John Deane (1679-1761) was an English sailor, mercenary and spy. His first command was wrecked on an island off the New England coast in the winter of 1710. Deane and his crew were marooned on the island for 24 days, during which they ate part of the corpse of the ship's carpenter. He enlisted in the Russian navy in 1712, and by 1719 had risen to the rank of captain, and had captured 20 ships. In 1719 he was court-martialled for allegedly receiving bribes, and demoted to lieutenant. Expelled from Russia in 1720 he returned to Britain, where he wrote an account of Peter the Great's navy. In 1725 Deane was appointed commercial consul at St. Petersburg, with the intention that he gather intelligence, particulary on Jacobite émigrés and sympathisers. He was expelled after 16 days, but had already made contact with a Jacobite courier, who agreed to copy secret correspondence and hand the copies over to Deane in Amsterdam. In 1726 Deane served as a political advisor in a British naval squadron assigned to observe the Russian Baltic fleet; the squadron anchored off Nargen Island outside the port of Reval. Deane made unsuccesful attempts to recruit agents. In April 1728 Deane went to Ostend as commercial consul, with the assignment to watch over the winding-up of the Ostend East India Company. He remained here until 1736, when he retired to his home in Wilford.
Vice Consul edit
With this in mind John Deane, the British vice-consul in Ostend, described Ley as 'an incorrigible villain' and as a member of the Irish clan who supported the king of France.141 Eighteenth-century Ireland , Volumes 20-22 Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society, Dublin, 2005 His cottage 1933
Charles Hennessy Irish merchant.
Vice consul in 1740 was Day.
Michael Hatton appointed British vice consul in May 1741. December 1736 English Vice Consul of Austrian Netherlands. Irish and Scottish Mercantile Networks in Europe and Overseas in the ... By David Dickson, Jan Parmentier, Jane H. Ohlmeyer
Early life edit
John Deane was born in 1679 in Nottingham. His father was Jasper Deane, and John had an older brother, also called Jasper.[1] It appears that the Deane family were comfortably well-off. Deane apprenticed himself to a butcher, who involved him in poaching and deer stealing.[2] [3] He is reputed to have joined the Royal Navy, and to have been promoted to the rank of captain for meritorious service during the siege of Gibraltar in 1704, though no record of this has been found. However he did acquire the skills of command and navigation, and a knowledge of the coast of New England.[4] Deane's elder brother Jasper (Fletcher) owned a merchant galley, the 120-ton "Nottingham Galley", fitted with an armanent of ten small iron cannon.[4] The two brothers, in partnership with their father (?) purchased cordage from London and butter and cheese from Killybegs, Ireland.[4] The "Nottingham Galley" sailed in autumn 1710 from London, with John Deane as master, and a crew of 13, including his brother Jasper.[4] They sailed for Boston. Beset by storms for several days, at 9 pm on 11 December the ship stuck a ledge on Boon Island, 7 miles from York, Maine.[4] All the crew got ashore, but found themselves on a bare island of granite ledges. They had no shelter or ability to light a fire, and the only food a small amount of cheese. Smoke from the settlement at York was visible. The crew survived on mussels and a gull,[4] and were able to erect a shelter, described by Deane as a "tent".(slave) The ship's cook died, and was cast into the sea,[4] but when the carpenter died the body was dressed by Deane, who disposed of those parts recognisably human. The remaining meat was renamed "beef" by him, and was consumed raw by the crew.[1]
In January a raft was built, and two men set off to the mainland. The raft disintegrated and the two men drowned. The inhabitants of York found one body and the remains of the raft, and the following day a rescue party set off.[4] According to Deane the remaining parts of the carpenter were exposed on the summit of island; the first rescuer to arrive observed them and expressed satisfaction that the survivors had had provisions. The master concurred.(slave) The crew were taken off the island 24 days after they had been wrecked.[1] They were taken to Portsmouth, NH.[1]
Russian about edit
In 1712 John Deane entered Russian naval service.[1] This was at the time that Tsar Peter the Great was rapidly expanding the Russian deep-water fleet by building and by purchase from abroad; and was employing qualified officers.[1] In 1714 Deane sailed on a fifty-two gun ship of the line on a winter voyage from Archangel to the Baltic around the North Cape, during which half the crew died. In 1715 he was promoted to captain, and given the fifth-rate 32 gun frigate "Samson".[5] He captured 20 ships by 1719, as part of the Reval squadron. Deane acquired the patronage of Admiral Apraxin.
In the Gulf of Danzig in 1717 the Samson captured two Swedish merchant ships. While the crews were being transferred, an English frigate and a Dutch warship sailed up, and compelled Deane to release the prizes. Although the following year he was promoted to captain of the first rank, in 1719 he was brought to trial, the accusation being that he had surrendered the prizes for a large bribe. Found guilty, despite his testimony and that of 11 of his officers and under officers, he was sentenced to be dismissed the service, and to serve a year in prison. The Tsar altered this to a demotion to lieutenant, and transfer to a timber transport in Kazan. Apraxin had offered Deane a passport "releasing him from service at his own request to return to his homeland" at the time of his trial. A year later, when Deane was dismissed from the service, and expelled from Russia, Apraxin again gave him a passport, as "Captain Deane".
