Young Men and the Sea: Yankee Seafarers in the Age of Sail

by Daniel Vickers, Vince Walsh

Two centuries of American maritime history, in which the Atlantic Ocean remained the great frontier Westward expansion has been the great narrative of the first two centuries of American history, but as historian Daniel Vickers demonstrates here, the horizon extended in all directions. For those who lived along the Atlantic coast, it was the East—and the Atlantic Ocean—that beckoned. While historical and fictional accounts have tended to stress the exceptional circumstances or psychological compulsions that drove men to sea, this book shows how normal a part of life seafaring was for those living near a coast before the mid–nineteenth century.
Drawing on records of several thousand seamen and their voyages from Salem, Massachusetts, Young Men and the Sea offers a social history of seafaring in the colonial and early national period. In what sort of families were sailors raised? When did they go to sea? What were their chances of death? Whom did they marry, and how did their wives operate households in their absence? Answering these and many other questions, this book is destined to become a classic of American social and maritime history.

Genres: History, Pirates

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2005

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Daniel Vickers's superb Farmers and Fishermen: Two Centuries of Work in Essex County, Massachuetts, 1630-1850, I knew that I wanted to read what he had to say about Yankee seafarers. What an exceptional book! Beautifully written, engrossing, based on broad and deep research, this is a study of Salem, its people, and the backbone of its economy for over two hundred year--seafaring. Vickers reminds us that colonial America looked to the Atlantic for its trade, travel, and expansion more than to the vast, unknown land mass to the west. Here is a historian who chronicles the history of the working lives of men, a strangely neglected subject in the age of social history.

If you like thinking about the past on a nitty-gritty level, what people did to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies, you'll love this book.

[Maggi Smith-Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young Men and the Sea: Yankee Seafarers in the Age of Sail by Daniel Vickers

Impeccably researched, completely absorbing, exemplary history

Daniel Vicker's book has become my most-recommended book on the subject, a deeply, broadly, impeccably researched work, well-organized, of beautiful, eloquent, and exemplary historical writing.

[Marina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A straight history that touches very lightly on gender, race, and class dynamics, and mostly focuses on maritime labor out of Salem. Vickers is very fluent in his subject!

[James Brundage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall interesting, but found a number of issues. Namely, the focus strays from Salem and the argument gets muddled as a result.

[Scott Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about the development of the shipping industry and mariner culture in New England, particularly Salem, MA. Rather dry and academic, though.