The Oliver Quintrell Trilogy – Books 1-3 (BOX SET) (Under Admiralty Orders - The Oliver Quintrell Series)
Page 74
…deliver a consignment of specie – coins of various denominations – to the Lieutenant-Governor in Hobarton to be placed in the settlement’s Treasury to be used for the purpose of administration of the new Colony of Van Diemen’s Land.’
‘But you admitted yourself the treasure, being held in Britain, rightly belongs to the Crown of Spain. The value must be considerable’
‘Over one million dollars in silver bullion, almost two million in silver dollars, a million in gold plus pigs of copper, bars of tin, sealskins and oil.’
Simon leaned back in his chair. ‘Incredible.’
‘In the meantime, regarding the four chests removed from Medusa and delivered aboard Perpetual, the Admiralty has already allocated an equivalent amount of money, which has been put aside ready to be returned to Spain assuming an agreement is reached. Therefore, what we have on board should be regarded merely as a cargo of coins for the colony from the British Treasury.’
‘Interesting.’
‘As you know, Simon, sending a large amount of currency by sea is a hazardous operation. In their wisdom, the Admiralty therefore resolved it is safer to transport a consignment of coins from Gibraltar than from the Thames or Spithead.’
The lieutenant was still puzzled. ‘But in a new British convict colony, what immediate value is a consignment of Spanish reals and silver dollars?’
Oliver explained. ‘The colony of Van Diemen’s Land is a fledgling settlement of only a few thousand men and at the moment there is no legal currency. Apart from promissory notes, all goods and services are paid for in gold or any specie which is available – Dutch guilders, silver ducats, doubloons, Spanish reals and silver dollars cut into pieces of eight.
‘Building a settlement from bare earth takes men, therefore convicts from the prison hulks are being shipped in their hundreds to supply the labour force. Convicts, despite their crimes, must be housed, fed and clothed. Roads, bridges, dockyards and warehouses must be built, along with a courthouse, jail and governor’s residence. This requires a considerable amount of money, not to mention the day-to-day upkeep of troops required to keep peace in a colony consisting almost entirely of felons. The money we deliver will be used to help build a settlement Britain can be proud of.
‘As to our voyage, I will speak with Mr Mundy about our course. From the Azores, we will make for the coast of Brazil, water in Rio de Janeiro, then head south to harness the Roaring Forties which will carry us directly to Van Diemen’s Land.’
Simon smiled. ‘It is ironical, in effect we will be returning the coins along the path the treasure fleet sailed on its voyage to Cadiz, and in so doing flaunting it under the noses of the Spanish Dons. Surely that will make us a prime target?’
‘Let us trust that the Spanish are not aware of our cargo, and that Napoleon’s forces will be fully occupied in Europe. Hopefully word of what we are carrying will not precede us.’
‘Is that possible?’
Oliver Quintrell shrugged. ‘Let me put this to you. How did the Admiralty in London know of this consignment at least a month before the four Spanish treasure ships set sail from the River Plate? Before one ounce of silver was loaded onto a ship? Even before Admiral Bustamente was appointed Commander of the Fleet? How did the Admiralty know it would arrive off the coast of Cadiz in early October?’ Oliver delivered his own answer. ‘Spies, Simon, spies. We have ours and they have theirs. Secrets cannot be guaranteed.’
Oliver smiled. ‘The only thing I can assure you of is that we will be leaving behind this place where the very air we breathe is our worst enemy. I am sure there is not a sailor aboard who will argue that fact. What I cannot promise or foresee for the future is action or prize money – only fate will determine that.’
CHAPTER 20
Epilogue
10 December 1804
As Perpetual weighed anchor and made ready to sail from the Bay of Gibraltar, a solitary seaman standing on the beach at Rosia Bay, raised his arm in a gesture of acknowledgement to the frigate.
In his pocket was a copy of a letter addressed to Admiral Lord Nelson, Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, from Captain Oliver Quintrell.
In it, the captain requested:
…that the bearer of this letter, Zachary Irons, a topman, who has served faithfully on His Britannic Majesty’s Frigate Perpetual, be permitted to sign on the next ship returning to Britain, and that on arrival in an English port, the aforementioned sailor be paid the wages due to him and that he be discharged from any further requirements of the Service...
A few days earlier, Captain Quintrell had asked the sailor, ‘What would you do if you were returned to England.’
‘I would collect my pay then return home to my wife and children and make sure they were wanting for nothing.’
‘And after that?’ the captain had enquired.
‘I would seek another ship and return to sea.’
‘A ship of His Majesty’s Navy?’
‘No, sir. Wishing no disrespect, Captain, but a Company ship – an East or West Indiaman.’
‘Then when you step ashore next time, I suggest you keep well clear of the press. They are likely to be out in force.’
Standing on the deck of His Majesty’s frigate Perpetual, along with two carpenters and their boxes of tools, a young shipwright waved farewell to the boat that had just delivered them to the frigate. It was heading back to the naval dockyard where they had been engaged for the past few months.
‘God love us!’ Bungs cried, shaking his head in disbelief. ‘If it ain’t the lad from Buckler’s Hard. You’re a sight for sore eyes.’
Will Ethridge smiled and extended his hand to the cooper who he had served with aboard Elusive two years earlier. ‘Good day to you, Bungs,’ he replied. ‘It’s good to be back.
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
Gibraltar and the epidemic
The epidemic which devastated the populations of Gibraltar and Andalusia in 1804 was Yellow Fever. But, at the time, neither the disease nor the cause of its spread was known. The Malignant Fever was blamed on many things – overcrowding, lack of hygiene, the Levanter wind blowing off the Mediterranean and the miasmic air of Gibraltar Bay.
