Louis XIV Living conditions of seafarers and French settlers - Ours ancestors - Captain Salary - Inflation - Corruption - Part 4

Living conditions of seafarers and French settlers

Our ancestors were on ships to New France            

Part 4

Men shipboard

It is significant to note that of the 47 articles on "Functions and powers of the captains Fleet "ofLouis XIV defined by the Ordinance of 15 April 1689, 17 relate to issues of subordination and organization of work or life on board, only 14 sections apply to the preservation of the vessel, with the arming, disarming and consumption while 9 other issues affecting navigation or mooring and only 7 relevant to the fight ... Two thirds of the master's duties fall, according to the regulation, management of materials and resources human.

 

Navigation techniques have been developed by early sailors to sail the seas and oceans. The finding of terrestrial magnetism was early led to the invention of the compass (called navigational compass), which has taken a course and following a route. The speed measurement was made ​​possible by the invention of the loch boat.

 

These two cents, course and speed, allow reckoning, to the eye.

English ship to New France

The reckoning is a navigation method of inferring the position of a vehicle ( land, sea, air or space; controlled or automatic) off course and distance traveled since the last known position. Traditionally, this method relies on instruments measuring its heading (compass), speed (log, speedometer, playful ...) and time (stopwatch) and with the possible estimate (or calculate) the influence Environment (current, wind) on his walk. Insufficiently precise over time.

Without land mark (out of sight of a coast), browsers were identified through observation of the stars. The height of a star above the horizon, easily measured by the "ancestors" of the sextant, such as the astrolabe to calculate latitude. All these techniques were acquired from the fifteenth century. The measurement of longitude, which is derived from the measurement of time, was not really possible in the eighteenth century with the invention of clock (or timekeeper) that allowed precise "keep" the time of the meridian of . origin

Ordinance of 25 March 1786contains the words almost verbatim, except for some minor changes that further enhance the role of manager of the captain:

"He will take care that the ship's officers do not people no crew abuse that could discourage the service; he will take care to do justice to all, maintain the good understanding in each order, and that the crew is well stirred up. It will ensure the cleanliness of the ship, good crew food, preservation of the sailors, to maintain herds and everything that can contribute to the health of the crew.

"Theideal image of the captain of a king's ship is more than that of a good father, husband and prudent Royal well as that of boiling soldier always ready to do battle with the enemy. He must also beware of any individualism faithfully carrying out all orders and signals from the flagship, risking jail if it deviates from the line of battle during the fight and loses contact with the ship's captain . military division

Most captains of the French royal fleet of the eighteenth century are experienced and therefore wise: they access the career Navy officer to 25 years and still have to wait 30 years to get a command line on a building: incompetence characterized less frequently behavior at sea captains ...

If one of Louis XIV is mostly a warlord sitting on his subordinates to conduct the vessel, those serving under Louis XV and more Louis XVI had the stature of real skippers, mastering the use of instruments and having thoroughly their ship.

foreign policy of Louis XIV

 

They are not all provided paragons of virtue and dedication ... If the French Royal Navy always be reluctant to send his commanders failed before the council of war, the Royal Navy, she will never have such qualms, well otherwise. Any dereliction of duty or disobedience was systematically punished by court martial, not hesitating to shoot, if any of the senior officers like Admiral Byng, which Voltaire wrote: "In this country, it is good kill from time to time an admiral to encourage the others. "
      

Wages

                                                                                                        

The pay, salary, book tournaments

France 1552-1798

******* One pound equals $ 22.00 tournaments Canadian in 2013 ****

The book is divided into soil tournaments and money.

1 pound = 20 tournaments soiltournaments
1 sol = 12 deniers
.1 pound = 240 denier tournaments

Legal tender pound tournament in gold and silver was fixed by royal decree by reference to:

a size (weight) secured by marc marc weight ( marc 1 = about 244.7 grams)
a Aloi (proportion of precious metal) set in carats (1 carat = 1 / 24th)

This course has followed the ups and downs of the economy like today. For example, the royal edict of March 31, 1640 fixed the price of gold louis 1 / 36.25 gold mark of 22/24 with a Aloi carats, worth £ 5 tournaments.

