Food By Sailor Type Menu:   1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10     11     12     13     14     15     16     17     18       Next>>

Organization of Ship's Food In the Golden Age of Piracy

Instructions to the Purser in 1731

By the Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of England, Ireland, &c.

Article I.

THE Purser, being the Officer who is entrusted with the keeping and distributing the Provisions out to the Ship's Company, is to observe the following Instructions.

Artist: Claude-Joseph Vernet - A Calm at a Mediterranean Port (1770)

Article II.

When the Ship, whereof he is Purser, is put into Commission, and ordered to be fitted out for the Sea, he is every Three Days, or as frequently as may be, to in Petty procure Warrants signed by the chief Officer on board and the Clerk of the Cheque, for the Number of Men mustered, during the Time that the Ship shall continue in Extra Petty Warrant [provisions provided to the men while a ship was in port], which Warrant he is to deliver to the Agent for Victualling, and to see that the Ship be duly supplied; and he is to take care, that Not to spend no Part of the Sea Provisions be expended, while the Ship is in Extra Petty Warrant..

Article III.

He is not to enter any Man's Name on his Books, nor supply him with Provisions, but by Note in Writing from the Clerk of the Cheque, or the Commanding Officer on board, which he must produce as a Voucher, in passing his Accounts.

Article IV.

He is to inform himself, from the Captain, of the Time the Ship is ordered to be victualled for, and to take care, that there be no Failure on his part in timely indenting [ordering according to the agreed upon price] for, and getting the full Quantity of Provisions, Water, Cask, Necessaries, &c. on board.

Artist: Joseph Vernet
Bringing Barrels to a Vessel, Premiere vue du port de
Bordeaux - Prise du Cote des Salinieres (1758)

Article V.

He is to take care, that all the Provisions be sweet and good, and that the Cask be sound, otherwise to object against their being received into the Ship, without a Survey; he is particularly to note down in Writing the Marks of the Cask, and of the other Provisions which come on board, that if any prove defective afterwards, he may be able to testify where, and when the same was received.

Article VI.

If the Ship cannot contain all her Provisions, he is to bring a Certificate, under the Hands of the Commander and Master, to the Commissioners of the Victualling or their Agent, specifying the Quantity of Species received short of the Proportion ordered, and the Incapacity of the Ship to receive any more, to the End that the Remainder may be put on board other Ships, or made good to him by Credit, Bills, or Foreign Coin, in which Case Notice will be given by the Commissioners of the Victualling to the Captain, who is to see that the Bills or Money be brought on board by the Purser, and duly applied.

Article VII.

He is to procure Certificates, under the Hands of the Commander and Master, of the Quantity of Provisions received into the Ship, which he must produce to the Commissioners of the Victualling, or to their Officer; without which, he will not be allowed to indent for the said Provisions.

Article VIII.

He shall not discount any part of the Credit on his Indents for Money [charges against his salary which he made on behalf of the Government until verified and cleared at the end of the voyage]; nor indent for fresh Supplies of content any Species, before his Credit is satisfied.

An 18th Century Lathe, From Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences,
des arts et des métiers, vol. 10, By Denis Diderot (1765)

Article IX.

He is to provide the Ship sufficiently at all Times with Coals, Wood, Turnery Ware [round objects made on a lathe such as wooden bowls], Candles, Lanthorns, and other Necessaries; to enable him to do which, His Majesty allows Twelve Pence a Man a Month, whilst Allowances the Ship is in Extra Petty Warrant, and Fourteen to him. Pence in Sea Victualling [preserved food served only while the ship is at sea], unless the Complement be Sixty Men, or under, in which Case he shall have Seventeen Pence a Man a Month, during the Time of Sea Victualling. There is likewise allowed him Four Pence a Tun for Drawage [drayage, cost of transport] of Beer, and Two Shillings a Month Loading Charges; and if the Ship bears more than Sixty Men, Ten Groats a Month Adz-Money [money to purchase tools needed for the ship¹], all which will be immediately paid him, after signing his Indent.

Article X.

He is to be very careful in looking into the good Order, Stowage, and Preservation of the Provisions; and to issue out first such Part thereof as he shall perceive to be most liable to Decay, or which have the Marks of old Provisions, before he spends upon the new.

Article XI.

