Shanghaied from Liverpool Docks 1870s

[Farawa]

Hello

I have a family story about an ancestor being Shanghaied from the Landing Stage at Liverpool while waiting for his employer. It's true that in 1870 the census records him with an extremely comfortable job as a coachman, and that by 1873 he is recorded as a stoker on a ship. I am fairly sure that his employer did have business near the docks.

I don't know whether this story is true. It could be a story constructed to explain away a sudden and extreme reduction in circumstances. The family having moved from a cottage in the grounds of the employers' house to the 'Courts' in Liverpool.

Some time ago I read somewhere that Shanghaiing was not practiced in Britain which made me think that the shanghaiing was probably a myth. More recently I have read in 'Liverpool: Gangs, Vices and Packet Rats' by Archibald Mason that Shanghaing did take place in the period I'm interested in.

I wonder if anybody knows anything about Shanghaiing in Liverpool, or any other sources of information about this.

Thanks in advance

F

[Megan Roberts]

This page from Wikipedia deals mainly with the USA, but given that it states “The role of crimps and the spread of the practice of shanghaiing resulted from a combination of laws, economic conditions, and the shortage of experienced sailors in England and on the American West Coast in the mid-19th century.”, I think it safe to assume that it was being practised in British ports at that same time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghaiing

It’s probably also worth searching the National Archives: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Liverpool is the home of a maritime museum: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/index.aspx
This page from their blog talks about the practise of crimping, which is another name for Shanghaiing: https://blog.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/...hip-and-shore/

[Farawa]

Thanks very much for your reply.

I'll contact the Liverpool Maritime Museum to see whether they can direct me to any research on this. I've also found a book called "Shanghaiing Sailors: A Maritime History of Forced Labour 1845-1915" by Mark Strecker, and I'll try to order that from the library.

Did you have any particular ideas about what to search for at The National Archives?

Thanks again for your helpful reply.

F

[macwil]

You might find Sailortown by Stan Hugill of interest.

Published 1967 by Routledge & Keegan Paul Ltd (London)
EP Dutton & Co ., Inc (New York)

ISBN 7100 1572 0

[Farawa]

O

You might find Sailortown by Stan Hugill of interest.

Published 1967 by Routledge & Keegan Paul Ltd (London)
EP Dutton & Co ., Inc (New York)

ISBN 7100 1572 0

Thanks for this great recommendation. I have received my copy and it's an incredibly detailed and well-indexed work with maps and illustrations. I'm glad to be able to add it to my library.