The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. They were the first in an increasing series of outbreaks of maritime radicalism in the Atlantic World. Despite their temporal proximity, the mutinies differed in character. The Spithead mutiny was a simple, peaceful, successful strike action to address economic grievances, while the Nore mutiny was a more radical action, articulating political ideals as well, which failed.
HMS Lion was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, of the Worcester class, launched on 3 September 1777 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
HMS Barfleur was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Thomas Slade on the lines of the 100-gun ship Royal William, and launched at Chatham Dockyard on 30 July 1768, at a cost of £49,222. In about 1780, she had another eight guns added to her quarterdeck, making her a 98-gun ship; she possessed a crew of approximately 750. Her design class sisters were the Prince George, Princess Royal, and Formidable. She was a ship of long service and many battles.
HMS Hermione was the lead ship of the Hermione class, a six-ship class of 32-gun fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 9 September 1782 at Bristol. Hermione was commissioned and then paid off a number of times during the 1780s. She underwent repairs between October 1790 and June 1792, followed by a period spent refitting at Chatham Dockyard until January 1793. She was recommissioned in December 1792 before sailing to the Jamaica in March 1793. Hermione served in the West Indies during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars, participating in the British attack on Port-au-Prince, where she led a small squadron that accompanied troop transports.
Richard Parker was an English sailor executed for his role as president of the so-called "Floating Republic", a naval mutiny in the Royal Navy which took place at the Nore between 12 May and 16 June 1797.
Captain Sir Andrew Snape Hamond, 1st Baronet was a British naval officer and Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia from 1781 to 1782 and Comptroller of the Navy from 1794 to 1828.
HMS Sandwich was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 April 1759 at Chatham.
HMS Director was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 9 March 1784 at Gravesend. She was laid down speculatively in November 1779, and ordered by the Navy the following year.
HMS Nassau was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 September 1785 by Hilhouse in Bristol.
HMS Nonsuch was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Israel Pownoll and launched on 17 December 1774 at Plymouth. She was broken up in 1802.
HMS Standard was a 64-gun Royal Navy third-rate ship of the line, launched on 8 October 1782 at Deptford. She was the last of the 15 Intrepid-class vessels, which were built to a design by John Williams.
HMS Ardent was a 64–gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 9 April 1796 at Northfleet. She had been designed and laid down for the British East India Company who was going to name her Princess Royal, but the Navy purchased her before launching, for service as a warship in the French Revolutionary War.
HMS Monmouth was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 April 1796 at Rotherhithe. She had been designed and laid down for the East India Company, but the Navy purchased her after the start of the French Revolutionary War. She served at the Battle of Camperdown and during the Napoleonic Wars. Hulked in 1815, she was broken up in 1834.
Admiral Sir Richard Onslow, 1st Baronet was an English naval officer who played a distinguished role in the 1797 Battle of Camperdown.
HMS Colchester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at King's Yard in Harwich by John Barnard according to the dimensions specified in the 1741 proposals of the 1719 Establishment, and launched on 14 August 1744.
Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Cunningham KCH was an officer of the Royal Navy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. He saw action during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of rear-admiral.
HMS Peruvian was an 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop launched in 1808 at Parson's Yard, Warsash, England. She was the first naval vessel built at that yard. Peruvian captured two American privateers and participated in an expedition up the Penobscot River during the War of 1812. Then she claimed Ascension Island for Great Britain in 1815. She was broken up in 1830.
Richard Hatherill was a British Royal Navy officer who served during the French Revolutionary War. Born in Queenborough, Kent, on 20 September 1769, he is recorded as having first served aboard HMS Dictator from September 1783. He passed his lieutenant's examination in 1790 and joined HMS Repulse in that capacity on 18 October 1794. It was aboard this ship that he became embroiled in the Nore Mutiny in 1797. Hatherill and other loyal members of the crew were able to retake the ship and bring her in under heavy fire from the other mutinied ships. In 1800, the ship he was serving on was wrecked on the French coast and crew captured. Hatherill was later released in an exchange of officers.
Admiral Sir John Wells was a Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He was the son of Sarah Wells, who was mistress to Rear-Admiral Augustus Keppel. After joining the Royal Navy Wells was promoted to lieutenant in 1779 and commander in 1782. He was then given his first command, the sloop HMS Raven. He served in her on the Leeward Islands Station until he was captured by two French frigates in 1783. He was then promoted to post captain and given command of the frigate HMS Boreas upon his release later in the year. He left Boreas in 1784 and did not receive another command until 1797 when he commissioned the ship of the line HMS Lancaster.
HMS Beaulieu was a 40-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The ship was laid down in 1790 as a speculative build by the shipwright Henry Adams and purchased by the Royal Navy in June of the same year. Built to the dimensions of a merchant ship, Beaulieu was broader, with more storage capacity, than a standard frigate; though may not have had good sailing qualities. The frigate was commissioned in January 1793 by Lord Northesk and sent to serve on the Leeward Islands Station. She participated in the capture of Martinique in February 1794, and then was similarly present at the capture of the island of Saint Lucia in April. The frigate also took part in the initial stages of the invasion of Guadeloupe. Later in the year the ship's crew was beset by yellow fever and much depleted. Beaulieu was sent to serve on the North America Station to allow them to recuperate, returning to the Leeward Islands in 1795. In the following two years the ship found success in prizetaking and briefly took part in more operations at Saint Lucia. She returned to Britain at the end of 1796.
Great Britain 
