An important topic to consider when discussing the influence of Boston’s maritime economy on its social structure is the condition of its sailors. John Woolman, a Christian passenger traveling from the Colonies to England, recorded much about his opinions of the sailors of his ship in a journal. His view of them was that they were sinful and profane, but he had pity on them for their condition.
“I feel an openness this morning to express something further of the state of my mind in respect to poor lads bound apprentice to learn the art of sailing…A pious father whose mind is exercised for the everlasting welfare of his child may not with a peaceable mind place him out to an employment among a people whose common course of life is manifestly corrupt and profane. Great is the present defect among seafaring men in regard to virtue and piety; and, by reason of an abundant traffic and many ships being used for war, so many people are employed on the sea that the subject of placing lads to this employment appears very weighty.”
The reason for this apparent degradation of sailors may lie in how they were hired. Most sailors were hired by ship captains searching for potential helpers along the waterfront.1 Men willing to sail the ocean were probably unattached, single men without work. Woolman records instances of the sailors’ dirtiness of living and their danger and worries throughout the journey. It therefore seems most men with another option for employment would avoid work as a sailor. As a result, the type of men that were hired by ship captains were hardly likely to be upstanding citizens to start with, but there is also a good chance that the sphere sailors worked in further degraded their character. Exposure to other corrupt personalities would hardly benefit a sailor’s moral condition. In conclusion, the hiring practices that were used to find sailors were not likely to find men that a devout Christian would deem virtuous, and that postulate is confirmed by John Woolman’s journal.
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Source: John Woolman, "Chapter XI," in Journal of John Woolman (c. 1772), quoted in Paul Halsall,
"Modern History Sourcebook: John Woolman (1720-1772): Journal," Last modified August 1998,
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1772woolman.asp.
- Steven J. J. Pitt, "Building and Outfitting Ships in Colonial Boston," Early American Studies 886, no. 4 (Fall 2015): 881-907, accessed March 5, 2022, https://www.jstor.org/stable/44630808.