Captain Charles Colville Frankland of the Royal British Navy made in 1827-1828 a journey including a visit to Constantinople. In this period the Ottoman joined by the Egyptian was involved in the Greek Independence war and was almost destroyed at Navarino 20 October 1827 by an allied fleet. Obviously, in this account is just like others mentioned the problems with finding good sailors and officers and the worse condition of the ships and the remarks how important the Greeks were for manning the Ottoman warships. Apparently Frankland visited Constantinople before the Turkish defeat at Navarino.
p. 108: "I cannot comprehend how the Turks manage, with such materials as they now possess, since the loss of their maritime population, to man and equip their vessels of war, and still less how they can possibly find officers capable of taking charge of them; but in spite of these almost insuperable obstacles, they do contrive to rig, arm, and send out to sea, vessels, the hulls of which are in such a state, that I should think few Europeans would deem them sea-worthy; and, indeed, I must do them the justice to say, that these ships, which are now fitting out, are as
p. 109: well-rigged as many of our own vessels of war are by the King's dock-yards; and yet I am informed, that by far the greater part of the Turkish ships' companies have never been on board of a large ship before, but consists of boatmen of the Bosphorus, and the Greek navigators of the Black Sea, who have nothing larger than a tartane or a mahoun under their feet. The solution of the problem will probably be found in the energy of the bastinade, which, no doubt, is liberally applied throughout the squadron."
p. 115: "APRIL, 17. -I dedicated this day to perambulating Pera, Galata and Tophana, and then taking a caique, pulled up to the Arsenal, and looked at the remains of the once powerful Ottoman fleet. It now consists of seven ships of the line, whereof three are of three decks; they are all without poops, and are apparently built by French architects, as their beautiful model indicates. They are all broken-backed, and seem dreadfully rotten; there are three or four very large frigates, and some corvettes and brigs; all of these vessels seem to be laid up as unseaworthy. There are two large Hydriot brigs afloat, and rigged and armed; these do the duty of the port, and are, in company with many small misticoes and boats, prizes
p. 116: captured from the Greeks. There is, however, a squadron of one ship of the line, five frigates and a corvette fitting for sea; these I have before noticed; they are destined for Navarino. I landed at the Admiralty, which is a handsome building, with a long Turkish inscription over the door, and here I saw a number of men in chains embarking for the fleet. They were principally Candiote Greeks, and fine-looking athletic fellows. The Chaoushes who had the charge of them, applied the stick pretty freely to their shoulders as they huddled them into the boats. I learn that it is customary with the Turks to chain these unfortunate men to their guns in action."
Source
Captain Charles Colville Frankland. Travels to and from Constantinople, in the years 1827 and 1828 or personal narrative of a journey from Vienna, through Hungary, Transylvania, Wallachia, Bulgaria, and Roumelia, to Constantinople; and from that city to the capital of Austria, by the Dardanelles, Tenedos, the plains of Troy, Smyrna, Napoli de Romania, Athens, Egina, Poros, Cyprus, Syria, Alexandria, Malta, Sicily, Italy, Istria, Carniola and Styria. London, 1829, vol I. Digitized by Google.
p. 108: "I cannot comprehend how the Turks manage, with such materials as they now possess, since the loss of their maritime population, to man and equip their vessels of war, and still less how they can possibly find officers capable of taking charge of them; but in spite of these almost insuperable obstacles, they do contrive to rig, arm, and send out to sea, vessels, the hulls of which are in such a state, that I should think few Europeans would deem them sea-worthy; and, indeed, I must do them the justice to say, that these ships, which are now fitting out, are as
p. 109: well-rigged as many of our own vessels of war are by the King's dock-yards; and yet I am informed, that by far the greater part of the Turkish ships' companies have never been on board of a large ship before, but consists of boatmen of the Bosphorus, and the Greek navigators of the Black Sea, who have nothing larger than a tartane or a mahoun under their feet. The solution of the problem will probably be found in the energy of the bastinade, which, no doubt, is liberally applied throughout the squadron."
p. 115: "APRIL, 17. -I dedicated this day to perambulating Pera, Galata and Tophana, and then taking a caique, pulled up to the Arsenal, and looked at the remains of the once powerful Ottoman fleet. It now consists of seven ships of the line, whereof three are of three decks; they are all without poops, and are apparently built by French architects, as their beautiful model indicates. They are all broken-backed, and seem dreadfully rotten; there are three or four very large frigates, and some corvettes and brigs; all of these vessels seem to be laid up as unseaworthy. There are two large Hydriot brigs afloat, and rigged and armed; these do the duty of the port, and are, in company with many small misticoes and boats, prizes
p. 116: captured from the Greeks. There is, however, a squadron of one ship of the line, five frigates and a corvette fitting for sea; these I have before noticed; they are destined for Navarino. I landed at the Admiralty, which is a handsome building, with a long Turkish inscription over the door, and here I saw a number of men in chains embarking for the fleet. They were principally Candiote Greeks, and fine-looking athletic fellows. The Chaoushes who had the charge of them, applied the stick pretty freely to their shoulders as they huddled them into the boats. I learn that it is customary with the Turks to chain these unfortunate men to their guns in action."
Source
Captain Charles Colville Frankland. Travels to and from Constantinople, in the years 1827 and 1828 or personal narrative of a journey from Vienna, through Hungary, Transylvania, Wallachia, Bulgaria, and Roumelia, to Constantinople; and from that city to the capital of Austria, by the Dardanelles, Tenedos, the plains of Troy, Smyrna, Napoli de Romania, Athens, Egina, Poros, Cyprus, Syria, Alexandria, Malta, Sicily, Italy, Istria, Carniola and Styria. London, 1829, vol I. Digitized by Google.