Either a legal tender pound tournament so lt = 1 (1 / 36.25 22/24) or (244.7 / 10)

In 1786, in the French navy, whether in peacetime or war, he sails or not Captain commander receives an annual pay of 3,000 livres, which the 40 oldest active add a bonus of 600 pounds. . Pay to which must be added an allowance for personal expenses table, seen only during campaigns, from 32 to 45 pounds per day

at the same time, the RoyalNavy,colleagues seem much more spoiled: the commander of a Man'o'war tier 1 key one pound per day of actual sea and half pay when not commissioned or £ 315 per year (7,500 livres) while at sea and a minimum of £ 180 annual (4300 livres) when ashore.

pays War, mainly because of the sale of the catch and loads that can fetch up to £ 5,000 (120,000 livres) during very good years as was the case during the Seven Years' War.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Captain secondly

Its functions are the same as those of the captain commander but it is more particularly in charge of policing the ship. As such, it should never leave the ship, even while in port, and is supposed to know everything that happens on the ship to report to the commander of the building, so the crew colloquially nicknamed the "dog edge.

"Thisposition is no lining in the Royal Navy

 

Lieutenant

Two opposite of learning the naval officerdesigns

in the Royal Navyno teaching is organized. Must be recommended by his family and embark as boy captain at 10-12 years to learn the art of seamanship (work rope) with working at heights by learning to furl the topsail as gruff direction of a "sea-daddy." The "Sea Daddy" is an experienced officer who, in a moment of pity, takes a young officer under his wing during the young officer is inexperienced period which makes half useful. "

A schoolmaster also delivers on board the minimum intellectual baggage. Only once after being admitted as a midshipman, after learning 3 to 4 years, the aspiring officer was admitted to the quarterdeck.

Remains for him to learn how to use navigational tools and maps via Battle Royal Navy

practical work supervised by the officers. He was admitted junior officer proposed by a captain after passing an oral examination of seamanship and if they have served at least six years as a midshipman.

Dressage This allows one hand to remove young people too fragile or too emotional and, secondly, to produce operational managers from the age of 18-20, who have experienced the pains of the crew before ordering and knowing on the fingertips and the ship navigation techniques.

In France, we do not instruct aspiring officer in as rude. Education emphasizes the scientific and technical knowledge (excellent but having the wrong staying too theoretical for the conduct of a ship), provided ashore in one of the three companies of the Guards navy in Brest, Toulon and Rochefort .

 

But the input selection is not only in mathematics but also and especially the district of nobility, under the old regime. The initial texts in 1683 predicted crossing edges frigates schools but, for lack of funds, these ships were not in place. Only a corvette and the lugger were at Havre, under Louis XV.

 

After performing strenuous exercise consisting of running the masts to set the sails, we had to put relentless courses geometry, ballistics, English, physics, drawing, because the programs were not messed provided educational clumsiness. Critics and virulent complaints from parents' young martyrs "stopped this pilot shortly after the accession of Louis XVI and the beautiful building, built in Havre to host the first French naval school, eventually praised as breadbasket...
English shipPurser

The French aspiring officer begins to learn the sea service by becoming teaches, and he has time for if the texts provide a theoretical time two years before moving to the rank of lieutenant, he will need actually wait ten years on average for valuable patent ...

A lieutenant affects about 1,600 pounds a year, against 800 pounds for a sign.

in both countries, as an officer of the watch, each lieutenant is responsible for all round the smooth running of the ship. Signs are subject to the same, under the authority of the lieutenants. Each other and are very vulnerable in combat, whether in batteries or on the upper deck, where they command detachments guy. They control the daily maintenance of the ship, a task always done in conjunction with the petty officers according to their specialty.

In France, the most tedious burden returns to the first lieutenant, also became an officer of detail after the removal of the writer edge end 1776 , task manager for which he has no taste or skill.
                                                                                                                                                                            

The writer or provider

A close colleague of the captain, it monitors the flow of supplies shipped, provides what they need to restock the stopovers. He is the guarantor of the regular distribution of rations.
Colloden The Battle

A zealous writer and concerned for the welfare of the crew plays a vital role in fueling monitoring the quality of food, boarding cargo of spoiled biscuits or salted with dramatic consequences once Wed

British purser was also a merchant, providing products such as coal, firewood, candles, lamp oil and hammocks, as well as tobacco and crew clothing to crew at an agreed and deducted from their salary rate.

 

He also served as a banker in advancing money at a reasonable rate of 5% to officers and sailors, and looked quite frequently taken from the liquidation of a rather successful operation.

Continued on Part 5

Alain Laprise October 5, 2014