BILLY BUDD
A Note About This Story
Time: 1797. Place: the Mediterranean Sea.
This was a time of wars and revolutions. Many people did not want kings to rule their countries anymore.
The people wanted more food, better work and more freedom.
In 1797, George III was King of Great Britain and Ireland. There was a war between France and Britain.
The French and British armies fought battles on the land. The French and British navies fought battles on
the sea.
Warships were made of wood. They had many sails and huge, powerful guns. Each warship had hundreds
of men on board. Some of the men were sailors. Some of the men were officers. The sailors cooked the food
and they cleaned the ship.
They listened to the orders from the officers. Then the sailors steered the ship. They moved the sails. The
sails made the ship go faster or slower. Some of the sailors fired the huge guns. They were the gunners.
There were also marines and corporals on warships. Marines were special soldiers. They fought in battles
at sea.
Corporals were the policemen on the ship. The master-at-arms was in charge of the corporals. All these
men lived together on the ship for many months.
At this time, sailors lived in bad conditions. They were often cold and wet. They were paid very little money.
Their food was bad. Their work was dangerous and hard. Sea battles were frightening and terrible and
very many sailors died in battles. Many more got horrible injuries.
In the eighteenth century, the British Navy needed many sailors for the warships. Sailors were often
impressed. Officers went to towns or onto trading-ships.
They beat the sailors and took them to the warships.
These impressed men had to stay on the warships. They had to work and they had to fight. Some of them
never saw their homes or their families again.
In Spring 1797, some sailors in the British Navy mutinied. They did not want to work. They did not want to
fight. They wanted more money and better conditions. They wanted the impressing to stop. The admirals
of the navy were very worried. Britain and France were at war. Mutiny was treason. The sailors were
making trouble for , their country. They were helping France, the enemy of Britain.
Admiral Nelson was an important officer in the British Navy. He was a brave man and a good officer. He
spoke to the other admirals. After that, the navy made better conditions for the British sailors.
Finally, Claggart unmasks his evil nature by accusing Billy of plotting mutiny among members of the crew. After amassing false evidence with the help of Squeak, one of the corporals of the gun deck who is his willing and unscrupulous tool, Claggart confronts Billy before Captain Vere with his accusations. Here Billy, shocked and unable to speak because of a speech impediment which affects him in moments of crisis, strikes out and accidentally kills Claggart.
Although Captain Vere is aware that Billy's action was both automatic and in some measure justified, he convinces the Court Marshal aboard ship, which he has hurriedly called because of the recent mutinies, of the need to maintain discipline. Accordingly, Billy is convicted and the next morning hanged from the yardarm, dying with the words "God bless Captain Vere" on his lips.