General Characteristics

On early modern European vessels, sailors were the largest single group. In comparison others, such as merchants, soldiers, and craftsmen, were minorities. Before the large-scale introduction of steam, sailors or rowers could be recruited in four different ways: we distinguish between local recruitment and enlistment from elsewhere, and between forced and voluntary recruitment (see figure 1). Most fundamental is the distinction between free and unfree recruitment. Unfree deployment on ships is difficult to realise, except on galleys where the rowers are chained to their benches. Originally, such vessels, mainly men-of-war, were used only occasionally in northern waters - by the Spaniards and the Dutch during the Dutch Revolt, for instance - but as a rule they were confined to the calmer waters of the Mediterranean during spring and summer. Whereas in Antiquity and the Middle Ages galleys were rowed by free men, increasingly during the sixteenth century convicts and even slaves (procured by privateers) were used in the big Ottoman, Venetian and French fleets. In France, 60,000 convicts were sent to the galleys between 1680 and 1745. In the eighteenth century sailing ships became the sole type in the Mediterranean and so did the free-born sailor.

The eighteenth century was also distinguished by the demise of the Mediterranean galley and the surge of the oared warship in the Baltic, mainly in Russia, Sweden, and Denmark. Whereas all these nations resorted to conscription, only the Swedish and Danish systems can be characterised as free, while the Russian was definitely unfree. The main reason for this distinction is that the Russians drafted their recruits both for the army and the navy from among their serf population, for life-long service between 1702 and 1793, and between 1793 and 1834 for a twenty-five year period, which in practice meant the same thing. Only in 1834, when the draft was restricted to a de facto twelve-year period (in 1855 this was cut to ten and in 1874 to seven years), can one begin to speak of free labour recruitment. On sailing ships it was possible to use forced labour normally only for one voyage or campaign, such as when Britain introduced the press-gang during wartime emergencies.