Decayed Provisions Form, Regulations and Instructions (1731)
Background Artist: Samuel Scott (c. 1736)

In case any of the Provisions prove defective and unfit for Use, he is to acquaint the Captain, who shall immediately procure a Warrant from the Commander in Chief, or give one himself, (in case no other Ship be in Company) directed to Three (or more) Warrant Officers, to survey the same, who, after due Inspection made, are to draw out a Report of the Condition of the said Provisions upon the Back of the Warrant, according to the Form in Page (177.)

Article XII.

No Officers of the Ship shall be employed in the Survey [of bad victuals], if any other Ships be in Company. And if the Ship be alone in a Port where there are Naval Officers, then the Captain is to apply to have a Naval Officer joined in the Survey.

Article XIII.

If the Ship, at the Time of the Survey, is at or near any Victualling Port, he is not to suffer any of the condemned Provisions to be thrown over board, except Cheese, but to return the same to the Agent of the Victualling. The like he is to do, if the Ship be at Sea, and an Agent with Victualling Vessels be in Company. But if there be no Agent, or he shall refuse to receive the condemned Provisions, (the Reason whereof he is to certify under his Hand) and the Surveyors shall give their Opinion, that the same are not fit to be kept on board, (the Reasons whereof they are likewise to certify under their Hands) he is then, being directed thereto by a Warrant from the Commander in Chief, (or from his own Captain, if the Ship be alone,) to cause the said Provisions to be flung over board, Beer Cask being first filled up, taking the Certificate of the Surveyors of the Quantity so thrown away, which is to be written in Words at length at the Foot of the said Warrant; and either himself, or his Steward, is to make Oath to the Truth of the same, the first Opportunity they shall have of doing it, as also when, where, and from whom the said Provisions were received.

Article XIV.

In case any Provisions shall be cast by Survey, after the Time for which they were put on board to serve, he is to expect no Allowance on such Surveys, with they were to out producing a very satisfactory Certificate from the last, not to be Captain and Officers of the Ship, why the said Provisions were not sooner expended.

Article XV.

Condemned Butter not to be flung over board. Condemned Butter is never to be flung over board, but to be returned into His Majesty's Stores, unless the Boatswain shall want any for the Ship's Use [in place of grease], in which case he may be supplied with what is necessary, and shall be charged therewith.

Article XVI.

Beer Leakage Survey Form, Regulations and Instructions (1731)
Background Photo: Pascal Kryl, Bungs in Casks

If any Cask of Beer shall have leaked out a Quantity, he is to apply to the Captain for a Warrant, directed to the Master, and two (or more) other Officers of the Ship, (the Mate in this Case to be esteemed an Officer) for their surveying the same; who are to report under their Hands, on the Back of the said Warrant, the Quantity leaked out, in Words at length, according to the Form in Page (178.) and to be very particular in giving the Reasons and Occasion of the Leakage. The Cooper is likewise to make Oath to the Truth of the said Leakage, and that no Beer was drawn or pumped out of any of the said Cask, with his Knowledge, before the Time of Survey.

Article XVII.

He is never to expect any Allowance for Leakage of Wine, Oyl, Brandy, Rum, or Arrack, but to see that the Cask be found and full at their coming on board, and to be answerable for the Care of them afterwards, there being proper Conveniencies made in the Hold for securing the said Liquors from any Abuses, which are not to be employed to any other Use whatsoever.

Article XVIII.

He is to procure Duplicates of all Orders, Reports, Duplicates of Certificates, &c. relating to Surveys, attested under the Hands of the Surveyors, and to transmit the same by the first Opportunity to the Commissioners of the Victualling, reserving the Originals in his own Hands, for the passing his Accounts. [Pursers weren't paid until their accounts were passed - approved - by the navy.]

Article XIX.

If any Species of Provisions falls short, and the Want thereof is supplied to the Men out of another Species, he is to take care, when the Ship receives a Supply, to issue out the like Quantity of the Species that was wanting, and for the same Number of Days, instead of the other Species that was before issued in lieu thereof, that His Majesty may not be put to an extraordinary Charge on that Account.

Article XX.

