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Organization of Ship's Food In the Golden Age of Piracy
Victualling Instructions of 1690
Introductory Note: The original document a variety of period conventions, some of which have been preserved, and others which have not. It contains superscripting to indicate that words have been abbreviated, which are preserved here. In the first instance where such a word may not be clear, some of the missing letters are inserted in brackets. The original spelling in the document is often phonetic which has also been kept. The occasional substitution of 'v' for 'u' and 'j' for 'i' have been changed to reflect the modern spelling since they add little to the original character of the document and can be confusing. Note that this text is nearly identical in form and substance to the first seventeen articles of the Victualling Instructions of 1699 , which are much easier to read.
By ye Comm[issione]rs, &c.
Instructions for ye Commissrs for Victualling their Ma[jes]t[y]s Navy.
Ist.
Artist: Willem Van de Velde the Elder - HMS Woolwich, 4th Tate (c. 1677)
The s[ai]d Commissionrs are to receive into their charge and possession all their Ma[jes]ts Houses, Brewhouaes, Bakehouses, Mills, Granaryes,
Storehouses, &c., as well at Tower Hill, as at Dover, Rochester, Portsmo[uth],
PIymo[uth],and Kinsale in Ireland, or elsewhere, which have been usually appropriated
for the service of the Victualling the King's Navy, together with all
Tenement, Grounds, and Profitts to them belonging or appertaining,
and to make use of such of them as shall bee needfull for ye service of
the Victualling, and for the accomodation of themselves, and their Agents employed in that affaire, and such of them as they shall not have occasion to employ they are to improve by Rent or otherwise, as shall be best for their Mats advantage, but not to Build, Alter, or Repaire any p[ar]t of the same without order from the Lord Adm[ira]ll or Lords of the Adm[iral]ty for the time being, upon a due Survey and Estimate first had thereof, unless it bee done for advantage of the said houses at their own charge.
2nd.
To receive into their chardg and possession all such provision of Victualls, Caske, Iron Hoopes, Biskett Baggs, and other Materialls and Utensills for Victualling, as are remaining at any of the Victualling Ports, or in any Victualling Ships, or any otherwise in the charge of the late Commrs of the Victualling, or any of their agents or servants for the use of the Navy, the same haveing beene first duly surveyed and appraised according to the order allready given on that behalfe, w[hi]ch they are to make use of in the Service of the Victualling, and to charge themselves therew[i]th upon their acc[ount]s.
3rd.
To take care timely and seasonably to provide all such good wholesome and serviceable Provic[s]ions of Victualls and other necessaryes fitting for Victualling the Seamen, Soldiers, and others which serve in their Mats owne, or hired Ships or Vessells in their Service, either at Sea or in harbour in such proporc[ti]ons; and in such Ports either in their Mats own Dominions, or in Foreigne parts, as they shall from time to time bee directed by warrants from ye Lord High Adm[ira]ll, or Lords of the Admty for the time being, or the principall offic[e]rs and Commrs of their Maty Navy, which Provicions of Victualling is to bee made according as is hereafter expressed, viz. Every man to have for his allowance, one pound averdupoiz of good, clean, sweet, sound, well-boyled with a house cloth, well-baked and well conditioned, Wheaten Biskett, one gallon wine measure of good wholesome beere, of such a standard as that every guile of twenty tunns of iron bound beere shall bee brewed with twenty quarters of very good
Beer Brewers, From Das Standbuch
By Jost Amman (1586)
malt, as good as generally is to bee had at the place where the said beere is brewed and a suffitient quantity of very good hopps to keep the same for the time of its warrantry, and eighteene quarters of the like malt, with the like quantity of the like sort of hopps to every guile of twenty tunns, of wood bound beere for sea, and the harbour beere to be good, sound, wholesome, and of suffit[c]ient strength, and fitting for the use of his Mats ships in Petty warr[an]t victualling [victualling while in port]. And if any complaint shall bee made, either of the sea or harbour beere, that the truth of the quantity and quality of the malt and hopps that shall have been used in the sea beere, shall bee evidenced by the oathes of the respective brewers, or other credible persons if the same shall bee required. Two pounds averdupoiz [avoirdupois] of beef, killed and made up with salt in England, of a well fat oxe, not weighing less than five hundred weight for what shall be killed for sea victualling in the port of London and four and a half hundred in any other of the ports in England where victualls shall bee provided, for two of the fower [four] days