Revolutionary Names: Privateer and Prize Ships, 1777-1814, Part 2

The arts, literature, and religion provided a plethora of source material for the naming of ships.  Characters from history, literature, Greek and Roman mythology, saints, and other religious derivations were very common inspirations in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Atlantic World.  The classicist movement was influential during this period, and classically inspired names were extremely prevalent among many types of ships

Revolutionary Names: Privateer and Prize Ships, 1777-1814, Part 1

Ship names may be commemorative or symbolic, hold a social significance, indicate political change, or offer a perceived protection in the dangerous world of the sea.  What thinking can be detected behind these naming choices?  Often we do not have a record of who named the ships, but we might understand the motivations behind the name or the vision that the namer wanted to project.  Ship names were important for the practical purposes of nautical law and busin

William Paine’s Instructions for Inoculation

Throughout the eighteenth century smallpox was sweeping the Americas and Europe, and in an attempt to reduce the number of deaths, physicians were practicing inoculation on those who were not ill in order to keep them from becoming sick with smallpox, much like today, when we receive vaccinations in order to avoid sickness.