In today’s world, tattoos are a controversial topic. Some cultures accept them and others look down on people who have them. It does not come as a surprise to me why people dislike them, you are permanently marking your body and some tattoos have no meaning. The seamen of the late 1700’s were not the founders of the art of tattooing, but in my opinion, they had the right concept about tattoos. Only a handful (9.5 percent) of all seamen had random objects or words imprinted on them because the majority had tattoos of great meaning. The reason behind our knowledge of the tattoos the seamen had acquired was all thanks to the act that Congress had passed called, “An Act for the relief and protection of American Seamen.”
The “certificates of citizenship” were a part of the Act that Congress had passed. They were essentially a passport protecting the seafarers from the British naval forces. Only some of the applications still survive and they are the only historical proof that their tattoo’s existed.
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The occupation the seafarers had was nothing like any of the others. Every voyage the seamen set out forth required them to come to peace that dangerous circumstances lay ahead. Each foreign port they went too had some chance of the seamen bringing back diseases. One of the diseases that struck most of the seamen was smallpox, it covered their faces and many died from it. Other diseases that seamen died from included; yellow fever, consumption, cholera, dropsy, pleurisy, hives, whooping cough, measles, bilious fever, distemper, dysentery, and apoplexy. Being a seamen meant accepting the great risks traveling abroad meant. 60 percent of the men who died from these diseases were less than thirty years old. While the seamen were voyaging, many of the prayers at home were centered around praying for their safety while abroad, the prayers of thanks for a safe return were less frequent because many have died on their