Prior to the war of 1812, what were the english doing to american sailors?

In one of the reasons for the War of 1812 the American sailors were pressed forcibly into the service of the English navy to serve on ships until they could prove their worth so the Americans would man English ships by doing different tasks for the English so in simpler terms the English would take American sailors and put them to work as a "Prisoner" on their ships
 
Hope this helped some!