USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Impressment of sailors was the practice of Britain’s Royal Navy of sending officers to board American ships, inspect the crew, and seize sailors accused of being deserters from British ships.

Detailed explanation-2: -Prior to this Britain practiced a cruel but effective way of combating the manpower shortage in their navy: impressment. Impressment, or “press gang” as it was more commonly known, was recruitment by force. It was a practice that directly affected the U.S. and was even one of the causes of the War of 1812.

Detailed explanation-3: -Shanghaiing or crimping is the practice of kidnapping people to serve as sailors by coercive techniques such as trickery, intimidation, or violence. Those engaged in this form of kidnapping were known as crimps.

Detailed explanation-4: -Since 1803 the British navy had forcibly drafted approximately 6, 000 American merchant sailors into its service. This practice of “impressment” violated America’s neutrality and the rights of its citizens.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Royal Navy also outraged Americans by its practice of impressment, or removing seamen from U.S. merchant vessels and forcing them to serve on behalf of the British.