E X T E N S I O N LIFE AT SEA IN THE 18 th CENTURY Food A diet of salted meat, hard biscuits and salted cabbage was the norm on British ships. It can surprise us today, but at the time it was much more than a lot of people ashore could get. For sailors such regular, hot, protein-rich meals, together with a good supply of beer was a luxury. Food, then as now, was directly related to health. One of the greatest threats1 to health on long sea voyages was scurvy2, a potentially fatal disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C. For this reason extract of malt and fresh fruit were regularly provided to all members of the crew. Drinks Beer was stocked up in great quantity, as water soon became undrinkable. But the sailors favourite drink was rum. They believed it gave them courage to face the cold and the fear raised by pirates and bad weather conditions. Each sailor had his own mug3 to drink the authorized ration of rum. Mugs were generally made of pewter4 and had a lid5, so they couldn t be broken and their contents couldn t be spilt6. Most seamen had a tendency to drink too much. In the effort to reduce the destructive effects of alcoholism on his men, Admiral Vernon invented a new drink: grog. It was made of rum, cut with hot water and lemon. Sea-chests Sea-chests were used as suitcases by sailors for their personal belongings7. They also served as steps and benches8, as the seamen had no chairs. They were generally made of wood or iron, and could be decorated. Iron chests were also used as safes. In the captain s room there was always an iron chest bolted9 to the floor, to keep important papers, valuable objects and money in. 1. threat: menace. 2. scurvy: a disease caused by lack of vitamin C. 3. mug: a tall cup or glass with a handle. 4. pewter: a grey metal made by mixing lead and tin. 5. lid: a cover for the open part of a pot. 6. spilt (spill-spilt-spilt): flown over the edge. 7. belongings: the things you carry with you. 8. bench: long seat for two or more people. 9. bolted: fastened using a bolt, a kind of screw. 69