If any Cask of Beef, or Pork, shall fall short of the Contents marked on the Head,
Salt Meat Survey Report, Regulations and Instructions (1731)
Background Photo: Peter Isotalo, Vasa Museum Model
he must apply to the Captain for his Warrant to the Master, and to one or more of the Mates [fellow Pursers], who shall survey the same, and report under their Hands, according to the Form in Page (179.) and either himself, or his Steward, is to make Oath, at the Foot of the Survey, to the Truth thereof; and that none of the said Cask were opened, or any Pieces taken out, before the Time of the Survey, to the best of their knowledge or Belief. And it is farther expected that, with that Account, there be produced an exact Account kept of the Number of Pieces of Beef and Pork in all the Cask that shall be expended after such a Discovery, and a true Balance thereof delivered to the Commissioners of the Victualling.

Article XXI.

He is not to sell or make any undue Use of the Provisions or Stores under his Charge. And the better to discourage Pursers from selling His Majesty's Provisions in dear Years [when they could fetch a high price at a market], knowing they are not to pay more, when Debtors on the Balance of their Accounts, than the settled Prices; it is hereby ordered, that in those Years, where the Price of any Species shall exceed the Sum usually charged on Pursers in Debt, the Purser shall be obliged to pay the full Value His Majesty gave for the Provisions; which is no more than reasonable, seeing that no Purser can possibly fall into Arrears, but by his own ill Management.

Article XXII.

He is not to purchase any Provisions in Places where there is an Agent or Contractor, or when there is a likelihood of coming in their way; but, in case the Ship is in Want of Provisions in Foreign Parts, where there is no Agent or Contractor, he shall apply to the Captain, who is to cause the Remains to be surveyed by his Officers; and, upon their certifying what is absolutely necessary to be supplied, and the Reason of the Deficiency, shall give his Warrant to the Purser to procure the same, which he is to do with the best Frugality, taking care that the said Provisions be good and wholsome. The Receipts of Payment for the Provisions are to be witnessed by Two Commission or Warrant Officers, and to express the Quantity and Prices of each Species; and he is to procure a Certificate from the Governor or Consul, where there are any, or else from Two or Three of the most eminent Merchants upon the Place, that the said Bargains were according to the Market Price.

Article XXII.

He is to take Notice, that there will not be allowed Store-house on his Accounts any Charge for Store-house Room [storage costs for the provisions], or Commission. And as to Sloops or Boats, they are never to be hired but upon an indispensible Necessity, and by his Commander's Orders; and he is to produce upon a Certificate from the signing Officers, specifying the Occasion of their being hired, and that they were not employed longer than was absolutely necessary.

Article XXIV.

Artist: Paul Lacroix, After Joseph Vernet
Preparing a Ship to Sail, From XVIII Siecle
Institutions Usages et Costumes France-
1700-1789, (1875)

If it shall be necessary for the Purser to draw Bills of Exchange upon the Commissioners of the Victualling, abroad, either for Moneys taken up abroad to purchase Provisions, or for the Payment of Provisions supplied by Merchants, the Money is to be taken up by Publication, and the Captain is to attest the Bills, that they are drawn upon Account of the necessary victualling of the Ship, and by his Order; and the Purser is to procure Certificates from the Governor, Consul, of Merchants, as aforesaid, of the Currency of the Exchange at that Time, which he is to transmit Home with the Bills; and at the same Time, or as soon after as possible, to send to the Victualling-Office a distinct Account how the said Money has been laid out, with a Certificate from the Commander, Master, and Boatswain, that the Provisions charged therein to have been bought, were received on board.

Article XXV.

When he returns Home, he is to deliver into the Victualling-Office an Account Current of all his Disbursements in Foreign Parts for the Service of the Ship, setting forth the Quantity and Price of every Species of Provisions bought, together with the particular Charge attending the same, reduced into English Money, with his Affidavit at the Foot of the Account, that the several Summs therein mentioned were actually paid as against each Summ expressed, without any Profit to himself, or to any person on his Account, by Exchange or otherwise; and that the Quantity of Provisions charged therein, was the full Quantity, English Weight and Measure, and was all received on board in Kind; and that he has not procured Provisions of any Sort (except what hath been saved by the Ship’s Company out of their daily Allowance) at the same Time and Place, on his own Account.

Article XXVI.

