Quota System (Royal Navy)
Encyclopedia
The Quota System introduced by Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger
in 1795, required each English county to provide a quota of men for the Royal Navy
, based on its population and the number of its seaports — London
, for example, had to provide 5,704 quotamen, while Yorkshire
had to provide 1,081.
The counties found it difficult to meet the quotas. Some offered high cash bounties to inexperienced volunteers (mostly inexperienced landsmen), creating resentment among the regular seamen who, despite their experience, had received only a small fraction of that bounty on their own volunteering (and none if they were pressed
). Sometimes, the counties resorted to sending convicted criminals in lieu of punishment, further creating ill feeling among ships' companies, and sometimes introducing typhus
(otherwise known as jail fever).
Britain ended the quota system, along with impressment
, in 1815 at the close of the Napoleonic Wars
, when much of the fleet was decommissioned, and the supply of unemployed seamen was more than adequate to man the remaining ships.
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
in 1795, required each English county to provide a quota of men for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, based on its population and the number of its seaports — London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, for example, had to provide 5,704 quotamen, while Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
had to provide 1,081.
The counties found it difficult to meet the quotas. Some offered high cash bounties to inexperienced volunteers (mostly inexperienced landsmen), creating resentment among the regular seamen who, despite their experience, had received only a small fraction of that bounty on their own volunteering (and none if they were pressed
Impressment
Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
). Sometimes, the counties resorted to sending convicted criminals in lieu of punishment, further creating ill feeling among ships' companies, and sometimes introducing typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
(otherwise known as jail fever).
Britain ended the quota system, along with impressment
Impressment
Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
, in 1815 at the close of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, when much of the fleet was decommissioned, and the supply of unemployed seamen was more than adequate to man the remaining ships.