following, viz: Sundays, Mondays, Tewsdays, and Thursdays, and for the other two of those days one pound averdupoiz of bacon, or salted English porke, of a well fed hogg, not weighing less then three-quarters of a hundred weight, and a pint of pease (Winchester measures) therewith each of the said dayes, and for Wednesdays, Frydays, and Satterdays, every man besides the aforesaid allowance of bread and beere, to have by the day, the eighth pt of a full sized North Sea codd of 24 inches long, or a sixth part of a haberdine, 22 inches long, or a quarter pt of the same sort, if but 16 inches long, (provided that the haberdine that shall bee thus spent on their Mats ships consist not of more than a fifth of one size, on board any ship) or a pound averdupoiz of wellsaved Poor John, together with two ounces of butter, and fower ounces of Suffolk cheese, or two-thirds of that weight of Chesshire, but they shall deliver cleane well dressed oatmeale, in leiw of a sized fish, (at the rate of one gallon of oatmeale for a sized fish) where the principall Officrs and Commrsof the navy shall direct their soe doing. This method in victualling to bee always duly observed, as well in harbour as at sea, only there is to bee this difference beetweene harbour and sea victualls, that the bread and beef to bee spent in harbour bee delivered, the former in loaves and the latter fresh, with salt to come it. But if their Mats shall order any ship or vessell to the southward of the lattitude of thirty-nine degrees North lattitude, each man is to be victualled in leiw of a pound of biskett, with a pound of rusk of equall fineness, in leiw of a gallon of beere, a wine quart of beverage wine, and to shipps goeing to Guinee, or the East or West Indies, in leiw of a gallon of beere, half a wine pint of brandy, for halfe the proporcon at least of ye drinke they shall bee ordered to take in In leiw of a peece of beefe or porke with pease, three pounds of flower and a pound of raysins, halfe a pound of currans, or halfe a pound of beefe suett pickled, in leiw of a sized fish, fower pounds of Milan rice, or two stock fishes of at least 16 inches long each, in leiw of a pound of butter, or two pounds of Suffolk cheese, a wine pinte of sweete ollive oyle, to bee putt on board at all times in such particular spet[c]ies aforemenconed an in such proporcons and no otherwise, then as the principall Officrs and Commrs of the navy shall give direction, at the time of their sending their warrants for victualling the shipps.
4th.
They are to take particular care that all ye Sd Provicons aforemenconed shall bee Issued and delivered in such sort, order and manner, and in such good, sound, wholesome, and well saved victualls as that it shall continue fitt in all respects for their Mats service, during the space of six months from the time of its being received on board. Namely for all that shall bee declared to bee spent on this side the Canary Islands or lattitude of twenty-seaven degrees North lattitude, and twelve months for what shall bee issued to be spent to the southward of ye place or
Loading Ships in a 17th Century Dutch Shipyard,
From Ships
and Ways of Other Days, By E Keble Chatterton, 1913
lattitude. And in case any provicon shall prove defective within ye aforesaid time, or beere leaked out by the badness of the caske, (and not through anny ill stoage or neglect of the officrs or seamen aboard) they are upon the purser's producing a regular survey thereof, according to the custome of the navy, to issue the like quantity of good provicons to him in the room of it, or to give him a rec[eip]t for the same, for his discharge, which defective provicons they are to dispose of by sale, or otherwise to their Mats best advantage, and to charge themselves therewith upon their acc[oun]ts.
5th.
They are to pay unto the pursers of all such ships as shall be ordered to victuall towards the provideing of such necessaryes, such as wood, candles, dishes, canns, lanthemes, spoones, and other necessaryes usually provided by the pursers of their Mats ships under the title of necessaryes, ninepence for every man p[e]r mensem in each ship bearing sixty men and under, and sixpence in every ship carrying above sixty men, and two shillings for every ship loading charges by the month together, with the accustomary allowance, drawage [drayage, cost of transport] beeing fourpence per tunn for every tunn of beer the purser indents for, and ten groates pr mensem for adz money, viz: for soe long a time as the ship shall be victualled for sea service, and also for the ordinary men, and extraordinary men in harbour after the rate of twelve pence pr man a month. And further they are to pay to the purser after the rate of eightpence for every man pr mensem for sea service, being soe much allowed them for extra necessary money, all which several sums are to be paid to the purser imediately before the signeing of their indents for sea or warr[an]ts for harbour victualls.
