Betrayal

Glossary

agent-victualler

Admiralty-appointed port agent for supplying naval victuals

aguardiente

rough Spanish brandy

avast

stop or desist an action

aviso

dispatch vessel

balandra

cutter or sloop-rigged South American privateer or fishing boat

beakhead

the ornamented support and small deck around the bowsprit

becket

piece of rope to secure loose gear

Blaauwberg, battle of

defining battle in 1806 that secured Cape Town for the British

blandengues

South American colonial militia

block

a sea-going pulley

boomkin

spar under the bowsprit to take the block to stretch the foresail to windward

bridle

rope span attached to leech cringles to tauten the sail when close-hauled

caballero

Spanish honorific for gentleman, literally horseman

calesa

two-wheeled carriage for notables

canister

small iron balls in a tin case fired by cannon for anti-personnel effect

carronade

short-barrelled, large-calibre gun for use at close range

catblash

nonsense

coxswain

in charge of a boat; captain’s coxswain is in charge of the captain’s barge

crow

a bar with claws to lever around the great guns in aiming

cruiser

an independent vessel, normally a frigate, sent to annoy the enemy’s trade

cutting out

a daring raid by boats into an enemy harbour to capture or destroy enemy shipping

davit

a boat hoist in place of the usual midship stay tackle

distinction

bringing to notice by exceptional courage or achievement

duck

a fine strong white cloth made from untwilled linen, much favoured by sailors

falucho

decked craft local to the River Plate, used in coastal defence and trade

Felucca

small lateen-rigged cargo carrier, corsair

fo’c’sleman

the division of men stationed on the fore-deck; the most experienced seamen

gasket

rope to secure furled sail to the yard

grape-shot

intermediate between canister and solid shot, tiers of smaller balls separated by discs fired as one shot

gunroom

wardroom of a frigate

half-pistol-shot

twenty-five yards range

hawse

the point where the anchor cable leaves the ship

Indiaman

ship of the East India Company

jabberknowl

gossip, rantings of a fool

jonkheer

Dutch honorific for a person of note or high birth

littoral

that part of the land adjoining the sea

maulstick

a wooden stick with a soft head, used by painters to support the hand that holds the brush

mijnheer

Mr in Dutch

moil

close-in scrimmage

mongseer

sailor slang for a Frenchman

negus

a drink of port mixed with hot water, spiced and sugared

pampero

characteristic storm of wind from the Pampas about the River Plate

Panjandrum

high ruler, from eighteenth-century Samuel Foote play

Partidarios Leales

party of the loyalists

patricio

patrician, high-born person

pinnace

one of the smaller of the ship’s boats

poniard

small dagger

priddy

seventeenth-century term for prettifying

projector

promoter of a scheme

purser

appointed by the Admiralty for the supply of provision and slops; was an independent businessman

quintal

an imperial ‘hundredweight’ or 100 pounds in weight

quoin

a wedge of wood at the breech to cause elevation or depression in a gun

real

eight to the Spanish silver dollar

reis

Portuguese real since 1480

rixdollar rijksdaalder

: main currency of the Cape of Good Hope

sailing master

attends to the navigation and working of a ship under the captain

schildknaap

Dutch honorific – squire

sea fencibles

land-based naval auxiliaries, local to Britain

sea-anchor

device to drag in the sea to orient the ship

sheave

the wheel on which the rope works in a block

supercargo

an agent aboard a merchant ship responsible for cargo and commercial affairs

veduta

highly detailed landscape in the style of Canaletto

Viceroyalty

that province ruled by a viceroy appointed directly by the Spanish king

volunteers of the first class

educated boys intended to be midshipmen but too young

whiffler

slang for glancing blow

wight

a creature, person

yaw

a deviation to right or left of a ship’s proper course