Archive Results For: Early Modern
Dutch Naval Decline and British Sea-power Identity in the Eighteenth Century
During the eighteenth century, various British authors analysed the decline of Dutch naval power. Anticipating the politico-cultural frame of reference of the British political nation, they invoked the memory of the seventeenth-century Anglo-Dutch wars to dramatize the failure of Dutch sea power. They disagreed about the causes of this development, but seemed unanimous in their […] Read More
Filed under: Dutch Wars | North Sea
Subjects include: Strategy & Diplomacy
Early Sixteenth-century Shipbuilding in Mexico: Dimensions and tonnages of the vessels designed for Pacific Ocean navigation
Shortly after the conquest of Mexico, Cortes ordered the construction of a shipyard in Tehuantepec (Oaxaca), on the Pacific coast, known as El Carbón. This article examines a document dated to 1535 which provides the principal dimensions, tonnages, and construction characteristics of three navíos (ships) designed and built in this shipyard for Pacific Ocean navigation. The ships’ […] Read More
Filed under: Early Modern | Pacific
Subjects include: Shipbuilding & Design
A Re-appraisal of the King’s Ships in the Reigns of Richard I and John, 1189–1216
Claims have been made for the establishment of an English royal navy in the twelfth century. This article offers a reappraisal of the documentary evidence to assess whether Richard the Lionheart or his younger brother John can be credited with creating this instrument of royal power. Their use of ships in warfare and the possession […] Read More
Filed under: English Channel | Early Modern
Subjects include: Administration | Harbours & Dockyards | Logistics | Navies
Note: The Etymology of List, ‘Inclination of a Ship’
This note explores the etymology of the word list, meaning the inclination of a ship, including a discussion of Norse, Old English and French terminology. Read More
Filed under: Other (Early Modern) | Other (Eighteenth C)
Subjects include: Miscellaneous
Note: The Selsey Fishing Fleet
A short history of the West Sussex town of Selsey, its fishing industry and fleet from the sixteenth century to the present day. Read More
Filed under: English Channel | Other (Early Modern) | Other (Twentieth C) | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (Eighteenth C)
Subjects include: Whaling & Fishing
How Large Was Mars? An investigation of the dimensions of a legendary Swedish warship, 1563–1564
The Swedish warship Mars was considered to have been one of the largest ships in the world when it exploded and sank in 1564. The problem is that no written accounts clearly reveal its dimensions. This article reviews how different researchers have discussed the size of Mars in the past. It also aims to shed new light on this […] Read More
Filed under: Baltic | Other (Early Modern) | Shipwrecks
Subjects include: Archaeology | Shipbuilding & Design
‘Breaching Neutrality’: English prize-taking and Swedish neutrality in the First Anglo-Dutch War, 1651–1654
This article considers the impact of English seizure of neutral Swedish vessels during the First Anglo-Dutch War, 1651–4. These actions were undertaken at a time when no bilateral diplomatic treaty existed between the two nations and thus the legal basis for such prize-taking was hotly disputed on both sides. Through an examination of extant sources […] Read More
Filed under: Dutch Wars | North Sea
Subjects include: Navies | Strategy & Diplomacy
A Ship ‘For Which Great Neptune Raves’: The Sovereign of the Seas, la Couronne and seventeenth-century international competition over warship design
Charles I’s great warship the Sovereign of the Seas is famed for its design, decoration and importance as a tool that heightened the image of English naval supremacy. By exploring its career, size, name and decoration, this article highlights the Sovereign of the Seas’ significance as a national symbol of political and cultural power. It argues that Charles’s […] Read More
Filed under: English Channel | Early Modern
Subjects include: Navies | Shipbuilding & Design
A Model of the Royal Yacht Henrietta about 1679: Description and identification
This paper presents a model of a royal yacht in the Portland Collection whose existence has, despite having been included in a published nineteenth-century catalogue, remained unrecognized for over 300 years. It is the first Navy Board style yacht model to come into the public domain for nearly a century. It is the first yacht […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Early Modern) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Ship Models & Figureheads
State Formation and the Private Economy: Dutch prisoners of war in England, 1652–1674
The sea battles of the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the mid-seventeenth century generated large numbers of prisoners of war. Their incarceration and subsequent repatriation were the responsibility of a succession of appointed bodies, under Cromwell and subsequently under Charles II. Captives were incarcerated in prisons throughout southern England. Once these were full it became necessary to […] Read More
Filed under: Dutch Wars | Other (location)
Subjects include: Administration | Miscellaneous