It was announced that any master mates who remain on ships flying the American flag will be classed as strike breakers.
His father, a merchant seaman, was a chief navigator with the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots in Jersey City.
Selkirk was a master's mate on a British ship when he died.
After advancing to master's mate, and boatswain, both noncommissioned ranks, he was made master of HMS Pembrokee" at the age of 29.
Christian, a member of a family that had moved from the Isle of Man to Cumberland, England, had already served some years in the navy when, in 1787, he became master's mate on the Bounty, a discovery ship sailing (December 23 , 1787 from Spithead to the South Seas to collect breadfruit trees for the West Indies.
His distant kinsman Fletcher Christian served as master's mate on the ill-fated voyage.
A midshipman who became master's mate earned an increase in pay from £2 5s to £3 16s per month but initially reduced his chances at a commission because master's mates, along with masters, were assumed to have a working-class background.
By the Napoleonic era, the regulations required at least three years of services as a midshipman or master's mate and six years of total sea time.
On smaller ships, midshipmen were instructed by a senior master's mate, often a passed midshipman, who taught them mathematics, navigation, and sailing lore.
After serving at least three years as a midshipman or master's mate, he was eligible to take the examination for lieutenant.
He became master's mate aboard the 64-gun HMS Rupert under the command of Captain Arthur Herbert, whilst she was fitting out at Portsmouth.
