Read Online Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany by Julian Stockwin - Free Book Online
Authors: Julian Stockwin
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another he was severely injured in the leg with a musket ball.
Meanwhile Defiance had managed to come alongside and the boarding party leapt to the deck. Through the smoke one of the first people Captain Durham spotted on Aigle was Spratt, his bloody leg dangling over the rail. ‘Captain, poor old Jack Spratt is done up at last,’ he called out, and he was hauled back aboard Defiance .
Spratt was taken to the surgeon, who wanted to amputate the leg, but he refused. The surgeon appealed to Durham to intervene and order the operation. The captain tried to reason with Spratt, but he merely held up his good leg and said, ‘Never! If I lose my leg, where shall I find a match for this?’
Spratt was landed at Gibraltar, where he was hospitalised for four months. He kept his leg but was lame for the rest of his life. He achieved the rank of commander and retired to Devon, where he was often seen riding on a small Dartmoor pony. Despite his incapacity Spratt retained his swimming skills and when he was nearly 60 years old he swam a 23-km race for a wager and won.
THE FIRST EUROPEAN sea voyages that impelled the West into an unparalleled age of world discovery and trade were launched by Portugal’s Prince Henry the Navigator in the early fifteenth century. Before that voyages had been coastal, keeping always within sight of land. Other nations quickly followed the Portuguese, notably the Spanish, the Dutch and the English. For the often illiterate sailors crewing the ships, these voyages were frightening journeys into the unknown. Many had fears that they would perish horribly in the infamous Green Sea of Darkness, a terrifying place of lurking monsters and boiling seas.
But more than a century before Christopher Columbus set sail, China mounted seven great exploration voyages under Zheng He, the Admiral of the Western Seas. He sailed to western Asia, Africa and Arabia, visiting some 40 countries. Zheng He’s voyages heralded a momentous period of exploration and trade for China.
In the Golden Age of Sail inventive minds were tackling every kind of problem, from how to plot your position to ship-to-shore rescue. One of the most poignant of their achievements was Henry Winstanley’s lighthouse on the Eddystone reef, the first to be built in the open sea. It was a true feat of human invention and withstood a fiercely unforgiving environment for five years. During the titanic storm of 1703 Winstanley was on it with his men. When the tempest abated he and his lighthouse had completely vanished.
Engraved world map, from a book printed in 1628 compiled by Francis Drake’s nephew .
A DMIRAL OF THE WESTERN SEAS
Zheng He was a Muslim born in China’s mountainous province of Yunnan in 1372. The Ming Dynasty had been established in 1368, bringing to an end Mongol rule. At the age of 11, Zheng He was captured and castrated when Ming forces were sent to Yunnan to destroy the last stronghold of the old regime. His reputation for bravery had been noted, however, and he was assigned to a royal household where over time he became very powerful. As an adult he was described as brave and quick-witted, a tall, heavy man with clear-cut features, long earlobes and a stride like a tiger.
When his master seized the Peacock Throne and became Emperor Yong Le, he made Zheng He ‘Admiral of the Western Seas’. Over the next three years an incredible flotilla of sailing ships was built under his direction, ushering in a golden period of exploration and trade for China, and making her the most advanced seafaring nation in the world.
Seven great exploration fleets commanded by Zheng He set sail between 1405 and 1433; they were the mightiest the world had ever seen. The first carried 28,000 people in around 300 vessels, including the treasure ships which were of extraordinary size. Nine-masted, 120 m long and 49 m wide, each ship could carry more than 1,000 passengers. Nina , Pinta and Santa Maria , the three ships of Columbus built more
Meanwhile Defiance had managed to come alongside and the boarding party leapt to the deck. Through the smoke one of the first people Captain Durham spotted on Aigle was Spratt, his bloody leg dangling over the rail. ‘Captain, poor old Jack Spratt is done up at last,’ he called out, and he was hauled back aboard Defiance .
Spratt was taken to the surgeon, who wanted to amputate the leg, but he refused. The surgeon appealed to Durham to intervene and order the operation. The captain tried to reason with Spratt, but he merely held up his good leg and said, ‘Never! If I lose my leg, where shall I find a match for this?’
Spratt was landed at Gibraltar, where he was hospitalised for four months. He kept his leg but was lame for the rest of his life. He achieved the rank of commander and retired to Devon, where he was often seen riding on a small Dartmoor pony. Despite his incapacity Spratt retained his swimming skills and when he was nearly 60 years old he swam a 23-km race for a wager and won.
THE FIRST EUROPEAN sea voyages that impelled the West into an unparalleled age of world discovery and trade were launched by Portugal’s Prince Henry the Navigator in the early fifteenth century. Before that voyages had been coastal, keeping always within sight of land. Other nations quickly followed the Portuguese, notably the Spanish, the Dutch and the English. For the often illiterate sailors crewing the ships, these voyages were frightening journeys into the unknown. Many had fears that they would perish horribly in the infamous Green Sea of Darkness, a terrifying place of lurking monsters and boiling seas.
But more than a century before Christopher Columbus set sail, China mounted seven great exploration voyages under Zheng He, the Admiral of the Western Seas. He sailed to western Asia, Africa and Arabia, visiting some 40 countries. Zheng He’s voyages heralded a momentous period of exploration and trade for China.
In the Golden Age of Sail inventive minds were tackling every kind of problem, from how to plot your position to ship-to-shore rescue. One of the most poignant of their achievements was Henry Winstanley’s lighthouse on the Eddystone reef, the first to be built in the open sea. It was a true feat of human invention and withstood a fiercely unforgiving environment for five years. During the titanic storm of 1703 Winstanley was on it with his men. When the tempest abated he and his lighthouse had completely vanished.
Engraved world map, from a book printed in 1628 compiled by Francis Drake’s nephew .
A DMIRAL OF THE WESTERN SEAS
Zheng He was a Muslim born in China’s mountainous province of Yunnan in 1372. The Ming Dynasty had been established in 1368, bringing to an end Mongol rule. At the age of 11, Zheng He was captured and castrated when Ming forces were sent to Yunnan to destroy the last stronghold of the old regime. His reputation for bravery had been noted, however, and he was assigned to a royal household where over time he became very powerful. As an adult he was described as brave and quick-witted, a tall, heavy man with clear-cut features, long earlobes and a stride like a tiger.
When his master seized the Peacock Throne and became Emperor Yong Le, he made Zheng He ‘Admiral of the Western Seas’. Over the next three years an incredible flotilla of sailing ships was built under his direction, ushering in a golden period of exploration and trade for China, and making her the most advanced seafaring nation in the world.
Seven great exploration fleets commanded by Zheng He set sail between 1405 and 1433; they were the mightiest the world had ever seen. The first carried 28,000 people in around 300 vessels, including the treasure ships which were of extraordinary size. Nine-masted, 120 m long and 49 m wide, each ship could carry more than 1,000 passengers. Nina , Pinta and Santa Maria , the three ships of Columbus built more
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