Pressed into the Navy
At about fourteen years of age Lurting is taken up for a man-of-war and begins service in the parliamentary and later Commonwealth navies.
c. 1632–1713 · England (possibly Gloucestershire or London)
Thomas Lurting
The Fighting Sailor Turn’d Peaceable Christian
“I could not strike a man, nor join with any weapon against them; for I saw it was the Lamb that must overcome.” — Thomas Lurting
Life & Ministry
The Battle of Santa Cruz
Under General-at-Sea Robert Blake he takes part in the assault on the Spanish treasure fleet at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and counts four remarkable deliverances in one afternoon.
Convincement at Sea
A handful of Quaker sailors aboard the Bristol frigate begin meeting; Lurting is reached by their plain living, Scripture searching, and inward turn toward the Light of Christ.
Refusal at Barcelona
In action against Spanish ships off Barcelona he declines to fight, telling the captain he has real weapons and a peaceable captain.
Press Gangs and Persecution
Back in England he is repeatedly seized by press gangs and suffers imprisonment and abuse for refusing to bear arms or take oaths.
Taken by Barbary Corsairs
On a merchant voyage he is captured by Algerine corsairs, their misfortunes enable the captives to retake the ship, and Lurting convinces the crew to release the Turks at Algiers.
Audience with the King
Returning to England, Lurting is sent for by King Charles II and the Duke of York and gives his reason for releasing his enemies.
Death
Dies, leaving behind the little tract that tells the story of a sailor who learned to beat swords into ploughshares.
Connections & Relationships
RB
Robert Blake
Naval CommanderThe Commonwealth admiral under whom Lurting fought at Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
CI
Charles II
Historical InterlocutorLurting’s account of being questioned by the king and the Duke of York became a famous Quaker peace testimony.
George Fox
ContemporaryLurting’s convincement belongs to the same early Quaker wave that Fox and the Valiant Sixty carried across England.
Available Works
The Fighting Sailor Turn'd Peaceable Christian
AvailableThe autobiographical narrative of Lurting’s life as a fighting seaman, his convincement among Friends, and his famous witness before kings and corsairs.