press gangs
Naval kidnapping crews
Press gangs were groups authorized to force men into military or naval service, particularly in Britain during the 18th and early 19th centuries.
The practice, called impressment, targeted sailors and able-bodied men who could be compelled to serve on warships, often seized from taverns or streets without warning.
As a verb, to press-gang someone means to coerce them into doing something against their will: They press-ganged me into helping with the move.
- impressmentForced military recruitment
- conscriptionMandatory military enrollment
- shanghaiingKidnapping into naval service
- naval recruitmentEnlisting personnel for sea forces
- frigatesMidsized naval combat vessels
warrants · resistance · coercion · naval warfare · 18th century · kidnapping · Napoleonic Wars · sailors · Royal Navy · man of war · ship crews · merchant ships · family separation · sea power · naval patrols · port towns · riots · maritime trade
- naval historybattleships, naval battles, naval history, admiral, battleship
- piracysoftware piracy, pirates, torrents, book piracy, buccaneers
- Age of Sailgalleons, ships, sea voyages, naval expeditions, sea battles
- colonialismcolony, colonization, colonial rule, colonial powers, colonizer
- English Lawbarristers, solicitors, solicitor, High Court, Crown Court
- historical crimehighway robbery, pickpocketing, burglary, arson, piracy
press gangsvoluntary enlistment
Unpressured military signup
volunteer recruitment · volunteers · volunteer army · enlistees · recruitment offices
press gangsrecruitment incentives
Enticements for prospective hires
signing bonuses · discharge papers · liberty · freedom · demobilization
press gangsfree choice
Unrestricted decision-making power
conscientious objection · draft exemption · liberty · personal autonomy · freedom of movement
press, gang, pressed, pressing, presses, pressure, pressurize, pressurized, pressurizing