If the Ship shall happen to be at a place where Water cannot be had without Money, he is, upon a Warrant from the Captain, to purchase what is necessary, taking Receipts witnessed by Two Commission or Warrant Officers, and a Certificate from the Captain, of the Quantity brought on board.

Article XXVII.

If the Cask shall prove defective in Foreign Parts, where there is no Opportunity of returning them into a Stores, and receiving better, the Purser shall employ his Cooper
The Cooper, From The Book of English Trades and library of the
Useful Arts (1806)
to repair and new trim the said Cask, without any Charge to His Majesty for Workmanship. He shall keep a distinct Account of the Wast[e] of Staves, or Iron Hoops, in making the Remainder serviceable; and himself, or the Cooper, shall make Oath to the Truth thereof; upon producing which, with the Captain's Certificate of the Badness of the Cask, the Necessity of trimming the same, and the Quantity so trimmed, it will be allowed him on his Accounts.

Article XXVIII.

He is not to suffer any Cask to be expended, or cut for Extra Service, without an Order from the Captain in Writing, who is to give him likewise a Certificate, expressing the Quantity expended, when, and for what Service. But he is to take Notice, that no Cask used for Washing Tubs, Steep Tubs [for soaking meat to remove salt], or by the Cook, will be allowed as an Extra Expence, they being to be included in the ordinary Allowance for Wast[e]; and all Cask made use of in the Tops or Quarters, that are not cut, are not to be looked upon as expended, nor the Iron Hoops on the Cask that are cut to stand between the Guns. [This refers to casks used to hold water for various purposes (such as swabbing the cannon). Those not cut down were to be returned to the victualling station while the iron hoops of those cut in quarters were to be returned.²]

Article XXIX.

If any Loss happens in the Provisions or Stores, by allowed for Action with the Enemy, or other unavoidable Accident, he is to produce a Certificate from the Captain of what was so lost, with the Occasion of it; and himself, or some other, who was present, is to make Oath, that it did not happen through any Neglect or Default, nor that any Part of what was so lost, could possibly be saved.

Article XXX.

He is to keep an exact Muster Book of the Time of Entry, Discharge, Desertion, Death, Attendance and Absence of every Person belonging to the Ship, and to set off against their Names the Slop Cloaths, Dead Mens Cloaths [which they purchased at auction to raise funds for the man's widow or estate], Beds and Tobacco they have been supplied with, that so he may be
Artist: Gabriel Metsu Young Man Smoking (1657) able to vouch the Ticket made out by the Captain for any Man's Wages of the Ship. He is carefully to note down, on the Front of the said Book, the Times of beginning and ending Petty Warrant [victualling while in port] or Sea Victualling, as also Short Allowance [money owed to the sailors when they were put on reduced rations to conserve food], and the Nature and Quality of the said Allowance, and what Money has been paid on that Account.

Article XXXI.

It is allowed to him, at such Times as the Captain shall appoint, and in some publick Place upon Deck, to issue out to such Seamen as do smoak, and shall desire it, cut and dried sweet scented Tobacco, not exceeding Two Pounds per Month to a Man, at the Rates settled by the Navy-Board.

Article XXXII.

He is not to victual any Supernumeraries [people who are not official members of the crew], but by Warrant in Writing from the Captain; and if the same be done in pursuance of Orders the Captain has received, he is to procure from him an attested Copy of the said Orders, as well as his own Warrant.
List of Supernumeraries Form,
Image Artist: Cornelis de Wael
Plate 3, Harbour Scene with Sailors Working on a Pier (1645)
He is to draw out, on the Back of the said Warrant, a List of their Names, according to the Form in Page (180.) and to procure the Captain's Certificate, at the Foot of the said List, of the Truth thereof.

Article XXXIII.

When he victuals any other Ship’s Men, by his Captain's Order, he is to demand Repayment for the same from the Purser of that Ship, (unless they are chequed [stuck] there out of Victuals) and in case of Refusal, to send by the first Opportunity a perfect List of the said Mens Names, and Time of Victualling, certified by his Captain, to the Victualling Office.

Article XXXIV.

He is not to spare any Provisions, or Stores, to any other Ship, but by his Captain's Warrant in Writing, upon the Back of which he is to take the Purser's or Steward's Receipt, mentioning the Quantity of each Sort in Words at length, with the Time when, and Place where; and he is, by the first Opportunity, to send a Copy of the said Receipt to the Commissioners of the Victualling.

