them to work on ships. The terms " crimping" and "shanghaiing" are used to describe this type of work. Kelly wore a red beard and had a fiery temper to match. A legendary figure in San Francisco history, Kelly was known for his gift of supplying or shanghaiing men to understaffed ships. Kelly kept a boarding house in San Francisco, variously reported to be on Pacific or Broadway. He also ran a number of bars including the Boston House, at the corner of Davis and Chambers streets near the waterfront.Smith, 2007. He also ran a saloon and boarding house at No. 33 Pacific between Drumm and Davis streets. These businesses provided Kelly with a steady supply of victims. In the early 1870s, Kelly was reported to have shanghaied 100 men for three understaffed ships in a single evening. Renting the paddle steamer ''Goliath'', he announced that he was hosting a free bo ...
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Blood Money (restitution)
Blood money, also called bloodwit, is money or some sort of compensation paid by an offender (usually a murderer) or their family group to the family or kin group of the victim. Particular examples and uses Blood money is, colloquially, the reward for bringing a criminal to justice. A common meaning in other contexts is the money-penalty paid by a murderer to the kinsfolk of the victim. These fines completely protect the offender (or the kinsfolk thereof) from the vengeance of the injured family. The system was common among Germanic peoples as part of the Ancient Germanic law before the introduction of Christianity (weregild), and a scale of payments, graduated according to the heinousness of the crime, was fixed by laws, which further settled who could exact the blood-money, and who were entitled to share it. Homicide was not the only crime thus expiable: blood-money could be exacted for most crimes of violence. Some acts, such as killing someone in a church or while asleep, or w ...
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New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American people. English colonists bought the land on which New Bedford would later be built from the Wampanoag in 1652, and the original colonial settlement that would later become the city was founded by English Quakers in the late 17th century. The town of New Bedford itself was officially incorporated in 1787. During the first half of the 19th century, New Bedford was one of the world's most important whaling ports. At its economic height during this period, New Bedford was the wealthiest city in the world per capita. New Bedford was also a center of abolitionism at this time. The city attracted many freed or escaped African-American slaves, including Frederick Douglass, who lived there from 1838 until 1841. The city also served as the primary ...
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