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Originally Posted by fernando
Concerning the social status of crew members, ironically were the soldiers that were "drafted" in streets, taverns or prisons and not sailors
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That is not the case. Sailors were pressed onto ships en masse, not all of course, but significant numbers. That's the main reason that most were not allowed to disembark when in port, or they would inevitably run off. Whores were brought on board instead.
Much valuable information on the life of sailors in the age of sail exists.
BTW, scrimshaw is not done with a knife, it's scratched into the ivory with a sharp needle, also called a scribe.