Title Falmouth and the British Maritime Empire Type The sis URL https://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/id/eprint/13354/ Dat e 2 0 1 4 Citation Oldcorn, Megan Lowena (2014) Falmouth and the British Maritime Empire. PhD thesis, University of the Arts London and Falmouth University. Cr e a to rs Oldcorn, Megan Lowena Usage Guidelines Please refer to usage guidelines at http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/policies.html or alternatively contact [email protected] . License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives Unless otherwise stated, copyright owned by the author Falmouth and the British Maritime Empire Megan Lowena Oldcorn Falmouth University University of the Arts London National Maritime Museum Cornwall University of Exeter Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of the Arts London September 2014 Abstract At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Cornish port of Falmouth was an important base within an ever-expanding British empire. From here, people, letters, goods and information travelled back and forth from Cornwall to the rest of the world. This thesis investigates the extent to which Falmouth was a significant part of Britain’s maritime empire during the period 1800-1850, looking specifically at four areas of interest. First, it argues that Falmouth’s Packet Service played a significant role in intelligence gathering during the Napoleonic Wars, victory in which led to major expansion of the British empire. Second, that the town developed Cornwall’s mining expertise to the extent that it could be exported to new colonies, or become instrumental in spreading the influence of informal empire. Third, that the import of plant specimens from the colonies had a direct effect on class-based hierarchies of power in and around the town. And finally, that contact between the British and foreigners in and from the port led to renegotiations of identity based on race that were inextricably tied into colonialism. The role of Cornwall in the dialogue between Britain and its colonies, and the importance of Falmouth as a port within the British empire, have previously been neglected in academic study, with attention given to larger metropolitan locations such as Liverpool and Southampton. This thesis continues work exploring imperialism within one specific locality, shifting in focus from the urban to the rural. In doing this, a diversity of written and archival sources are used to discuss how several elements of empire came together in one place. The work demonstrates that Falmouth was a site clearly affected by colonialism, and was to a certain extent influential within it due to its maritime significance. 2 Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 6 A safe harbour 6 A maritime community 9 The Falmouth identity 15 Falmouth and the British empire 23 Approaches to history 25 A port of the first consequence 30 Chapter 1: Sightings and secrecy: maintaining communications during the Napoleonic Wars 34 Tactics: keeping watch 43 Strategy: Deception, interception and the ‘Secret Office’ 53 Putting Falmouth on the map 62 Chapter 2: Science, technology and trade: exporting Cornwall to the empire 68 Creating the legend of Cornish mining 86 From Cornwall to Latin America: informal empire 95 Cornish mining on the global stage 108 Chapter 3: The empire garden: plant hunting and hierarchies of power 115 Living symbols of power 131 Upper class leisure and ‘cottager’ gardens 137 Chapter 4: Bringing the empire home: identity and the Other 151 Encountering difference 155 The Orient in Falmouth 158 ‘Britishness’ and civilisation 173 Encounters from Falmouth 185 Local and global discourse 199 Conclusion 201 A final sailing 201 A new era 210 Beyond Falmouth 215 References 218 3 Books 218 Journal articles 230 Websites 232 Archival Sources 238 Newspapers 239 Media 243 Miscellaneous 243 4 Table of Figures Fig. 1: Painting of William Rogers 35 Fig. 2: 1813 Ordnance Survey map 63 Fig. 3: Seventeenth century map of Falmouth 64 Fig. 4: Drawing of man engine at Tresavean Mine 92 Fig. 5: Perran Foundry catalogue illustration 111 Fig. 6: Carclew House in 1841 116 Fig. 7: Carclew House in 2013 117 Fig. 8: Sketch of Carclew gardens 118 Fig. 9: Watercolour of Joseph Emidy 179 Fig. 10: Map of Falmouth gardens 209 5 Introduction A safe harbour The action began at twelve o’clock, by the leading ships of the columns breaking through the enemy’s line, the Commander in Chief about the tenth ship from the van, the Second in Command about the 12th from the rear, leaving the van of the enemy unoccupied; the succeeding ships breaking through in all parts astern of their leaders, and engaging the enemy at the muzzles of their guns; the conflict was severe; the enemy’s ships were fought with a gallantry highly honourable to their officers, but the attack on them was irresistible, and it pleased the Almighty Disposer of all Events, to grant His Majesty’s arms a complete and