Archive Results For: Mediterranean
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
Book Review-‘Empire and Holy War in the Mediterranean: The galley and maritime conflict between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans’ by P. Williams
Philip Williams’s book examines the maritime rivalry between the Ottomans and the Spanish Monarchy in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. As the author demonstrates, a remarkable part of this conflict was the use of the North African corsairs by the Ottomans, and the Hospitaller Knights of Malta by the Habsburgs of Spain, as state-sponsored […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Early Modern) | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Pirates, Corsairs & Privateers
Book Review-‘Sveti Pavao Shipwreck: A 16th century Venetian merchantman from Mljet, Croatia’ by C. Betrame, S. Gelichi and I. Miholjek
When studying the Mediterranean world of antiquity, we are constantly reminded of the profound impact that archaeological evidence from shipwrecks has had on our understanding of the myriad interconnections of the cultures and societies ranged around its shores at different times. By contrast, the maritime elements of the medieval and early post-medieval Mediterranean are relatively […] Read More
Filed under: Mediterranean
Subjects include: Archaeology
Book Review – ‘Secret Flotillas: Volume 2: Clandestine sea operations in the western Mediterranean, North Africa and the Adriatic, 1940–1944’ by Brooks Richards
Sir Francis ‘Brooks’ Richards, was a British diplomat and, during the Second World War, a director of operations for the Special Operations Executive. He was personally involved in some of the operations he here describes as official historian and took part in running agents across the Channel, winning the first of his two DSCs for […] Read More
Filed under: WW2 | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Navies | Strategy & Diplomacy