Boys at Sea

A study of homoerotic life on board ships in the Royal Navy in the age of fighting sail.

Boys at Sea is a study of homoerotic life in the Royal Navy during the age of sail. It deals not only with sex among ordinary crewmen, but reveals that the most consistent feature of prosecutions for sodomy and indecency involved officers forcing their attentions on ships’ boys. The book traces every feature of sexuality at sea, and provides a probing look at a dark and terrifying aspect of the lives of youngsters who served in Britain’s warships.

B.R. BURG is Professor of History at Arizona State University. He is the author of numerous books and articles on seafarers and sexuality in the age of sail.

Introduction * Law, Literature, Sodomy, and Royal Navy Officers * Regulating Sodomy in the Pre-Nelson Navy * Ratings with Ratings, Ratings with Boys * Officers and Boys at Sea * Warrant Officers, Petty Officers, and their Boys * Sodomy, Indecency, and HMS Africaine * The Last Sex Court Martial * Notes * Works Cited