Article XXXV.

He is to keep a Book of all Men sent sick out of the Ship, mentioning in proper Columns their Number on the Ship’s Book, Names, when and where sent, when returned or discharged, and Number of Days absent, which is to be delivered into the Office of the Comptroller of the Navy; he is likewise to keep a perfect Slop [Clothing] Book, Book of Dead Mens Cloaths [sold to the remaining sailors at the mast], and a Tobacco Book, which he is to deliver into the respective Offices, before the Pay of the Ship.

Article XXXVI.

Artist: Dominic Serres the Elder
Return of a Fleet into Plymouth Harbour (1766)

When any Ship returns from her Voyage into Port to be laid to be laid up, upon the Purser’s sending Notice to the Victualling Office, there will immediately be sent off Vessels or Lighters [barges] to bring away the Remainder of the Ship’s Provisions, together with the Cask, Iron Hoops, and Biscuit Bags; and the Purser is to send with the said Provisions his Steward, or some careful Person, to see the safe Delivery of them to the Agent, or other Officer appointed to receive them.

Article XXXVII.

For preventing any Disputes touching the Number of Staves, of which each Sort of Cask shall be reputed to consist when returned, it is to be observed, that each Butt returned, if shaken [taken apart], shall consist of no less than Twenty six Staves; every Puncheon of Twenty two; every Hogshead of Twenty; and every Barrel of Seventeen Staves, Heading [the top and bottom] included, whereof two Pieces are to be reckoned a Stave; always accounting each Stave above Forty four Inches long, for a Butt Stave; from Forty four to Thirty eight Inches, for a Puncheon Stave; from Thirty eight to Thirty two Inches, for a Hogshead Stave; and from Thirty two to Twenty eight Inches, to be reckoned a Barrel Stave. [This is an effort to prevent the theft of wood, which was quite valuable at this time.]

Article XXXVIII.

No Receipts shall be given for Provisions returned into Store, until a Regular Survey be taken thereof, nor any Allowance for such as is defective made to the Purser, until he has made Affidavit, that the said Provisions were received out of His Majesty's Stores, or from Persons under Contract with the Victualling Office, (expressing the Time when, and Place where received) and that there was no
List of Supernumeraries Form,
Image Artist: Cornelis de Wael
Plate 3, Harbour Scene with Sailors Working on a Pier (1645)
Neglect on his Part in the timely issuing thereof. The like Oath is to be made by him, that all the Cask, Staves, Iron Hoops, and Biscuit Bags returned to the Office, were received out of His Majesty's Stores, or from Contractors, as aforesaid. As to Provisions which are furnished under Warranty, such as Beer, Butter, and Cheese, the Purser shall receive no Allowance for them, if they are cast [checked] by Survey after the Time of Warranty.

Article XXXIX.

He is to deliver in his Books and Papers so timely, that his Victualling Account may be passed within Six Months after the Ship’s being paid off at farthest; and, when he delivers in the said Accounts, he is to bring his Affidavit, that the particular Quantities of every individual Species of Provisions therein mentioned were actually delivered on board the Ship in Kind, and that he did not receive any Money, or other Consideration, in lieu of any Part thereof, nor was supplied with any more Provisions or Stores, than what is there charged.

Article XL.

If he has Cause of Complaint against any of the Officers of the Ship, with relation to the Disposition of the Provisions or Stores under his Charge, he is to represent the same to the Navy Board before the Pay of the Ship, in order to their doing Right between them and His Majesty, before the said Officers receive their Pay.

Article XLI.

He is to be very careful not to sign any Accounts, any Papers Books, Lists or Tickets, before he has thoroughly informed himself of the Truth of every Particular contained in the same.³

¹ See footnote in Naval Manuscripts in the Pepsyian Library Vol IV, JR Tanner ed., 1903, p. 177; ² Thanks to Benerson Little for his help in understanding this. From The Authentic Pirate Living History Group, Facebook, gathered from the web, 2/26/21; ³ Regulations and instructions relating to His Majesty's service at sea,1st ed, 1731, pp. 113-28

Food By Sailor Type Menu:   1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10     11     12     13     14     15     16     17     18       Next>>