It was not known in 1804 that the Yellow Fever virus was transmitted by mosquitoes and that the Barbary Ape (macaque monkey) was the vector.
Sylvatic Yellow Fever allows the infection to spread from man to mosquito to monkey to mosquito to man. But that fact was not discovered until many years later. In 1895, Theobald Smith discovered that animals acted as vectors, and in 1927 Max Theiler proved the fever was viral. In 1932 he developed a vaccine to combat Yellow Fever and in 1951 received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his achievements.
In 1804, half of the population of Gibraltar died of the disease and tens of thousands died in Spain. Similar epidemics followed in 1810 and 1813.
The Battle of Cape Saint Mary
The infamous Battle of Cape Saint Mary was reported in British Naval dispatches. It was also described in the Memoir of Captain Graham Moore of His Majesty’s frigate Indefatigable. While Patrick O’Brian and C.S. Forester both used this battle in their fiction stories, they infiltrated their own characters into the event. In Admiralty Orders, the author has maintained the integrity of the action, the ships and the captains involved exactly as documented.
However, in the story some treasure is delivered to Captain Quintrell on board Perpetual. This is a figment of the author’s imagination.
As was predicted, Britain’s capture and detention of the Spanish treasure ships precipitated war with Spain. The declaration was made by King Carlos on 12 December 1804.
Sunken Treasure
In 2007 the wreck of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes was discovered where it sank off the coast of Portugal. In November 2012, after a five-year legal battle between a US salvage company and the Spanish Government, the treasure recovered from the seabed was finally returned to Spain. It was reported to be worth $500,000,000 (£316,000,000)
at 2007 value.
The Siege Tunnels
Excavated initially with crowbars and sledgehammers, work began in 1782 to create an impregnable defence system within the Rock. The Windsor Gallery was the first to be completed and have guns installed. More tunnels were dug in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Today the labyrinth of tunnels stretches for 33 miles (52km) within the great promontory.
In November 2012 the author visited the siege tunnels in the Rock of Gibraltar and recommends it as a unique experience.
Water Tanks and HMS Victory
Following the demands of Earl St Vincent and Admiral Lord Nelson for water tanks to be built at Gibraltar, the work began in 1799 and was completed in 1804. Six enormous tanks were cut out of solid rock. Five of the tanks measured 60 x 4.5 x 6.5 meters. The largest tank was 60 x 4.5 x 7.2 meters wide. They were dug below ground level, but were above the level of the bay allowing for the water to be fed to lighters or directly to the ships by gravity or hoses.
In 1805, following the Battle of Trafalgar, HMS Victory was towed into Rosia Bay for repairs and to take on water from these tanks.
Surgeons and Resurrectionists
Sir Astley Cooper (1768-1841), the world’s richest and most famous surgeon later served as surgeon to the Prince Regent and Queen Victoria. His exploits with vivisection and experimental operations on both human and animal patients is told in a remarkable book, Digging up the Dead by Druin Burch.
Burch writes: “He set up an international network of body-snatchers, won the Royal Society’s highest prize and boasted in Parliament that there was no one whose body he could not steal. He experimented on his neighbours’ corpses and the living bodies of their stolen pets.”
Digging up the Dead is a riveting account of gothic horror combined with fertile idealism in the Age of Enlightenment. It makes remarkable reading.
In 1800, The Royal College of Surgeons was established which elevated surgeons to the same level as physicians.
Characters in the novel
Apart from the addition of Dr Whipple, Captain Quintrell’s crew consists mainly of the officers and crew who sailed with him in the two previous books in the series.
In Admiralty Orders, cameo appearances are made by various historical characters such as Sir Charles Cotton and Lord Cochrane, also Captains Barlow, Gore, Hammond and Sutton, who were the serving frigate captains at the Battle of Cape Saint Mary. Lieutenant-Governor Sir Thomas Trigge and Dr Pym were both serving in Gibraltar in 1804.
Some of the references used in researching this book:
ACCOUNT OF THE EPIDEMIC FEVER which occurred at Gibraltar in the Years 1804, 1810, and 1813, taken from official documents, military and medical, and from the communications of Joseph D.A. Gilpin, M.D. Deputy Inspector of Hospitals. (accessed on-line).
DIGGING UP THE DEAD: Uncovering the Life and Times of an Extraordinary Surgeon by Druin Burch, (2008).
FRIGATE COMMANDER by Tom Wareham, (2012).
MEMOIRS OF A FIGHTING CAPTAIN, Admiral Lord Cochrane, (2005).
MEMOIR OF SIR GRAHAM MOORE, Reprints from University of Michigan Library, (1844).
NELSON’S REFUGE – Gibraltar in the Age of Napoleon by Jason R Musteen, (2011).
REPORT ON GIBRALTAR AS A FORTRESS AND A COLONY: Respectfully addressed to the Right Honourable The Lord Viscount Palmerston, G.C.B. by Sir Robert Gardiner. (1856).
ROUGH MEDICINE Surgeons at Sea in the Age of Sail, Joan Druett, (2000).
BLOG: The People of Gibraltar by Neville Chipulina
http://gibraltar-social-history.blogspot.com.au/
Plus Naval Chronicles, personal letters and other sources.
Previous books in the Under Admiralty Orders – The Oliver Quintrell Series :
Book 1 – Floating Gold
Book 2 – The Tainted Prize
Coming soon
I trust you have enjoyed reading the three books in the Oliver Quintrell series. With four chests of Spanish silver aboard, Perpetual is about to set sail for the Southern Ocean.
Coins for the Colony (Book 4 in the Oliver Quintrell Series) is due in late 2014.
M. C. Muir (author)
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