Reviewed by Fiona Grahame.

The book, a collaboration of research provided by Dr Ray Fereday, John H. Ballantyne, and Spencer J. Rosie, catalogues the life of Orcadian Alexander Ruddach. It follows his career through the navy, the American War of Independence, French and Spanish campaigns, and mercantile trading with the Orcadian owned slave plantations.

Alexander Ruddach was the third son of St Magnus Cathedral minister, Rev Alexander Ruddach, and was born in 1758. This was an intriguing time in the history of Orkney. Once a Jacobite stronghold it was severely punished after Culloden in 1746 with burnings, lootings and the rounding up of ‘rebels’ by the successful Hanoverian forces. It had only been 50 years since the Treaty of Union brought England and Scotland together under one Parliament, based in London.

In his early naval career, Alexander was involved fighting against another group of ‘rebels’ – those who had declared the independence of the American colonies. The book has fascinating accounts, related by Alexander to his wealthy uncle, Charles Steuart, who is bank rolling him, of the naval campaigns he takes part in against the American navy. This was a war that brought France into the side of America as she also sought to take advantage of how damaging the loss of her colonies would be to Britain. These first hand accounts written as they happened will be of great interest to many American scholars.

Alexander’s two brothers, Thomas and Charles, also financially helped to a lesser extent by their uncle Charles Steuart, set up businesses across the Atlantic. Thomas learned about the tobacco trade in Port Royal, Virginia, moving to a plantation in Tobago when those American rebels started to cause trouble. Charles eventually became a prosperous plantation owner in Jamaica, and retired on those profits to England.

This book adds to the growing evidence of the links Orkney had with slavery, some of which we have previously published in The Orkney News.

• Book Review: In My Right Place, the Life and Times of Joseph Clouston, Gold Coast Merchant and Harray Laird
• Orkney and Slavery–‘I have at present 36 negroes, besides stock…’
• The Harray men who went for gold

The Orkney News also has several articles about Scotland’s links with slavery. They can be found using the on site search engine.

Alexander Ruddach, through correspondence with his uncle, also gives us accounts of various episodes in Britain’s disputes and wars with France and Spain. This includes details of the naval battle, The Glorious of 1st June 1794′. The image on the front cover of the book is from a painting by Nicolas Pocock painted in 1811 depicting the 74-gun HMS Defence at the Glorious First of June, dismasted and damaged, taking raking fire from the French 74-gun Tourville, while exchanging fire with the 74-gun Mucius Scævola stationed before her to her right side. The painting is in the National Maritime Museum.

Alexander was serving on HMS Marlborough:

“Marlborough dismasted two French ships of the line (Impetueux and Mucius) causing them to strike their colours, though Mucius later escaped.”

Also serving in the Royal Navy and at that battle was another Orcadian, Donald Trail(l). He too was a veteran of the American Wars of Independence and was to make an extensive fortune in the slave trade.

Linking these two men together was not only their place of birth, and their military/business exploits, but one woman – Elizabeth Russell. She had married Alexander Ruddach and born him two children: a son and a daughter. After Alexander’s death in 1811 whilst on his way to Tobago, she later married Donald Trail(l) who she also outlived. He died in 1814.

There were also some interesting sherds of information in Alexander’s letters where he writes of getting his children vaccinated against smallpox. This was a new vaccine against the highly contagious and deadly smallpox and which left those who survived with horrific scars.

This book has so many interesting pathways to follow which interlink the many characters which appear within its pages. Stories and characters it would be fascinating to follow and find out where they lead. Importantly it has put into print letters written by people who lived through these immense events of the late 18th and early 19th century.

Spencer Rosie has included at the back of the book the wills of Charles Steuart, Thomas Ruddach, Charles Ruddach, Alexander Ruddach, and Donald Trail(l), giving us some indication, especially of Donald Trail(l) of the wealth accumulated by these 5 men.

I highly recommend this book and hope that it will not only provide the reader with an interesting and well researched account but will lead some to pursue further areas of research following on from what it has revealed.

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