⇒ PDF Free The Life And Adventures of John Nicol Mariner eBook Tim Flannery Tim Flannery

The Life And Adventures of John Nicol Mariner eBook Tim Flannery Tim Flannery

Download As PDF : The Life And Adventures of John Nicol Mariner eBook Tim Flannery Tim Flannery

The Life And Adventures of John Nicol Mariner eBook Tim Flannery Tim Flannery

This account was first published in 1822, and has been republished with a forward and added footnotes by the editor. Unlike most seamen in the Royal Navy, John Nicol enlisted for the adventure, first serving at the age of 21 as a ship's cooper during the American Revolution, mostly in Canada and the West Indies. For the next 25 years he served on a large number of Royal Navy and merchant ships. He was present at some well known battles including the victories by Admiral Jervis at Cape St. Vincent and Admiral Nelson at Aboukir Bay. In the merchant service, he went to China 3 times, to Australia, Hawaii, the west coast of the Americas from Cape Horn to Alaska, Brazil and Portugal, and to the West Indies. He served aboard whalers and sealers that took him to Greenland and the Falkland Islands.
As noted by the editor, mortality rates among seamen at that time could average 15 percent per year from disease, shipwrecks, accidents aboard ship, or armed conflicts. John Nicol was one of the minority who survived to old age. He had saved his money and would have been reasonably well off ashore, but he married a cousin, and then abandoned a well paid trade as a cooper to escape the Royal Navy press gangs after 1801 and stay with his wife. He was a widower living in poverty when offered the opportunity to publish his story.
This is a well written account by a man who had only a basic formal education. I would highly recommend it as a "must read" book for readers interested in naval and merchant marine service of that time period. The book contains many tidbits of information not available elsewhere, including his recollections of female convicts in the second fleet to sail for New South Wales.


Tags : Buy The Life And Adventures of John Nicol, Mariner: Read 12 Books Reviews - Amazon.com,ebook,Tim Flannery, Tim Flannery,The Life And Adventures of John Nicol, Mariner,Canongate Books,18th century, c 1700 to c 1799,19th century, c 1800 to c 1899,ANF: Travel and Tourism,Autobiography,Autobiography: historical, political & military,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY General,Biography: general,General & world history,Geographical discovery & exploration,Journeys,Maritime history,Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900,Nicol, John,Travel writing,Voyages and travels,World history: c 1750 to c 1900,c 1500 onwards to present day,c 1700 to c 1800,c 1800 to c 1900,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY General,Autobiography: historical, political & military,Biography: general,General & world history,Geographical discovery & exploration,Maritime history,Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900,Travel writing,World history: c 1750 to c 1900

The Life And Adventures of John Nicol Mariner eBook Tim Flannery Tim Flannery Reviews

If you'd like a first hand account of life on board a trading or man-o-war vessel in the time period of 1776-1801 then this is a pretty good book. The account centres around the travels of the title person, John Nicol, who was lucky enough to join ships that took him to China multiple times, South America, the Pacific and points in between. He even at one point was able to get aboard a ship that was hunting off Greenland. The journeys he undertook and the fact that he survived them was obviously partly down to luck given the deaths by disease or general misadventure that were prevalent at the time and it speaks of a very strong constitution as well. Those who are after military action will find some here but as Nicol himself points out he was usually stationed within the ship and really had no real view of what was happening during the battles he took part in. It's still interesting in that it gives the reader a small sense of what it must have been like to be fighting blind like that, where you really were getting all your information second or third hand or from wounded who'd been brought below decks.

The book itself was actually written for him from his memories and its these memories that make such an impact on the reader. His description of everyday things, of his interactions with the locals in different parts and his keen eye for detail provides much of the value of the work. Those looking for history will probably have to look elsewhere, rather this book is about the sights and sounds someone not of the officer class saw and heard during his travels. As such it comes across as unvarnished and this in a good way.

Certainly this is the sort of book that will appeal to those keen to read tales of sailors, for those interested in the time period itself and who want a birds eye personal account and it will probably also interest those who read travelogues as the chap certainly had a definite wanderlust. Probably a solid gift idea for anyone in your inner circle who likes the above sort of books.
It's the best book I've never heard of. The humor stands up well after 3 centuries and it's an insiders view of history. Amazing!
Remarkable. Simple beautiful language. A little tunnel of vision into the late eighteenth century told by "..a wanderer and child of chance..."
A fascinating memoir full of adventure
I enjoyed getting to read about John Nicol's life on board ship as well as the different ports he visited. It was a refreshing change to read these accounts from someone who'd been there, in his own words rather than those of a historian looking back. John was an ordinary seaman rather than an officer. Seeing things through his eyes was delightful.
This is gripping history as seen by the average participant in it. It's not about Admirals or Generals or World Leaders, it's about everyman and every woman. I first learned about John Nicol from another excellent history book "The Floating Brothel The Extraordinary True Story of an Eighteenth-Century Ship and its Cargo of Female Convicts" by Sian Rees. John Nicol was on that extraordinary voyage and his memoir done when he was in his 60's was the only first-hand account of those voyages. I decided to seek out his memoir. After reading either of these two books, the readers will probably no longer yern for a romatic voyage on an ancient sailing vessel. Life wasn't pleasant on those sea voyages for anybody on board. The story of how John Nicol's story was eventually dictated to John Howell, an Edinburgh book binder who found him wandering the streets is also amazing. Howell is another average guy who made a great contribution to history through small acts of charity and publishing.
This account was first published in 1822, and has been republished with a forward and added footnotes by the editor. Unlike most seamen in the Royal Navy, John Nicol enlisted for the adventure, first serving at the age of 21 as a ship's cooper during the American Revolution, mostly in Canada and the West Indies. For the next 25 years he served on a large number of Royal Navy and merchant ships. He was present at some well known battles including the victories by Admiral Jervis at Cape St. Vincent and Admiral Nelson at Aboukir Bay. In the merchant service, he went to China 3 times, to Australia, Hawaii, the west coast of the Americas from Cape Horn to Alaska, Brazil and Portugal, and to the West Indies. He served aboard whalers and sealers that took him to Greenland and the Falkland Islands.
As noted by the editor, mortality rates among seamen at that time could average 15 percent per year from disease, shipwrecks, accidents aboard ship, or armed conflicts. John Nicol was one of the minority who survived to old age. He had saved his money and would have been reasonably well off ashore, but he married a cousin, and then abandoned a well paid trade as a cooper to escape the Royal Navy press gangs after 1801 and stay with his wife. He was a widower living in poverty when offered the opportunity to publish his story.
This is a well written account by a man who had only a basic formal education. I would highly recommend it as a "must read" book for readers interested in naval and merchant marine service of that time period. The book contains many tidbits of information not available elsewhere, including his recollections of female convicts in the second fleet to sail for New South Wales.