Hartlepool, County Durham
“Legend has it that during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, a shipwrecked monkey was hanged by the people of Hartlepool, believing him to be a French spy! To this day, people from Hartlepool are affectionately known as ‘monkey hangers’.” Ben Johnson
During the Napoleonic Wars, a military conflict fought between 15 March and 20 May 1815, a French chasse marée ship was found wrecked in a storm off the coast of Hartlepool. Full of suspicion because of the ongoing war, the concerned locals of Hartlepool rushed to the crashed ship to investigate who was on board… and found a single monkey.
Allegedly dressed in a French army uniform, probably as a jape from the crew, this caused a bit of concern for locals. No one had probably seen a Frenchman before in Hartlepool during this time period, and their only point of reference for the French was satirical cartoons of the time depicting them as monkey-like creatures with tails and claws… So upon seeing an actual monkey in a little French army uniform, what were they to think?!
The Genius of France Expounding Her Laws. George Cruikshank, April 4, 1815.
Unsure what to really do with their new monkey prisoner, some Hartlepool locals decided to hold an impromptu trial to question the monkey? Frenchman? French monkey? Unable to answer, of course, they concluded that the monkey must be a French spy holding onto its secrets. Being found guilty, the animal was sentenced to death and was hanged right there on the beach.
A 19th century illustration of the legend of the hanging of a monkey by the people of Hartlepool during the Napoleonic Wars Credit: North News & Pictures
Whilst this legend is often referred to as ‘The Hanging of the Hartlepool Monkey’, some say that the interpretation of the legend as being a literal monkey is incorrect. It could, instead, refer to a small boy nicknamed a ‘powder monkey’ due to being employed on warships of this time to prime the canons with gunpowder. I suppose it would make a little more sense to take a human boy to trial rather than a monkey, but both stories sadden me.
Sources
The legend of the Hartlepool monkey hanger's - The Archaeology and Metal Detecting Magazine
The Hanging of the Hartlepool Monkey
