An Appeal to the British Nation on the Humanity and Policy of Forming a National Institution for the Preservation of Lives and Property from Shipwreck (1825)

Every year, hundreds of ships smashed against the British coastline, and thousands drowned within sight of shore while crowds watched from the cliffs. Sir William Hillary had seen enough. Living on the Isle of Man, he witnessed shipwreck after shipwreck, survivors struggling in the waves while assistance remained nonexistent. His 1825 pamphlet makes an impassioned argument that a great maritime nation cannot stand by while its own waters claim lives it could save. Hillary combines vivid accounts of specific disasters with concrete proposals: a national network of rescue stations, rewards for those who risk their boats to save strangers, medical care for survivors, and laws to punish those who loot wrecks instead of rescuing the dying. The argument is moral, practical, and deeply urgent. This pamphlet directly inspired the founding of what would become the RNLI, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. More than a historical document, it captures a pivotal moment when humanitarian impulse became organized action, when Britons began to see saving strangers at sea as a national duty rather than a private matter. The institution Hillary envisioned has saved over 140,000 lives since its founding. This is the document that started it all.