glorious victory: about three p.m. many of the enemy’s ships having struck their colours, their line gave way.1 Today, the events of October 21, 1805, are well known. The Battle of Trafalgar marked a key turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. Soon after the death of Admiral Lord Nelson, the news of the Admiralty’s triumph and the tragic tale of his Lordship’s death were recorded in a dispatch by his successor, Cuthbert Collingwood. In this, the era of sail, communicating this news to the general public was more complicated than it might have been in our modern age. The delivery of Collingwood’s dispatches would later become a story almost as popular as accounts of the battle itself. Having written the words that would soon echo around Britain, Collingwood called for Lieutenant Lapenotiere of HMS Pickle, one of the smallest ships in the fleet, saying: ‘Now take these dispatches to England; you will receive £500 and your Commander’s commission.’2 At 9.45 a.m. on 4 November, Lapenotiere finally arrived in Britain, landing at a busy port in the far south-west. The strong winds of previous days had dropped to what was recorded in the ship’s log as ‘Moderate breezes’.3 The Pickle’s destination, the final point of departure for voyaging British ships, and the first sight of ‘Sweet Home’4 for those returning, was 1 ‘The London Gazette Extraordinary’, The Morning Chronicle, 7 November 1805, p. 1. 2 Peter Warwick, Voices from the Battle of Trafalgar (Cincinnati: David & Charles, 2006), p. 26. 3 Warwick, p. 27. 4 A Panorama of Falmouth (Falmouth: Cornish Magazine Office, 1827), p. 9. 6 not Southampton, Liverpool, or even Plymouth. The harbour dubbed ‘the most valuable in the United Kingdom’ was, in fact, the rural Cornish town of Falmouth.5 Falmouth, on the south coast of Cornwall, is a town far younger than many others in the region. Its origins as a town, and its name, date back only to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. During the reign of Henry VIII, the present-day settlement was a hamlet named Smithwick, or Smithick. The growth of Falmouth was linked to England’s maritime relationship with the rest of the world, notably France and Spain. During the first half of the sixteenth-century, Anglo-French antagonism grew and fears of a French or Spanish attack on England mounted.6 In 1537, a fleet of Spanish ships became engaged in combat with four French warships in the Carrick Roads – the waterway leading into Falmouth Harbour – highlighting the vulnerability of the Fal area to attack from the sea, and its inability to prevent or halt combat.7 Having one of the deepest natural harbours in England, Falmouth had sufficient deep water for the anchorage of a fleet of warships and would therefore be a likely invasion point.8 In response to this threat John Arundell, a Cornish landowner, proposed the erection of defences at the mouth of the harbour.9 To defend the coastline from raids, a castle fortress was built at nearby Pendennis.10 On 5 October 1661, a Royal Charter was granted, marking the transition of the hamlet of Smithwick to the growing town of Falmouth by awarding the new town rights of self-government.11 After the charter, the population of Falmouth grew and it became an area dominated by maritime industries, supplying provisions to ships and sailors, importing and exporting goods, and after 1689, hosting the Packet Service.12 This was a branch of the General Post Office, responsible for transporting and 5 Ibid. 6 ‘Defended Cornwall’, Historic Environment Service <http://www.historic- cornwall.org.uk/flyingpast/images/PDF_downloads/DefendedCornwall.pdf> [accessed 16 July 2012] (p. 2) 7 Richard Linzey, Fortress Falmouth, 2 vols (Swindon: English Heritage, 2000), II, p. 3. 8 ‘List Entry Summary’, Heritage Gateway, <http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1270096&resourceID=5> [accessed 2 August 2012] 9 Linzey, p. 3. 10 Linzey, p. 3. 11 Megan Westley, ‘A Royal seal of approval: 350 years of Falmouth’, National Maritime Museum Cornwall <http://www.nmmc.co.uk/index.php?/collections/curators_choice/a_royal_seal_of_approval_350_yea rs_of_falmouth> [accessed 8 January 2014] 12 James Whetter, The History of Falmouth (Redruth: Dyllansow Truran, 1981), p. 28. 7 delivering mail overseas. Prior to 1689 and war between Britain and France, any mail destined for Spain was transported overland through France, meaning that when hostilities broke out between the two nations an alternative route had to be created, this time involving passage by sea.13 Falmouth was chosen as the base of the international mail service due to the natural design of its harbour, being deep enough to allow ships to depart even in low tide, and its relative safety and distance from the privateers that hounded ships in other ports such as Plymouth.14 Thus, the first route for the Packet ships based in Falmouth was to Spain.15 As time passed, the Packet Service expanded to meet demand, with many more routes added.