Murder on the high seas

Tragic maritime journeys in the past

Warning: graphic depictions of violence

Some of the most heartrending cases in my study of Liverpool murder trials for my PhD have been the stories of the systematic abuse of young seamen onboard ships linked to the city’s port. A quarter of the trials I’ve researched were cases of ‘murder on the high seas’, and the firsthand accounts provide a shocking glimpse into the harsh reality of life at sea in the nineteenth century. I shared these cases in my recent series of crime history talks onboard Seabourn Cruises and, although this type of case can be upsetting, it’s important to remember individuals in the past who were victims of crime and whose experiences have been completely forgotten over time.