The Naval Mutinies of 1797: Unity and Perseverance (2011)In keeping with my interest in the way people live and the impact of events on their lives, I have also explored a series of naval mutinies that broke out within the British navy during the late 18
th century. In 1997, to mark the bi-centenary of both the Nore Mutiny, and the one that broke out a few weeks earlier on the ships of the Channel Fleet while anchored in the Spithead roadstead, I co-organised two conferences designed to encourage new research into what lay behind those mutinies and from this came
The Naval Mutinies of 1797: Unity and Perseverance (2011) containing papers given at the two conferences and of which I co-edited as well as contributing several papers.
The Naval Mutinies of 1798: The Irish Plot to Seize the Channel Fleet (2024)While the Spithead and Nore mutinies had political overtones that were overshadowed by a demand for better service conditions, the mutinies of 1798 were led by militant revolutionaries who wished to transform the political system on mainland Britain in tandem with turning Ireland into an independent state free of English hegemonic control. It was to be achieved by way of support from Revolutionary France and the taking of several major warships into enemy ports at a time of rebellion in Ireland. From Ireland, a French invasion of England would then have been possible. While resulting in just a few successes, these mutinies were orchestrated by the Society of United Irishman, an underground revolutionary organisation, alongside English and Scottish republicans.
