Archive Results For: Mediterranean
Note: Italian and German Submarine Passage of the Straits of Gibraltar in the Second World War
Sixty-two German U-boats made the perilous passage into the Mediterranean during the Second World War, nine were sunk trying to pass the Straits of Gibraltar and another ten were forced to abandon the attempt. None of the successful boats ever left, either being destroyed by the Allies or scuttled by their crews. By contrast the […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Submarines
Ruling the Wages: The Austrian Lloyd Steam Navigation Company and seafarers’ incomes in the Habsburg Empire, 1885–1914
One of the primary outcomes of the transition from sail to steam shipping was the profound change affecting maritime labour. The rise of new shipping companies played a pivotal role in reshaping the work onboard and the socio-economic position of maritime workers. In the Mediterranean, the case of the Austrian merchant marine, dominated by the […] Read More
Filed under: Mediterranean | Other (Twentieth C) | Other (Nineteenth C)
Subjects include: Manpower & Life at Sea | Merchant Marines
A Cargo of Slaves? Demosthenes 34.10
Existing studies of the ancient Greek slave trade lack detailed evidence for a key link in the supply chain. The geographical origins of non-Greek slaves are well known, as are the various destinations to which they were trafficked; as yet, however, little is known about their transport by sea. This article shows that a key […] Read More
Filed under: Prehistory | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Archaeology
The Periplus of Pseudo-Skylax and its Relationship with Earlier Nautical Knowledge’
This study focuses on the Periplus of Pseudo-Skylax, a controversial document from the late fourth century bc. Despite diverging views on its date and authorship, scholars agree this text could have derived most of its information from earlier and non-extant, nautical sources. This article contributes to addressing gaps and limitations concerning the Periplus’s relevance and […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Archaeology | Science & Exploration
Book Review-‘Taranto and Naval Air Warfare in the Mediterranean, 1940–1945’ by D. Hobbs
During the Second World War the Mediterranean remained a strategic lifeline between Britain and the Suez Canal, and thence the oil fields of the Middle East and the resources and manpower of the British Empire. Yet in 1940 it presented a formidable obstacle; from the British base at Gibraltar to its base in Malta was […] Read More
Filed under: WW2 | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Naval Aviation
Book Review-‘Roger of Lauria (c. 1250–1305), Admiral of Admirals’ by C. D. Stanton
Roger of Lauria, the commander of the galley fleets of the Kingdom of Aragon in the last years of the thirteenth century, was portrayed as a great hero by many contemporary chroniclers of his exploits. He has also been much lauded by modern historians writing on the naval aspects of the War of the Sicilian […] Read More
Filed under: Late Middle Ages | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Biography
Book Review-‘Exploring the Britannic: The life, last voyage and wreck of ‘Titanic’’s tragic twin’ by S. Mills
The Royal Mail Steamer Britannic was laid down in 1911 in Harland & Wolff’s Belfast ship yard where her near sisters Olympic and Titanic had been built. She was intended to have been the third of the White Star Line’s trio of luxury liners which were necessary to maintain a weekly service on the North […] Read More
Filed under: WW1 | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Archaeology | Historic Vessels, Museums & Restoration
Book Review-‘Primo Mediterraneo: Meditazioni sul mare più antico della storia’ by S. Tusa
In this book, Sebastiano Tusa, one of the most important Italian underwater archaeologists and superintendent of the Sea of Sicily, offers a series of interesting suggestions about the history of the Mediterranean, from its very first dawn to the medieval period. Throughout the 12 chapters of the book, in fact, the author draws a general […] Read More
Filed under: Mediterranean
Subjects include: Archaeology
The Determination of the Ship’s Speed in History and the Earliest Discussion of the ‘Dutchman’s Log’
Early mariners did not have the means to ascertain their exact position once they were out of sight of land for some time. But, contrary to an assumption long nurtured, early mariners did not usually ‘hug the coast’. In Roman times the Mediterranean mariners had to cross the basins of that sea to carry goods, […] Read More
Filed under: Mediterranean
Subjects include: Science & Exploration | Ship Handling & Seamanship
Book Review-‘R.H.N.S. ‘Averof’: Thunder in the Aegean’ by J. Carr
It is fair to say that early twentieth century Greek naval history is a rather niche field, in the Anglophone historiography at least. Attention has naturally focused on the major navies of Britain, Germany and to a lesser extent the United States. Even those historians who have ventured further afield to consider developments in the […] Read More
Filed under: WW1 | Mediterranean | Other (location)
Subjects include: Historic Vessels, Museums & Restoration | Navies