Artist: Bengt Nordenberg
Man at a Wine Cask (1866)
6.
The beverage wine to be furnished to ships upon Foreigne voyages as above to bee good sound wine (not vinegar), and of such strength as it shall bee able to preserve the water from stinking when three times the quantity of wine shall be added to it in water.
7.
They are also to allow to each shipp they shall bee ordered to victuall for the seas, fower [four] hogsheads with eight iron hoops on each, the said hoops to bee hamered hoopes of good substance and well wrought or milld hoopes where they shall thinke them suffitient for their Mats service, for water caskes, with one bundle of wooden hoopes, and another of flaggs [Dried reed material which swells up and acts as a gasket in a cask, particularly for the groove where the cask head is placed. Flagging material is often made from Typha latifolia.1] for every one hundred men a month, and soe proportionably for a greater or lesser number of men, and such quantity of water caskes as the shipp can conveniently stow with such further provision of hoopes and staves as shall be judged necessary.
8.
That the warr[an]ts by which the sd Commrs are from time to time to issue the aforesaid provicon for the use of their Mats ships are to bee
Artist: Nicolas Bernard Lepicie
Courttyard of the Customs House (1775)
as followeth viz: for all victualls to bee spent at sea, the warrt of the Lord High Admirall or Commrs of the Admiralty for ye time being, or of three or more of the principall Officrs and Commrs of their Mats navy, or of a Commr in chiefe of a fleet or squadron, or of the particular Commander of any shipp, (in case only not admitting of the time requisite for the procureing any of those before recited,) as allso the demands of the pursers of any of their Mats shipps, tendring to the sd Commander or tneir agent a rec[eip]t under the hand of any other purser to whom bee had by order of his commander delivered supplies at sea, which receipts and order is to be taken up by the sd Commrs, and shall bee a suffitient warrt unto them, for issueing the value thereof unto the purser that did supply the same. And for victualls to bee spent in harbour by the extra, the warrt of ye clerke of the cheque of the port, where the same is to bee issued, and for what shall be spent in harbour by the ordinary, the warrt of ye clerke of the cheque and Ma[ste]r Attend[ant] (where any is) and in the execution of every of ye sd warrts the sd Commrs are to cause to be delivered on board shipps ye full contents of ye sd warrts in kind, unless ye Commrs and Ma[jest]y shall under their hands certifie to ye sd Commrs the incapacity of their ship to receive the same, in which case, (and that only) ye sd Commrs are to make good ye remainder thereof by such creddits as will be readyly answered unto them, on behalfe of their Mats at ye very next victualling port, where the same shall bee demanded, unless the shipps victualled be ordered in foreigne voyages, in which case alone
Keeping Track of Accounts, From T Recht
gebruyck vant italiaens boeck-houde,
By Hendrik Waninghen (1672)
the purser shall receive from ye sd Commrs ready money for soe much of the sd victualling, and at such rates and in such manner as they best can for their Mat service without lessening the proporcons, or goodness of victualls allowed by their Mats to the seamen serving in their shipps, and that a distinckt acct shall bee from time to time kept by ye sd Commrs for victualling of all creddits by them soe issued, and of the time and place of answering the same to the end that upon passing their accts they may be able to satisfie the principal Officrs and Commrs of their Mats navy, that the said creddits have been by them effectually made good, all which victualls as well for harbour as for sea, the sd Commrs for victualling are to take care to bee delivered on board their Mats shipps to the respective Pursers thereof without any charge to the sd Pursers for lighterage, portage, or otherwise, and without their comeing or attendance for it, so as that each Purser shall have his warrt or demand supplied at the ships side within twenty-four hours for harbour victualls, and forty-eight hours for sea provicons, or as soon as possibly it can bee-done, and that the Ma[ste]rs of the hoys, lighters or other vessells, by whom ye sd provicons shall be sent on board their Mats ships shall deliver the same into the slings and tailes of the ship on board which the same is to bee put, and they are from time to time to informe themselves of the state of each shipps victualling to enable them the better and sooner to comply with such orders as they shall receive on that behalfe.
