Resumen de Signing on: A reconsideration of Newfoundland seafarers’ ‘illiteracy’, 1860-1930
Newfoundland-born seafarers stood out from others aboard nineteenth- and twentieth-century vessels by the relative frequency with which they used an ‘x’ to sign a crew agreement. According to historians’ conventions, this identified them as illiterate. Inadequacy in reading and writing skills is often construed as ignorance, a supposition David Alexander challenged in his 1970s study of social and economic inequality. In a more concerted analysis of Newfoundland seafarers’ literacy skills, I argue against the binary understanding of literate and illiterate people. In a place where maritime activity has spawned a strong oral culture, the groundwork of researchers based in Memorial University has facilitated an understanding of the dynamic and robust nature of vernacular knowledge. Nevertheless, a lack of education can operate ideologically and materially as discriminatory. While the evidence comes from a predominantly male workplace, I take into account the methods by which seafarers acquired reading and writing capabilities. Considering women’s higher literacy rates and their role in education in Newfoundland bridges seafarers’ lives onshore and at sea.
