If it be borne in mind, furthermore, that the rowers were rivetted to the ship by irons which were rarely removed; that they generally lived and died on their benches, it will be understood that the galleys were a terror and a shame for the seafaring peoples.
It was rare to meet with volunteers for this trade which included, for the matter of that, only slaves and prisoners of war. Still, the rowers were not all equal; they were divided into three distinct classes: 1º those condemned to the galleys, their hair and beard being shaved; 2º the slaves, among whom were Turks, Moors and Negroes, these last considered to be the best rowers, their distinctive mark was a tuft of hair on the head; 3º the “benevoglie” or volunteers among whom were men who had served their time and been liberated, but who were not able to find a place and so sought a refuge on the galleys, as well as bandits and others who no longer had anything on which to live.
The clothing of the rowers was very simple: they received every year two shirts, two pairs of breeches, a red cloth jacket a sou’wester for winter, a red cap and two blankets per bench of oarsmen.
Rations were issued to them, but they could buy more if the food supplied were not enough.
The part of the hold not occupied by ammunition was reserved for provisions; it also included a bit of a cabin for the captain and officers.
When the galley stopped, a large sail was stretched above and across the ship, one side being raised so as to let the air enter.
Their slender build did not give the galleys sufficient stability at sea, consequently the rowers were often very much tried by the waves.
The armament was simple: three guns were placed at the bow, the principal one of which was in the middle (set in the longitudinal axis of the ship); on the large galleys, there were found, as a rule 18, 48 and 12 pounders and, on the small ships, there were one 12-, one 24-and one 8-pdr.
The fighting value was measured by the amount of iron which could be thrown at once and per man. Take, for example, a galley throwing 44 kilogrammes of iron at once and carrying a crew of about 400 men. There would be hurled, then, 0.110 m. per man. A galley cost 400,000 francs, or 9090 francs per kilogramme of iron.
Compare this galley with an ordinary war ship, carrying 55 pieces of artillery with a crew of 1100 men and able to throw 1000 kilogrammes at once (or 0.910 m. per man), and assume its cost to be 3000 francs per kg. The lower fighting efficiency, of the galleys and their much greater relative cost can be clearly seen. This ordinary war ship throws at once nine times more iron per man while its cost is less than that of the galley considered.