Cabin boy
Encyclopedia
A Cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy
(in the sense of low-ranking male employee, not always a minor) who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship
, especially running errands for the captain.
Cabin boys were usually from 14–16 years old and also helped the cook in the galley and carried buckets of food from the galley to the forecastle where the ordinary seamen ate. They would have to run from one end of the ship to the other carrying messages and become familiar with the sails, lines and ropes and the use of each in all sort sorts of weather. They would have to scramble up the rigging into the yards whenever the sails had to be trimmed. They would even begin to stand watches like other crewmen or act as helmsman in good weather, holding the wheel to keep the ship steady on her course.
In the famous trial
of Regina v. Dudley & Stephens (1884) 14 QBD 273 DC, two sailor
s and a cabin boy were shipwreck
ed and cast adrift in a small boat without provisions. To save themselves, the sailors killed and ate
the cabin boy. They were later convicted of murder
, despite their claimed defense of necessity
.
Boy
A boy is a young male human , as contrasted to its female counterpart, girl, or an adult male, a man.The term "boy" is primarily used to indicate biological sex distinctions, cultural gender role distinctions or both...
(in the sense of low-ranking male employee, not always a minor) who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
, especially running errands for the captain.
Cabin boys were usually from 14–16 years old and also helped the cook in the galley and carried buckets of food from the galley to the forecastle where the ordinary seamen ate. They would have to run from one end of the ship to the other carrying messages and become familiar with the sails, lines and ropes and the use of each in all sort sorts of weather. They would have to scramble up the rigging into the yards whenever the sails had to be trimmed. They would even begin to stand watches like other crewmen or act as helmsman in good weather, holding the wheel to keep the ship steady on her course.
In the famous trial
Trial (law)
In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...
of Regina v. Dudley & Stephens (1884) 14 QBD 273 DC, two sailor
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
s and a cabin boy were shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
ed and cast adrift in a small boat without provisions. To save themselves, the sailors killed and ate
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
the cabin boy. They were later convicted of murder
Murder in English law
Murder is an offence under the common law of England and Wales. It is considered the most serious form of homicide, in which one person kills another either intending to cause death or intending to cause serious injury .-Actus reus:The definition of the actus reus Murder is an offence under the...
, despite their claimed defense of necessity
Necessity in English law
In English law, the defence of necessity recognises that there may be situations of such overwhelming urgency that a person must be allowed to respond by breaking the law. There have been very few cases in which this defence has succeeded...
.
Royal Navy officers
Several prominent British Royal Navy officers begun their career as cabin boys. The list includes officer that achieved an admiralty rank before 1801.- Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudsley Shovell
- Admiral Sir Francis DrakeFrancis DrakeSir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
- Admiral Sir John HawkinsJohn HawkinsAdmiral Sir John Hawkins was an English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader. As treasurer and controller of the Royal Navy, he rebuilt older ships and helped design the faster ships that withstood the Spanish Armada in 1588...
- Admiral (General) Richard DeaneRichard DeaneRichard Deane , English general-at-sea, major-general and regicide, was a younger son of Edward Deane of Temple Guiting or Guyting in Gloucestershire, where he was born, his baptism taking place on 8 July 1610...
- Admiral (Colonel) William RainsboroughWilliam RainsboroughThis article is about the English naval officer and ambassador to Morocco. For his son, the leveller, see William RainboroweSir William Rainsborough was an English Captain and Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy, English ambassador to Morocco and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to...
- Admiral Sir John NarboroughJohn NarboroughRear-Admiral Sir John Narborough or Narbrough was an English naval commander of the 17th century. He served with distinction during the Anglo-Dutch Wars and against the Barbary Coast pirates.-Early life:...
- Admiral Sir William PennWilliam PennWilliam Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
- Vice Admiral Sir William BattenWilliam BattenSir William Batten was an English naval officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1667.Batten was the son of Andrew Batten, master in the Royal Navy. In 1625 he was stated to be one of the commanders of two ships sent on a whaling voyage to Spitsbergen by the Yarmouth...
- Vice Admiral Sir John LawsonJohn LawsonJohn Lawson was a British explorer, naturalist and writer. He played an important role in the history of colonial North Carolina, publicizing his expeditions in a book, and founding two settlements.-Early life and education:...
- Vice Admiral (Captain) Badilow
- Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Tiddeman
- Vice Admiral (Captain) James Peacock
- Vice Admiral (Captain) William Goodson
- Vice Admiral Sir Christopher Mings
- Vice Admiral Sir John HarmanJohn HarmanSir John Andrew Harman is a former Chairman of the Environment Agency.-Early life:He attended the independent St George's College, Weybridge. From the University of Manchester he gained a BSc degree in , then did a PGCE at Huddersfield College of Education.-Career:He was a maths teacher at...
- Vice Admiral Sir John BerryJohn BerrySir John Berry was an English naval officer of the Royal Navy, and was in 1675 the captain of the annual convoy to Newfoundland that took place during the years of the colony's founding....
- Rear Admiral Sir Richard Stainer
- Rear Admiral (Captain) Anthony Houlding
- Rear Admiral (Captain) Deacons
- Rear Admiral (Captain) Robert Sansum
Notable cabin boys
- Hobart BosworthHobart BosworthHobart Bosworth was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer.-Early life:Born Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth, he was a direct descendant of Miles Standish and John and Priscilla Alden on his father's side and of New York's Van Zandt family, the first Dutch settlers to land in the New...
-- Cabin boy on the Sovereign of the SeasSovereign of the Seas (clipper)The Sovereign of the Seas, a clipper ship built in 1852, was a sailing vessel notable for setting the 1854 world record for fastest sailing ship-- 22 knots.Sovereign of the Seas has held this record for over 100 years.-Notable passages:...
who became a famous actor. - Michael Healy -- Cabin boy who sailed on the American East Indian ClipperClipperA clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...
Jumna in England in 1854. He quickly became an expert seaman and rose to the rank of officer on merchant vessels. He became the first African-American to command a ship of the United States Government. - Thomas NickersonThomas NickersonThomas Nickerson was a fourteen-year-old cabin boy on the Essex, who wrote an account of the ship's sinking and the three months that the crew survived at sea.-Overview:...
-- Cabin boy on the Essex who later wrote about the shipwreck and subsequent 3 months of survival at sea.
Popular culture
- Cabin BoyCabin BoyCabin Boy is a 1994 fantasy comedy film directed by Adam Resnick and produced by Tim Burton, which starred comedian Chris Elliott. Elliott co-wrote the film with Adam Resnick...
, a 1994 film - Cabin BoyCabin BoyCabin Boy is a 1994 fantasy comedy film directed by Adam Resnick and produced by Tim Burton, which starred comedian Chris Elliott. Elliott co-wrote the film with Adam Resnick...
, a song by Tom RobinsonTom RobinsonTom Robinson is an English singer-songwriter, bassist and radio presenter, better known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson Band...
from the 1984 /1997 Castaway Northwest CNWVP006 album War Baby - Captain PugwashCaptain PugwashCaptain Pugwash is a fictional pirate in a series of British children's comic strips and books created by John Ryan. The character's adventures were adapted into a TV series, using cardboard cut-outs filmed in live-action , also called Captain Pugwash, first shown on the BBC in 1957, a later colour...
, a British television children's animated series about a hapless Captain and his crew; Tom, the cabin boy, is depicted as the most intelligent member of the crew. - Treasure IslandTreasure IslandTreasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
, where the main character Jim serves as a cabin boy on the boarding of the ship the Hispaniola.