Cheating 'Jack Tar': seafarers' wages in Britain's Royal Navy, 1754-1667

Abstract

The introduction of the Navy Act of 1758 by the British Parliament was designed to provide a mechanism whereby the payment of wages and allowances to Royal Navy seafarers and their dependants would be placed on a more equitable footing through more timely remittances. This study challenges earlier claims made concerning the effectiveness of the Act in this regard. By utilising modern accrual accounting techniques, we demonstrate conclusively how, over a 14-year period of war and peace (1754–1767) that included the promulgation of the Act, seafarers were forced to endure longer periods for payment seemingly at odds with the desires of Parliament. We provide explanations regarding this phenome..