hook, fishing

This unusual looking artefact is a fish hook. It was collected by King's Lynn-born naval man Spelman Swaine when he accompanied Captain George Vancouver on board the 'Discovery' to the North West coast of America in the late 1700s and is a reminder of King’s Lynn’s strong sea-faring past. In the 18th Century there were widespread suspicions that the absence of women, and a propensity for drinking, had produced an atmosphere in which homosexuality – or “buggery” - was flourishing on board ships, and at port. As a key port-town, it is likely that such concerns would be familiar to the sea-faring communities in King’s Lynn. As in any environment in which large numbers of men live in close quarters for extended periods of time, homosexual behaviour undoubtedly did occur aboard ships. However, that it happened does not mean that it was acceptable, as many at the time had feared. ‘Buggery’ or ‘sodomy’ was a grave offense, for which punishments were very harsh. From 1533 it was a crime punishable by death and not even high-ranking sailors were immune from prosecution. Records show that Henry Allen, captain of the Rattler and Lieutenant William Berry were both executed for the crime of sodomy in 1797 and 1807 respectively. Even if a sailor escaped being hanged, there are examples of up to 1,000 lashes being issued – more than many sailors received for mutiny and desertion. So, while gay sex is likely to have occurred at sea, the idea that the Royal Navy was a hotbed of same-sex ‘debauchery’ is very unlikely. Sodomy remained a capital crime until 1861, and the last British naval execution for the offense was in 1829.