Mutiny on the Spanish Main: HMS Hermione and the Royal Navy’s revenge
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Overview
’A vivid account of a forgotten chapter of British naval history.’ Dan Snow, Historian, TV Presenter and Broadcaster
The true story of one of the most notorious mutinies in naval history, which provided inspiration for Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey–Maturin and C.S. Forester’s Hornblower novels.
In 1797 the 32-gun Royal Navy frigate HMS Hermione was serving in the Caribbean, at the forefront of Britain’s bitter sea war against Spain and Revolutionary France. Its commander, the sadistic and mercurial Captain Hugh Pigot ruled through terror, flogging his men mercilessly and pushing them beyond the limits of human endurance. On the night of 21 September 1797, past breaking point and drunk on stolen rum, the crew rebelled, slaughtering Pigot and nine of his officers in the bloodiest mutiny in the history of the Royal Navy. Handing the ship over to the Spanish, the crew fled, sparking a manhunt that would last a decade. Seeking to wipe clean this stain on its name, the Royal Navy pursued the traitorous mutineers relentlessly, hunting them across the globe, and, in 1801, seized the chance to recover its lost ship in one of the most daring raids of the Age of Fighting Sail. Anchored in a heavily fortified Venezuelan harbour, the Hermione – now known as the Santa Cecilia – was retaken in a bold night-time action, stolen out from under the Spanish guns. Back in British hands, the Hermione was renamed once more – its new identity a stark warning to would-be mutineers: Retribution.
Drawing on letters, reports, ships’ logs, and memoirs of the period, as well as previously unpublished Spanish sources, Angus Konstam intertwines extensive research with a fast-paced but balanced account to create a fascinating retelling of one of the most notorious events in the history of the Royal Navy, and its extraordinary, wide-ranging aftermath.
From renowned author and naval historian Angus Konstam, this is a gripping account of one of the Royal Navy’s bloodiest and most dramatic mutinies.
This title blends narrative storytelling with expert research and analysis in order to offer a new approach to a fascinating and dramatic mutiny.
It contains new and previously unpublished research from key primary sources, including the ship’s logs.
The title will appeal to a wide audience of both military history enthusiasts and those with an interest in naval adventure titles, such as fans of Patrick O’Brien.
List of Illustrations
Maps
Preface
1: The Hermione
2: Crisis in the Caribbean
3: The Seeds of Mutiny
4: The Fortunate Son
5: The Caribbean Honeymoon
6: The Floating Powderkeg
7: Murder in the Night
8: The Evil that Men Do
9: The Spanish Main
10: The Manhunt
11: An International Incident
12: The Surprise
13: The Cutting Out
14: Retribution
Notes
Bibliography
HMS Hermione – Ship’s Specifications
Index
A vivid account of a forgotten chapter of British naval history.
Angus Konstam is a master of meticulous maritime research and has brilliantly reignited this stirring tale of mutiny, savage murder, treason and subsequent Royal Navy daring and gallant retaliation and retribution. It is a cracking good read.
Angus Konstam has delivered a masterful work. Fast moving, fascinating intrigue, incredible action, and heroic retribution by the Royal Navy. Meticulous research includes a surprising impact on US history. Patrick O’Brian would love this book. I couldn’t put it down!
Mutiny on the Spanish Main has everything such a history should have: a story which no novelist would dare put before his readers, an exploration of the depths to which unconfined humans can sink… [and] a graphic style which places the reader in the action – and there is action aplenty. What more could any reader want?
Konstam’s detective work in archives across the world reveals the astonishing story of what really happened, the characters of the men involved and the convoluted mixture of geopolitics and personality which led to one of the bloodiest chapters in British naval history.
Angus Konstam starts in the homely surroundings of a pub in Greenwich with two lamented and larger-than-life characters, and takes us to the Caribbean in one of the navy’s worst-run ships, in a period of great unrest. He provided a moving and terrifying picture of mutiny and its aftermath in one of the Royal Navy’s darkest hours, combined with a thorough understanding of the customs and techniques of the navy of the day.
- Title: Mutiny on the Spanish Main: HMS Hermione and the Royal Navy’s revenge
- Author: Angus Konstam
- Publisher: Osprey Publishing
- Print Publication Date: 2020
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 320
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781472833808, 1472833805
- Resource ID: LLS:9781472833808
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T14:05:09Z