Section edit
in autumn 1710 carrying cordage and butter and cheese. ship 120 tons, ten cannon. older brother jasper owned ship and part of cargo and was on board. crew of 13. storm for days, struck ledge 9 pm on 11 december, 7 miles from york, maine On voyage from London to Boston, loaded with goods wrecked on Boon Island in a storm. All the crew got ashore. They had no shelter or ability to light a fire, and the only food a small amount of cheese. in the morning found themselves on granite ledges. smoke from nearby settlement seven miles away visible. survived on mussels and a gull. cook died and was thrown intothe sea. carpenter died but body was butcherd. (arch paper)
in a tent (slave)1
the body was dressed by deane, who disposed of recognisably human parts. The remainder was called beef. [1]((other paper)
mid january a raftwas built and two men set off raftdisintegraye abd two drowned. one body and raft found, and rescues partyset off next day.(arch0-/) this was 24 days after being wrecked. they were taken to portsmouth NH. mate, Christopher Langman and two others made depositions critical of Captain Deane's conduct. Later in England, Deane and Langman published contradictory accounts of the voyage and the shipwreck, which created a (other)
according to deane remains were exposed on summit of island; firstbrescuer obserrvedvthem and expressed satisfaction that the survivors had provisions, master concurred. (slave)
Chamber Estate. Again in 1761 Dr. Jasper Deane was living in Fletcher Gate, and it was in the street outside his house that he was seized with his fatal illness. Dr. Jasper Deane was brother of Captain Deane, who was one of those strange, romantic characters of the XVIII. century. He was born in the reign of Charles II. in 1679, and though of good parentage he expressed the remarkable wish to become a butcher. When he was of sufficient age this wish was gratified and he was apprenticed to a butcher, with whom he soon fell into evil companionship and he became so notorious a deer stealer that it was advisable for him to get out of the country. He eventually joined the navy, and it is probable that he was at the capture of Gibraltar. Returning to Nottingham practically destitute he, in partnership with his father and his brother, in 1710, fitted out the "Nottingham Galley," which was loaded with all sorts of merchandise for traffic in America, and placed under his control. Unfortunately, he was cast away during a storm off the Newfoundland coast, and not only did the galley become a total wreck, but Deane and a few sailors were stranded for twenty-six days upon a desert island where their sufferings were such as to reduce them to cannibalism. Eventually he was rescued and returned to Nottingham, but his brother, Dr. Deane, behaved in so unreasonable a manner, upbraiding him m season and out for the loss of the ship that the situation became intolerable, and negotiations between the brothers were broken off. However, a reconciliation was arranged and the two brothers dined with seeming friendship at the house of a mutual friend, and upon the conclusion of the entertainment Captain Deane offered to walk home with his brother, but when they got into Fletcher Gate his temper got the best of him and he broke out into a torrent of abuse which became so violent that he was about to assault the Captain, the latter in self-defence pushed him away and he fell down and immediately died from a broken blood vessel, but whether the breakage occurred through the violence of his temper or through the fall it was never decided.
Stuff edit
CAPTAIN JOHN DEANE turned into a novel by Mr. W H. G. Kingston.
Deane, when a boy, desired to be a butcher, his family were not of the class , his gratified, and he to a butcher and drover, he fell into bad company, and took to poaching and deer-stealing, he went to sea. The shipman’s trade seemed to suit him, and he prospered so much that he rose to the rank of captain, and in that capacity took part in the capture of Gibraltar in 1704.
he built the well-known houses at the entrance to the village, which still bear his name. I walking one day in a field adjoining his house he was violently assaulted and robbed, for which crime his assailant in due course was hanged.
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g Warner, 2008
- ^ Whatnall, Percy (ed.). "Links with old Nottingham. Historical notes by J. Holland Walker". 1928, accessed 13 December 2012
- ^ He was supposedly promoted to captain after some nonsense or other
- ^ a b c d e f g h Riess, 2008
- ^ "Russian fifth rate frigate Samson" accessed 14 December 2012
Bibliography edit
Reiss, Warren C. (July–October 2008). "Nottingham Galley at Boon Island: History, Archaeology, and Novel". The Northern Mariner/Le Marin du Nord. XVIII (3–4). Canadian Nautical Research Society: 21–24. doi:10.25071/2561-5467.353.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: date format (link)
Warner, Richard H. (July–October 2008). "Captain John Deane: Mercenary, Diplomat, and Spy". The Northern Mariner/Le Marin du Nord. XVIII (3–4). Canadian Nautical Research Society: 13–19.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: date format (link)