A Select Bibliography of British and Irish University Theses about Maritime History, 1792-1990


Book Description

This book provides a bibliography of a wide scope of British and Irish post-graduate theses of maritime economic and social history. Its intent is to make these informative, under-utilised texts more accessible for scholars, in response to the deep expansion of subject as a historical discipline. It aims to keep these texts, often unpublished, from lapsing into obscurity. The author takes a broad approach to the subject area, including strands more particular to science than the humanities, and history as recent as the year of publication, intending the resource to be as comprehensive as possible, and of maximum use to present and future scholars. The material is primarily gathered and cross-referenced from Roger R. Bilboul’s Restrospective Index to Theses of Great Britain and Ireland 1716-1950, the ASLIB Index, and the Institute of Historical Research of the University of London. Each entry comprises Surname, Thesis Title (truncated for length where necessary), Degree Awarded, Awarding Institution, and Date. The database comprises 2500 entries, subdivided into twenty-five sections concerning:- the shipping business and all commercial/mercantile aspects of operation; exploration, cartography, and navigation; shipping and shipbuilding technologies; docks and harbours; maritime labour; maritime medical issues; naval history, piracy, privateering; international relations; maritime law; pollution and the maritime environment; fishing; sea-port communities; culture, literature, and art; maritime economics; marine architecture; coastal planning; tourism; and off-shore oil. The sections are further subdivided by location, and a geographical index is included for ease of reference. The author assures that the majority of theses are readily accessible.




Merchants and Mariners


Book Description

This book presents twelve essays by historian David M. Williams, in order to pay tribute to his career. The essays stretch from 1807 through to the end of the nineteenth century, and address both economic and social themes. Topics include maritime trade, deployment of merchant ships, the state regulations concerning shipping, shipwrecks and loss of life, passenger cargoes, slavery, cotton, timber and coffee trades, and the working conditions of seamen over the course of the century. The plight of the maritime labourer is at the core of this collection. The essays primarily focus on British shipping, and firmly places it within an international context. The book is introduced by Lars U. Scholl, followed by two tributes to Williams’ career, one by Peter N. Davies, the other by Lewis R. Fischer. Scholl concludes the volume with a thorough bibliography of Williams’ maritime writings: books, chapters, and articles.




The Impact of Technological Change


Book Description

This book presents an in-depth study of the impact of the steamship on Britain during its first forty years, roughly between 1810 and 1850. It relates the early steamship to several industrial themes including diffusion; construction; modernisation; the role of government - particularly the difficult attempt to align laissez-faire politics with the greater need for public safety measures due to technological advance; business and finance; plus public reaction and tourism. The aim is to establish the significance of the steamship as a conduit of modernisation and societal change. It consists of a foreword, introduction, and fourteen chapters devoted to specific themes, structured to ensure each chapters build on the preceding chapter’s progress. Collectively, they demonstrate that the development of both experience and enterprise with steam power both gained and refined during this period made the mid-century expansion of steamship technology across Britain possible. Ultimately, it establishes that steamship services began to adapt to oceanic routes, steam began to integrate into the world economy, and the age of sail began to draw to a close.




The Titanic


Book Description

Promoted as virtually unsinkable, the ultimate luxury liner, the largest ship in the world, the RMS Titanic sank on its maiden voyage in April 1912, taking some 1,500 people to their death. Aboard the ship were the wealthy and famous as well as hundreds of immigrants seeking a new life in America. The most dramatic marine disaster of modern times, the Titanic tragedy captured the interest and imagination of the entire world. The intensity of interest in the catastrophe has increased, particularly after discovery of the wreck off the coast of Newfoundland in the mid-1980s. The resulting literature is vast, including both scholarly and popular sources. Covering more than the published literature, the book also surveys memorabilia, artifacts, cultural icons, music, film, and exhibitions. Divided into three sections, the work opens with a historiographical survey of the literature, then includes descriptive lists of more peripheral material, and concludes with a bibliography of 674 entries. All items covered in the historiographical survey are included in the bibliography. This useful guide will appeal to researchers - both laymen and scholars - interested in the Titanic.




Management, Finance and Industrial Relations in Maritime Industries


Book Description

This volume seeks to explore the vast history of international maritime business, focussing on themes of management, finance, and labour. Each essay considers the economics of maritime industries and the factors that influenced decision-making. Their collective purpose is to spotlight relatively neglected areas of international maritime business history, and their richly varied subjects and geographies are primarily unified by this theme, whilst demonstrating the universality of international maritime business. The essays cover the following subjects:- the Norwegian shipbroking firm, Fearnley and Eger; the labour management strategies of nineteenth century London dock companies; the hierarchies of Finnish seagoing in the nineteenth century; twentieth-century Spanish merchant shipping; an examination of Gothenburg’s leading shipping companies; an exploration of The Royal Mail’s postal contracts and overseas mail service; patterns of ownership and finance in Greek deep-sea steamship fleets; the relationships between banks and industry in interwar Italy; the expansion of Japanese post-war shipbuilding; and a survey of Chinese junk trades.




