SYNOPSIS

Mutiny on the Spanish Main is the bloody story of the HMS Hermione; the mutiny, murder, her transfer to the Spanish and subsequent recapture, and the Royal Navy’s never ending search and punishment for the mutineers.

In 1797 the crew of the HMS Hermione mutinied against its officers. They murdered the officers in a cruel and horrific manner. Then the crew stole the ship and fleeing for their lives and turned it over to the Spanish.

Mutiny on the Spanish Main is an in depth study of the causes and ramifications of the mutiny. Angus Konstam provides a look into the Royal Navy’s operating procedures, the lives of the seamen, and the hardships of the times. Life aboard ship was hard and trying. Punishment was severe and sometimes dished out without remorse. Seamen were “conscripted” into service and were basically no more than slaves. Men were stolen from all over and pressed into service. They were guarded at all times on shore to ensure they didn’t escape. Punishment ranged from beatings, to being keel-holed or even hung.

Captain Hugh Pigot, the commander of HMS Hermione, was a cruel and sadistic leader. He routinely dished out severe and arbitrary punishment to his crew. The crew was so distressed by the thought of being punished by the smallest infraction, that when Captain Pigot threatened to lash the last man down from the mast, three of them fell to their death.

The constant beatings, poor treatment, and lack of respect for human dignity finally forced the crew to takes matters into their own hands. What followed was the bloodiest and cruelest mutiny in the British Royal Navy. The Admiralty doggedly pursued the mutineers around the globe to bring them to justice.

An interesting accounting of an infamous mutiny. The book was a great read about a little known event. The story line was captivating and the development of the characters was well done. The author did a good job of holding my attention. Overall, I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Mutiny on the Spanish Main showed flashes of greatness to match the cutting out of the Hermione from Spanish control. But overall, the writing was lackluster, and in need of editing and punching up. The story shined with the obvious excitement of the author while describing the events of the mutiny and recapture, but turned into a dreary slog for much of the rest. Overall, I was disappointed.

Mutiny on the Spanish Main: HMS Hermione and the Royal Navy's Revenge is a solid historical account of a dramatic, thrilling, and absolutely brutal event. Konstam's writing elucidates, and never gets in the way, of telling what is, after all, a dark, gripping, and horrific tale of violence and murder, both from the mutineers and from the powers that be.

The influence of the king of Age of Sail fiction, Patrick O'Brian, can be felt in the occasional mentions of his work (for example, noting the events surrounding HMS Surprise, which features prominently in O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series); likewise, this book would be enjoyed by any fan of O'Brian's books, replete as they are in the rich technical and historical detail that Konstam outlines and explains. The book as a whole is well-written and well-framed. Technical aspects, like the rigging of a ship and the vast quantity of jargon needed to understand the historic events and documentation of it, are contextualized and explained clearly, and the human element is given similar scrutiny. A well-crafted work that I'd recommend to fans of O'Brian and similar authors or amateur historians interested in the period, with or without prior knowledge of the Royal Navy in Nelson's day.

Thank you to NetGalley and Osprey Publishing for the advance review copy.

This book is essential background reading for the many fans of the Aubrey/Maturin novels of Patrick O’Brien, dealing as it does with the circumstances surrounding a glorious real-life episode in the previous adventures of Aubrey’s favourite ship, HMS Surprise. Readers of theses books, and others in the same genre by Dudley Pope, C S Forester and others will be familiar with the potential for tyrannical and violent behaviour by captains of warships in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the occasional mutinies that resulted in a minority of cases. The case of HMS Hermione is one of the bloodiest and most notorious of threes mutinies and forms the subject matter of this book. Angus Konstam has produced a highly readable account of the events leading up to the mutiny; the mutiny itself: and the various actions the Admiralty required to be taken to serve as disincentives against future mutinies as well as the remarkably effective and courageous acts of British seaman in recovering the Hermione from the Spanish navy. Overall, a thoroughly recommended book for readers interested in this period.

The book is first and foremost a thrilling adventure story. It is every bit as action packed as an Aubrey/Maturin or Hornblower novel, made all the more gripping by being based on a true story in all its horrific detail.

Indeed, anyone thinking of starting Patrick O’Brian’s or C.S. Forrester’s classics might do well to start with Angus Konstam’s book, which goes to some lengths to introduce the modern reader to the structure and social order of the Royal Navy of the period.

The book charts the circumstances leading up to the mutiny, the mutiny itself, the international manhunt that followed and the daring recapture of the frigate, so vividly depicted in the Nicholas Pocock painting on the book’s cover.

Angus Konstam brings this all to life with a pacy narrative, exposing the failings of favouritism and brutality that underpin this story – and even weaving in the role of fake news in the 1800 US presidential election.

Recommended.