9.
They are allso to cause to bee delivered in iron-bound casks hooped with iron hoopes of good substance, hamered and well wrought iron as aforesaid, One compleate moyetie [half] of the proportion of beere ord[ere]d to each ship designed for the channell, or any other voyage then for Guinea, or the East or West Indies and for each designed for Guinea, or the East or West Indies,
Artist: William Darton
Coopering, From Little Jack of All Trades (1814)
three-fourths of their proporcon of beere is to bee put in iron-bound caskes, hooped with iron hoopes of good substance, and well wrought iron as above.
10.
The Indents to be taken by the sd Commrs of the Pursers for victualls which they shall issue to them shall bee made in ye same forme and manner as was directed, in the contract with the late contractors for victualling the navy, which indent shall bee dated in words at length, and not in figures, by the hands of the Pursers who are to signe them, before theire signeing thereof. And the provissions which are therein menconed to bee upon creddit shall bee repeated at the bottom, or on the back side of the said Indents, and against each of the sd speties the true quantity thereof which was not delivered in kind, but remains to bee made good by creddit, is to be expressed in words at length and to be attested by the persons signeing the sd Indents; likewise the true speties delivered, and the quantities of each are to bee expressed in ye sd Indents, and not one thing for another as hath been two often practised, and moreover the sd Commrs are to demand one or more duplicates of ye sd Indents, or Rec[eip]ts signed by the Pursers at the time of their lndentinge, and to send the same to the Comptroller of the Victualling, viz: within seven days after its date for what shall be delivered at the ports of London, Harwich, Dover, and Portsmouth, and three days after their receiving any from remoter ports.
11.
And in case any of their Mats ships shall retume from sea to bee laide up, haveing any Provicons of Victualls remaining on board, the sd Commrs shall imediately upon notice given to them by the Purser of the said shipp, send hoys, lighters, and other fitting vessells to fetch away the same, together with the caske, iron hoopes, and biskett baggs, and cause the hoyman and lighterman, or of the other vessell as recd ye sd victualls, caske, iron hoopes, and biskett baggs, to take an exact acct of the same, and
Artist: Claude-Joseph Vernet
Loading Ship, Interieur du port de Marseille (1754)
to give the Purser or his Instrument a receipt for what bee shall receive on board him, before his sailing away, or bee debarred his freight till the same is adjusted, and bee produceth a certiflcate of what the Purser chargeth him with, which certificate the Purser is obliged to deliver to ye said hoyman, lighterman, &c., at the time of his loading; for w[hi]ch victualls, caskes, staves, iron hoopes, and biskett baggs, so returned, the sd Commrs are as well to give a receipt to ye sd Purser, as to transmitt without faile to the Comptroller of the Victualling, within twenty dayes after laying up of each shipp, a duplicate of the said receipt together with the full charge upon ye Purser, and an exact state of the acct between themselves, and him for caske, hoopes, biskett baggs; &c., all which Provicons, caske, hoopes, biskett baggs, &c , soe returned shall bee disposed of by ye sd Commrs to their Mats best advantage, such part thereof as upon due survey made of ye same shall be found sound, sweete, wholesome, and fitting for their Mats service to be issued againe either for sea or harbour Victualling, for which the same shall bee found most proper, and the remainder thereof which shall be found defective, to bee sold at the best rates yt [that] may be procured for the same, and for prevention of any disputes, touching the number of staves, of which each sort of the caske shall bee reputed to consist in their returnes, which his Mats Pursers are obliged to make thereof. It is hereby declared, that each of ye butts soe to bee returned, if shaken [taken apart], shall consist of noe less than twenty-six staves, and every barrell seaventeene staves (the heading included,) whereof two pieces of each to be accounted a staffe [stave], allways accounting each staffe about forty-five inches long for a butt staffe, each staffe of thirty-eight inches long if ye same bee of old stufe to bee reckoned for a punchion staffe, and the like for every staffe betweene thirty-eight and forty-four inches Iong, and each staffe above thirty-two inches long unto thirty-eight, including allso ye thirty-eight inches, if it bee a new staffe to bee reckoned to a hogshead, and each staffe under thirty-two inches long, as low as twenty eight inches to be reckoned as a barrell staffe.
