‘I Canot Releve You at Presant’: Sailors, the State and a Breadwinner Wage in Britain and Ireland, 1793–1815

ABSTRACT This article argues that British and Irish sailors and the state communicated in a shared language of patriarchy, furthering the state's goal of a strong navy and sailors’ aspirational goal of acting as breadwinners. These conversations gained significance as recruitment demands grew during wartime (1793–1815). Government actions, from the press gang and low wages to translating criminal sentences into naval service, complicated the navy's reputation. By examining state, public and personal records, this article demonstrates the contradictory, complex ways the state and sailors framed naval service and their shared commitment to the ideal of husbands maintaining financially dependent wives.