Pirates & Privateers: Nathan Perl-Rosenthal's Books

Nowadays, we take nationality for granted. But nationality is a relatively new concept in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Before the American Revolution, if you are born in England or France, then you remain an English or French subject for your entire life regardless of where you live. In fact, your financial status, religion, ethnicity, and family lineage matter more so than your allegiance to a particular country does. The upstart colonials upend this definition when they rebel and become the United States of America. Perl-Rosenthal’s study focuses on sailors and their role in shaping and helping to define what it means to be a citizen of the United States, because seamen are in the forefront of establishing one’s identity and citizenship long before most people have to do so. In the process, he shows how the documents from this time period eventually evolve into passports and identity cards we use today.

This question of nationality may seem straightforward, but at the time, it was not. Americans and Britons speak English, and there aren’t as significant a difference in our accents as there is today. Language no longer allows seamen to differentiate between friend and foe. Complicating this issue is that some people, like Nathaniel Fanning, can claim to be either American or French. Also, since war is frequent during this time period, ships and sailors of one nation sometimes claim to be those of another nation. So how can authorities, such as the British and French governments, distinguish who truly is an American and who is not? Perl-Rosenthal answers this question through historical documents and by looking at some of the sailors and government officials, such as Edward Livingston and David Lennox, involved in defining nationality. Burgess demonstrates that seamen of all races participate in this, for the prejudices and restrictions of later decades hasn’t yet invaded the maritime world. He also discusses in detail how American seamen can prove their citizenship, and who has the right to determine who is a citizen of a particular country.

Maps, illustrations, endnotes, and an index accompany the information presented in this book. Citizen Sailors is of particular interest to students of privateering, for the men who serve on these ships are at the forefront of defining nationality due to the prize law in force during the Age of Revolution. Anyone interested in how early sailors think of themselves as Americans and how other countries view mariners as citizens of the United States will also want to read this book. Perl-Rosenthal clearly shows the difficulties in proving one’s citizenship and the precarious methods and legislation other nations implement to do so. Citizen Sailors is a fascinating look into a topic often overlooked or glossed over in history classes, and yet it has now become such an important part of our everyday lives.