12.
That the sd Commrs are allso to take care to pay all Bills of Exchaing which shall be drawne by the Command and Pursers for Victualls, provided for any of their Mats shipps abroad in ports where noe Victualls shall have beene order'd to bee provided, when the necessity of their Mats service shall requier the taking up of Victualls, in the sd ports, as allso that they defray ye charge of the freight of all such Provicons as shall at any time bee order'd to attend their Mats fleete or to bee sent to any of their Mats ships abroad, or at home, to provide such water shipps for the service of the sd fleete, as shall bee directed to bee taken up, to pay such bills as shall bee made out, and assigned upon them by the Navy Board for the ballancing of any Victualling Accounts, and sattisfie all other expenses whatsoever relating to the Victualling of the Navy, that so the whole charge thereof may appeare in that Office.
13.
They are to take care that no beere bee issued for Victualling their Mats shipps in any port where a sworne guager is to be had, in [any] other caske then what shall by such sworne guager have its contents in gallons (Winchester measure) marked on the head of it, and that all
Artist: James Stewart
Curing Yard for Meat (1865)
other casks of Provicons have the contents of the Provicons in each caske marked on the head thereof by the same person (that can if there shall bee occasion) testifie upon oath that there is in the said caske the quantity marked by him on the head thereof. They are allso to take care that ye beefe and porke which they shall at any time Victuall their Mats ships wch shall allways hold at such weight, as ye every twenty-eight pieces of beefe cut for fower [four] pound pieces, tooke out of the caske as they rise, and the salt shaken off it shall weigh one hundred pound nett averdupoize weigh of every fifty six pieces of bacon, or salt pork cut for two pieces, and tooke out of its caske, and shaken as in ye beef, shall weigh one hundred and fower pounds nett averdupoize. After wch method, upon the weighing of a whole caske of the sd beefe or porke, in ye presence of two or more of the Warrt Officrs of the shipp, the certificate of the sd Officrs such, as they shall bee ready to make oath to, shall in case of shortness of weight not only impower the Purser to make allowance to the seamen in money or victualls att the next Victualling port for such shortness, but oblige the sd Commrs, their Deputies, Ministers, Assigns, to make present satisfaction to the Purser without delay in the next Victualling port where it shall demanded.
14.
They are to take care yt [that] no beefe. provided and put on board their Mats shipps shall be delivered in pieces of any other weights then of fower [four] pounds, nor porke then of two pounds of averdupoize weight in each piece, and that at no time there shall be any unusuall pieces put up with the other flesh, or apart for the use of the shipps companies, such as legg bones, shins of oxen, or the cheekes of hoggs, or oxe-hearts,&c.
15.
The said Commrs may, if they find it for their Mats service,. issue to the seamen serving on board their Mats ships in Ordinary three pounds of beefe in liew of two pounds of porke for the months of May, June, July, and August.
16.
The said Commrs nor any of them, nor any other person or persons on their, or any of their behalfes, either directly or indirectly, are not any manner of way to be interested or concerned in selling of victuals, or any stores, necessaries, or utensils whatsover, for ye service of the Victualling, or in any benefitt or advantage wch may arrise thereby, as they will answer the contrary at their perrills.
17.
They are to manage the service to the best advantage of their Mats the particulars thereof, according to their best skill, judgmemt and direction, and to stand accomptable [accountabl] to their Mats as well for the provideing of good, sound, and wholesome Provicons for the health and sattisfaction of.the seamen serving in their Mats shipps and fleet as that the whole service shall be managed with all possible frugallity, and good husbandry on their Mats behalfes.2
1 Barrel Builders Inc, Barrel Maintenance and Repair Manual, 1995, p. 24; 2 "Ancient Naval Records", Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1848, Copied by John Barrow, 1848, pp. 326-29 & 478-82
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