Pirates & Privateers: Vyvyen Brendon's Books

This book tells the stories of boys and girls who do something surprisingly commonplace in the 18th and 19th centuries. They board ships and cross oceans without a parent or guardian present. Some are sent by British parents, working for the East India Company, back to England for a proper schooling. Other children, whose parents are either dead or unable to raise them, are sent to Canada’s boarding schools or the youngest to foster families. During the wars against France and America, many boys also ship out as midshipmen at an early age. Most of the subjects in this book do not leave a record of their experiences. Some particulars of these children’s voyages are provided through other passengers who regularly write about their own journeys or corresponded.

Our first young traveler is fourteen-year-old Mary Branham. She has the distinction of being found guilty of theft and is sent to Botany Bay with the first fleet transporting convicts in 1787. Many people describe their experiences along the way. The overcrowding, sickening stench, coarse foods, and perception that returning to England will be almost impossible all serve to increase their sorrows.

Next is the story of Joseph Emidy, a young lad captured in Africa and sent to Brazil. He is bought by a man looking to add house slaves. These individuals may have had better lives than field slaves, but living in the owner’s home means they also lack the camaraderie of other slaves and their community. Incredibly, Joseph is musically talented and becomes a skilled violinist. At a time when many people cannot read and teaching slaves to read is generally outlawed, Joseph learns to read books and music. He is able to work as a musician and music teacher outside of his master’s home and retains some of the money he earns to eventually buy his freedom. He crosses the Atlantic a second time when he accompanies his master back to Portugal. Of course, this voyage holds none of the fears he felt as a captive on a slaver. In Lisbon, he becomes a sought-after musician and performs around the city and during church services.

For each child voyager the author claims their journeys leave an impact that affects them in later life. So, each child’s life after the voyage and until they die is presented. If they have other siblings, the lives each leads is compared to the subject child.

In most cases, I saw other factors that had more meaningful impacts on these young lives than the hardships of the voyages. Mary Branham knew the chances of returning to England were so slim that she suffered from intense homesickness more than anything else. Joseph’s life was happy and included his freedom and an interesting career, a far cry from the young African’s fears aboard the slaver.

Several boys went to sea as new midshipmen in the navy. One was small and frail, which had the most impact on his life; another was sullen and lacked drive or ambition. Overall, these sailors’ lives were not really impacted much by the voyages they undertook. They had volunteered for naval service, were taught sailing skills, as well as sword fighting and cannon firing, and enjoyed the alcohol-fueled antics of the midshipmen’s berth. Most of these boys died from accidents, illness, or war. Only two served long enough to be commissioned as lieutenants; other survivors’ service ended when wars ended.

One of the more interesting chapters describes the naval life of Charles Dickens’s son, Sydney. This is told through the correspondence of the writer and sometimes compares Sydney’s life to the children Dickens writes about in his novels.

The children sent from India to boarding schools and the children of destitute mothers sent to live in Canada experienced a sense of loss and separation. The severed connection to family was the worst memory of their journeys. I had no idea that (mostly single) mothers could simply give up their children or that the children who fostered with Canadian families were really indentured servants required to “work” when they got older. This practice continued well in to the 20th century.

Children at Sea has many endnotes and includes a detailed bibliography and index. Black-&-white illustrations feature the people and places mentioned in the text.

Anyone with an interest in family life during the Georgian and Victorian eras will be happy they choose this book. Others may enjoy learning about the ways a child’s life in the past differs from what is normal now. All the different voyages make this a remarkably interesting sea story that will entertain and enlighten all readers.

Read author's blog post about two children