Maritime History at the Crossroads


Book Description

This volume seeks to critically review the contemporary state of maritime historiography, as it stands at the volume’s publication date of 1995. The volume is comprised of thirteen essays, each focused on the recent research into the maritime concerns of a particular geographical location, listed as follows: Australia; Canada; China; Denmark; Germany; Greece; Ibero-America; India; the Netherlands; the Ottoman Empire; Spain; the United States; and a final chapter concerning historians and maritime labour in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. One concern made evident by the collection is the lack of stable identity and cohesive aims within maritime history, the subject holds many conflicting definitions and concepts. The purpose of this volume is to explore the recent developments in maritime history, plus the growth of scholarly interest, to provide a ‘beacon and stimulus for future work’ and to clearly direct and define maritime historiography toward a solid position in the field of history.




New Directions in Norwegian Maritime History


Book Description

This book is a wide-reaching study of Norwegian maritime history and developments within the discipline. It brings together the research efforts of a University of Oslo project aiming to further understand Norwegian shipping history between 1814 and 2014, and the work of a new generation of maritime historians. Structured into three sections - global integration, political issues, and success and failure - the volume covers a broad range of maritime topics that have influenced both Norwegian economic development and Norwegian cultural identity. Through analysis it discovers that in the last few decades Norwegian shipping has been plagued by multiple troubles, whilst simultaneously becoming less crucial to the Norwegian economy in favour of offshore petroleum production. However, it reiterates the historical importance of shipping to the economic development of Norway, and asserts that historians have begun to treat it as the centre from which other industries grew.




British Tramp Shipping, 1750-1914


Book Description

This study explores the history of tramp-shipping in the United Kingdom, between 1750 and 1914. It defines ‘tramp’ as steamships exclusively hulled with iron or steel. The purpose of the journal is to keep the history of tramp-shipping from fading into obscurity, as the author believes the tramp steamer does not invoke sentimentality nor provide enough glamour to sustain the same level of maritime interest enjoyed by sailing ships or ocean liners. The study is split into four major sections, the first concerning tramp-shipping, ownership, and capital formation; the second concerning trade, specifically copper ore and African guano; the third studies tramp seamen - particularly sea masters; and the final and largest section considers individual tramp-shipping regions, further subdivided by region - Wales, the Northwest, the West Country, the Northeast, the Southeast, and Canada. The volume is punctuated with statistics, tables, charts, glossaries, and concludes with a bibliography of author Robin Craig’s further maritime writing.




Crossing the Bar


Book Description

This book is a collection of sixty interviews with key figures in British shipbuilding, ship repair, and marine engine-building industries across the United Kingdom, plus government and civil service members in the sector from the 1960s to the 1980s. The aim of the project is to understand the economic, social, and political environment of the shipping industry from the perspective of those who worked in it. The interviews place the twentieth century decline of British shipbuilding into a firm context. The topics covered include international competition (a recurring, pertinent theme); labour difficulties; industry modernisation; the attitude of shipowners; the strong belief in traditional methods which kept many of those in the industry from recognising the cheaper, faster, and better quality work taking place overseas and leaving Britain behind; ship production and production control; the postwar boom; shipyard overcrowding; the decline of the domestic industry in favour of the international; marketing weaknesses; trade disputes and trade unions; and nationalisation and privatisation concerns. Opinions and viewpoints often conflict, particularly between the perspectives of those working within the industry and the civil servants working outside of it, but the interviews are presented as a unit, and the reader is encouraged to draw their own conclusion. The result is a unique historical archive that offers a multitude of firsthand perspectives on the British shipping decline, open to interpretation by historians and future researchers. It includes a preface, introduction, and select bibliography. The interviews are grouped together by location and role.




Merchant Organization and Maritime Trade in the North Atlantic, 1660-1815


Book Description

This book presents the challenges faced by maritime merchants operating in the North Atlantic in the early modern period, and examines the opportunities, aspirations, and methods utilised in the pursuit of profitable trade. The book collects nine essays and a reflective conclusion, which cumulatively explore the major themes of trade within empires; growth of trade; new initiatives within trade empires; government initiatives in relation to maritime mercantile trade; merchant migration; and changes in international trade. The book attempts to provide scholarly insight and perspectives into early modern economic life, through the maritime mercantile activities of various European and North American nations.