Archive Results For: Other (Early Modern)
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
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
Note: The Early life of Thomas Luny, Marine Artist
While speculation must surround the early life of Thomas Luny, he appears to have had maritime connections through his father, a merchant ship’s captain who traded with Jamaica. His connections with Shadwell and other maritime districts of London are also clear. Read More
Filed under: Other (Early Modern) | Other (Eighteenth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music | Biography
A New Battle Fleet: The evolution of the Ottoman sailing navy, 1650–1718, revealed through Venetian sources
Between 1650 and 1718 the Ottoman navy developed a new fleet of sailing warships in response to similar developments in the Venetian navy. The Venetian government was kept informed of Ottoman naval developments through ambassadors’ reports from Constantinople and accounts from admirals during wartime. The files in the Archivio di Stato di Venezia therefore preserve […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Early Modern) | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Navies | Shipbuilding & Design | Strategy & Diplomacy
‘Suitable to the Meanest Capacity’: Mathematics, navigation and self-education in the early modern British Atlantic
How was elementary mathematical learning initially acquired in early modern England and the wider Atlantic world? What kind of mathematics was being emphasized? What kind of materials and methods were employed? What were the motivations of those learning the subject? This article argues that a large part of early modern mathematics was self-taught, began informally, […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | Other (Early Modern)
Subjects include: Science & Exploration
‘& thus ended the buisinisse’: A buggery trial on the East India Company ship Mary in 1636
Not much archival information survives about buggery trials at sea in the seventeenth century. A trial aboard the East India Company’s ship, the Mary, at Surat in 1636 is an exception and is well documented. This article provides a detailed account of the trial, placing it within the broader contexts of naval discipline, the judicial […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Early Modern) | Indian Ocean
Subjects include: Manpower & Life at Sea
The Wreck of the Dutch East India Company Ship Haarlem in Table Bay, 1647, and the Establishment of the ‘Tavern of the Seas’
On Sunday 25 March 1647, shortly after five o’clock in the afternoon, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) ship Nieuw Haarlem or Haarlem was wrecked in Table Bay, off the coast of South Africa. The events that followed had far-reaching consequences for the history of South Africa. Fifty-eight of the crew were repatriated by accompanying […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | Other (Early Modern)
Subjects include: Harbours & Dockyards | Merchant Marines | Strategy & Diplomacy
Thomas Cavendish’s Visit to Puná Island in 1587
In 1587 Thomas Cavendish reached Puná Island, Ecuador, where he planned to overhaul his fleet and replenish his supplies. This article describes the visit to the island, the surprise attack by Spanish soldiers and the eventual departure towards Mexico. Most discussions rely only on two English primary sources for Cavendish’s circumnavigation: N. H.’s account in […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Early Modern) | Pacific
Subjects include: Science & Exploration