history

THE HISTORY

OF SHOPPOLIS ISLANDS

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The Partnership

     The agreement of partnership that Shopp and his crew signed together was most unique. Even though Shopp was owner, he was an equal partner with each crewman and officer. Each was a husband to the ship itself. Some of the more interesting terms in the agreement, that involved the permanent crew only, included:

the captain (Shopp) was the final law, as it should be at sea;

there were no monies paid to anyone in the form of salaries;

Prize Mary was a dry ship; there was no rum, beer or other intoxicant allowed aboard;

a shore stipend was allocated from the ship's budget for entertainment purposes; drunk crewmembers were not allowed back on deck and would be bundled into nets strung off the rails until sober;

all prizes and incomes would be distributed equally among all members after the expenses of the ship, the salaries of the "flex-crew" and other duties were subtracted. Each man was investing in the ship and its success and would profit or fail accordingly;

any punishments for infractions would be determined by the perpetrator himself then reviewed by a jury of five fellow crewmembers for fairness;

all personnel would eat and drink the same types of food and drink regardless of rank, and this was guaranteed to be well above the standard weekly rations for equivalent Dutch East Indiamen. The accepted DEI crew rations for the times comprised five pounds of ships biscuits, 1 pound of cheese, four pounds of butter, one and one-half pounds of salt meat, dried fish, barley, dried peas and beans, oil, mustard, vinegar, 14 pints of beer, 7 tots of brandy and water. Prize Mary's cook presented selections, far and away, better and more nutritious. PM even had a baker to be able to serve "reasonably fresh" biscuits and bread. If the complete company had to suffer, then this would be endured together, at the same level; provisions also include items specified on board Captain Cook's Endeavor, such as vinegar and sauerkraut;

all personnel would stand watches; no exceptions;

the chest of ship's funds would be secured in the orlop, and the key would be lashed to the mainmast;

officers would have separate cabins, because of the nature of their duties;

arms would be stored openly and not in locked areas; each man was assigned a weapon; each was responsible for cleaning and maintaining the device; firing practice would be performed once per month at sea according to the direction of the Master-at-Arms, as would calculated cannon firing under the direction of the Gunner; the following details were added and did not include the Captain or Owner.

anyone firing a weapon without permission would have his privileges revoked;

anyone firing a weapon at anyone else on board and not wounding that man would be placed in irons, and set ashore, with limited provisions, at the first safe harbor regardless of where it was or who lived there;

anyone firing a weapon at anyone else on board and wounding that man, would suffer the same wound, be placed in irons, and set ashore, naked and with no provisions regardless of where it was or who lived there, assuming he lived that long;

anyone firing a weapon at anyone else on board and killing that man, would be placed in irons, then thrown overboard with a cut across the chest (to bring on the sharks)

duties would be clearly defined and regulated by the First Lieutenant;

all personnel when not tending to a duty were free to relax in the manner he chose as long as he was not in the way;

all men must be single, unencumbered and be able to read and write;

all men had to be free of disease, particularly, venereal;

all uniforms were to be washed and dried, kept orderly, worn proudly;

any crewmember getting married, was given his share for one year after leaving the ship;

all monies were kept in bank accounts set up in the ship's name (Shopp) unless otherwise specified;

any man disabled as a result of his duties aboard was to be given a stipend each year ashore until the ship's business was completed, the income dropped below a certain point, or the sailor died;

in the event of death, the man's share, if not specified in a will to someone, was applied to the improvement of the ship;

orders were not negotiable, but terms of agreement were;

any man who left the ship without notice forfeited all invested sums;

any man who left the ship through negotiations and arrangements was given his fair share upon departure;

any man put in irons for certain offenses, was put ashore at the next port and forfeited his share of partnership.

     Captain Shopp was not only a man of reason and faith in his fellow man, he was also a man and knew that too much time at sea with single men could prove to be at least unstable, and at most, dangerous. Therefore, he had made arrangements with the refined woman he had talked to privately on the frigate Feenicks in Philadelphia. She called herself Anisette Landsman. He had asked her to collect nine women of her profession to join his ship as "women of the forecastle." Each had to be healthy, without disease, immaculate in person and dress, be reasonably well-spoken, be of even disposition, and be amenable to private encounters with crewmembers on a rotating basis. These women would be signed on by the voyage and would be returned to Philadelphia, if desired. In the impending years at sea, Miss Anisette, who changed her name to Anisette Forecastle, attended to the same nine girls, who did not jump ship, marry any crew member nor act out of line at any time. Any children born of these arrangements would be considered "children of the ship" and cared for accordingly until 14 years of age. These ten women earned their income from the men who frequented the forward portions of the ship during casual times. When on deck for air and exercise, each lady was escorted by an assigned crew member in order to keep "all things proper."

     The officers occasionally had the women aft for their collective enjoyment, and as dictated, all services were paid for. Captain Shopp was never seen with any of the ladies other than to dance or converse, but it was rumored that the captain had a particular fondness for Miss Forecastle, and the reverse was true. No crewmember or officer ever had the pleasure of Anisette's company, because she would politely refuse. Shortly after arriving on the islands, she was found to be pregnant. She delivered a healthy son on her new home island of Loveladies. She never divulged the identity of the father, as as far as everyone knows, her son had no idea either. Brigham Forecastle left Loveladies in his twenty-first year and never returned. He had remained a "child of the ship" until he reached 14.

     The last act of leadership emphasis performed by Shopp for the benefit of the ship's company was to call for the carpenter to bring him one nail and a hammer. Swiftly, he left the quarterdeck, asked for the a cat-o-nine-tails to be assembled, walked through the crowd of men to the center of the deck where he deftly nailed it to the mainmast at eye level. Quietly, he turned to the silent men and whispered, "Never give me reason to take this down." He returned to the quarterdeck where he received a cheer from the crew. His officers just stared at him. In the entire life of the Prize Mary, under the command of Captain Shopp, as well as, Captain Cryde, the cruel device was never taken down. When the ship was disassembled, and the ship's parts were applied ashore, the cat-o-nine-tails, tattered and fragile, was placed into a display box in the central building as a sign of how a ship of men should be run. It is still there.

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