"Shaghaiing," or forcing a man to join the crew of a merchant ship against his will, plagued seafarers the world over between 1849 and 1915. Perpetrators were known as "crimps," and they had no respect for a man's education, social status, race, religion, or seafaring experience. The merchant ships were involved in the opium, tea and gold trades, and the practice was spurred by the opening of the Suez Canal. A major reason for it was a shortage of sailors and the unwillingness of seamen to sail on certain types of ships. They suffered from great deprivations, all for a paltry sum usually squandered during shore leave. Navies and pirates had their own form of shanghaiing called impressment. This work explores the rich history of shanghaiing and impressment with a focus on victims and also considers the 19th century seafarer and the circumstances that made shanghaiing so lucrative.

Bill Pickelhaupt, in this reprint of a classic, tells the true story of shanghaiing--kidnapping men for a voyage at sea after they were slipped drugged liquor--and the politicians who let it happen in San Francisco for over sixty years. Includes victims' first-hand accounts and 50 photographs and drawings.

Her family’s darkest secret? It’s written in the margins. 🚩In a charming riverfront town, a maid goes missing on the eve of her scheduled court appearance against a notorious shanghaier. Budding Gilded Age newspaper woman Jo Felch is determined to uncover the truth. But Jo’s investigation takes a terrifying turn when her newspaper's beloved publisher turns up dead. She soon discovers nothing is as certain as she thought—not even her own past. In the present day, Olivia Crawford is desperately trying to rewrite her own story, escaping New York and her past failures. As a reluctant bookshop owner facing a small town’s scrutiny, she stumbles on Jo’s unfinished tale, discovering a connection that could rewrite her destiny. Meticulously researched and hauntingly imagined, The Shanghai Secret weaves an intricate, fast-paced tale of abduction, murder, and family secrets. 📣 “I loved the historical research that was a seamless part of this book.” “Historical fiction written in a way that makes you want to learn more about the real history of that period.” “Ms. Lind’s commitment to researching her story is what sets her books ahead of other historical fiction.” “I love dual timeline novels, and this one is no exception!” “Intriguing and clean mystery!” “Vanessa Lind is just a very special author - her historical series are a passage to times gone by, people whose lives still touch ours.” “A meticulously researched story with strong female protagonists and a riveting mystery that leaves you on the edge of your seat.” “I never thought I would like historical fiction, but these are so well written with so much depth to the main female characters in both timelines that I could not put them down.” "A well written book by one of my favorite authors. I can't wait for the next one of [the] Tidewater Chronicles Series." "It grabs your attention with the opening chapter and winds you up till you reach the end." “Vanessa Lind has a way with history, making it come alive and bringing you deep into the time period she writes about. The sense of place, the smells and the people, the waterfront..... All of it is so immersive and real feeling. Like you're there.” "Very engaging and reads well as a stand alone." “An excellent first book in what promises to be an excellent series from an excellent author." “Wow! I really enjoyed reading this book! It's one of those books that hooks you in immediately, and one you won't want to set down. The author skillfully melds the narrative between two time periods, with two main characters. I found myself immediately engaged, and curious how the two stories would interweave. No spoilers - just take my word that it's very well done and enjoyable!” “What a spectacular book. I loved it.” “I definitely recommend the whole series!” “I loved this book.” “What a great read!”

James Mallery explores the implications of such social constructs as gender, race, and class for the development of San Francisco from the gold rush through World War I.

In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the American Merchant Marine went into a terrible and tragic decline, and sailors were forced to serve under conditions that were little better than serfdom. Seamen were exploited in wholesale fashion, disfranchised of almost all their civil and human rights, and brutally punished for even minor offenses. Successful skippers had turned into slave drivers, cracking down on the sailors, sometimes even murdering their "hands." Though captains were legally prohibited from flogging their crews, they did not hesitate to wield belaying pins, marlin spikes, or their bare fists. The seamen's lot became so horrible in this period that entire crews frequently jumped ship when a vessel came into port. One result of this was that new crews had to be kidnaped, crimped, or shanghaied from the unsuspecting populace of the ports. These "impressed" or "hobo" crews were still further conspired against. They often had their wages stolen from them; they were poorly fed and clothed. Their lives became "hell afloat and purgatory ashore." In this way what had been our "first and finest employ" in colonial days was turned into a disreputable profession-one that was classed with criminals and prostitutes. Richard H. Dillon, author of Embarcadero, gives us a frightful picture of the seamen's lot in this tragic era. He describes in detail daily life aboard those hell-ships which set records in the passage from Frisco to China, but on whose decks fresh blood of the crew was found every day of the voyage. One of the most infamous of all these vessels was the Challenge whose skipper, Captain Robert H. ("Murderin' Bob" or "Bully") Waterman, was eventually put on trial in San Francisco for murder, theft, unjust assault, brutality, and thirteen other crimes against his crew. Dillon offers a complete picture of Waterman and reveals all the details of his famous trial and punishment. He also provides a series of portraits of other captains who rivaled "Bully" in their brutality and sadism, and describes how they in their turn were brought to justice. Dillon writes of those who attempted to defend seamen when they were most forgotten by the public conscience. Such men as the Reverend Lyman Beecher of Boston; Samuel C. Damon, the seamen's beloved chaplain at Honolulu; the Frisco street preacher, "Father" William Taylor, and-most outstanding of them all- Andrew Furuseth, the seamen's "Emancipator." In this book Richard Dillon brilliantly recreates the action-packed drama of the American seaman's escape from serfdom. Readers who enjoyed the author's earlier chronicle of true seafaring adventures, Embarcadero, will like Dillon's second book even more.

With long-forgotten stories and evocative photographs, this collection showcases the once-familiar sites that have faded into dim memories and hazy legends. Not just a list of places, facts, and dates, this pictorial history shows why San Francisco has been a legendary travel destination and one of the world's premier places to live and work for more than 150 years.