Archive Results For: Other (Nineteenth C)
Book Review- ‘Leith-built Ships, vol. 1, They Once Were Shipbuilders’ by R. O. Neish
I had high hopes for this book. The important shipbuilding industry of Leith has long needed a comprehensive history. There is a great heritage of distinguished shipbuilders such as Menzies & Co. who built the transatlantic pioneer Sirius, Ramage and Ferguson who built the ill-fated København, and Henry Robb who carried on the shipbuilding tradition […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Nineteenth C)
Subjects include: Shipbuilding & Design
Book Review- ‘Stormflod 1825’ by B. Poulsen
The Limfjord is Denmark’s largest fjord and separates the northern tip of Jutland from the rest of the country. This shallow waterway is 180 kilometres long and prior to 1825 it had access to the open sea only through an outlet to the Kattegat on its eastern side. In February 1825, a major North Sea […] Read More
Filed under: North Sea | Other (Nineteenth C)
Subjects include: Miscellaneous
Notes:-Whaler versus Steamer: The pursuit of the Ville de Bordeaux, 1841
The Ville de Bordeaux was built in Bordeaux in 1836–7 as a man of war for the Brazilian navy. When payment was not forth- coming, it was bought by a group of business- men headed by a M. David and fitted out as a whaler. On 21 February 1837 it embarked on a whaling trip […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Nineteenth C)
Subjects include: Harbours & Dockyards | Whaling & Fishing
Documents:-The Letters of Commander John Corbett, 1855–1857
This is an account of two years in the life of (then) Commander John Corbett, constructed from his letters sent home, his sketches and paintings, and contemporary newspaper reports. It starts with the shipwreck of HMS Wolverene in the Caribbean in 1855 and his subsequent court martial in Bermuda. It continues with the commissioning of […] Read More
Filed under: Opium Wars | Other (Nineteenth C)
Subjects include: Biography | Manpower & Life at Sea
Book Review – ‘The New Coastal History: Cultural and environmental perspectives from Scotland and beyond’ by Jamin Wells
Our coasts matter. They are among the most populated, sought after, contested, and dynamic landscapes in the world. They are also among the least understood, at least by historians. The 17 essays in David Worthington’s tightly edited volume, begin to fill this gap in the scholarship while making an impassioned case for readers to ‘accept […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | Period | North Sea | Irish Sea | Eighteenth Century | Other (Twentieth C) | Nineteenth Century | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (Eighteenth C) | Twentieth Century
Subjects include: Administration | Harbours & Dockyards | Miscellaneous
Book Review -‘Progressives in Navy Blue: Maritime strategy, American empire and the transformation of US naval identity 1873–1998’ by Eric Grove
During the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the United States navy was transformed. The ‘old navy’ of wooden cruisers devoted to constabulary duties and monitors to be mobilized for coast defence was transformed into a steel navy primarily organized for war. Its capabilities were demonstrated against Spain in 1898. This has traditionally been seen […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | WW1 | Interwar | WW2 | Other (Twentieth C) | Nineteenth Century | Other (Nineteenth C) | Pacific
Subjects include: Navies | Shipbuilding & Design | Strategy & Diplomacy
Review – ‘The Portuguese in the Creole Indian Ocean: Essays in historical cosmopolitanism’ by Markus Vink
Using the work of French Réunion historian Françoise Vergès, ‘Indian-Oceanic Creolizations: Processes and practices of creolization on Réunion Island’ (in C. Stewart, Creolization: History, ethnography, theory Walnut Creek ca, 2007, 133–52) as an entry point, Fernando Rosa, a research affiliate in the English department at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and self-described ‘displaced Brazilian scholar’ (p. 39), presents […] Read More
Filed under: Early Modern | Eighteenth Century | Other (Early Modern) | Other (Twentieth C) | Nineteenth Century | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (Eighteenth C) | Indian Ocean | Twentieth Century
Subjects include: Miscellaneous
Book Review – ‘The Deptford Royal Dockyard and Manor of Sayes Court, London: Excavations 2000–12’ by Ann Coats
This large-format monograph melds historical narrative and specialist archaeological reports into a very readable account of the ‘largest- ever excavation of a British naval dockyard’ (p. xviii). It is fitting that a leading maritime history journal should review this, as the scope of its archaeological processes and breadth of its findings are indispensable to mainstream […] Read More
Filed under: Period | Early Modern | Eighteenth Century | Nineteenth Century | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (Eighteenth C)
Subjects include: Archaeology | Harbours & Dockyards
Book Review – ‘The US Navy: A concise history’ by Johan Francke
In this concise history, Craig L. Symonds describes, among other issues, the role played by political decisions and political debate in the formation of the US Navy and, similarly, the influence of technological innovation. For the supporters of maritime policy, the importance of the navy was a matter of projecting state power and self-confidence. Others […] Read More
Filed under: WW1 | Interwar | WW2 | American Revolution | Post WW2 | American Civil War | Eighteenth Century | Nineteenth Century | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (Eighteenth C) | Twentieth Century
Subjects include: Navies
Book Review – ‘Liverpool Docks: A short history’ by Martin Bellamy
Much has been written on Liverpool’s docks in recent years, particularly through the ground- breaking work of Adrian Jarvis. A welcome addition to this would be a short publicly accessible survey that provided non-specialist readers with a useful introduction. I think that was the intention of this new book (by David Paul). A recent trip […] Read More
Filed under: Irish Sea | Eighteenth Century | Other (Twentieth C) | Nineteenth Century | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (Eighteenth C) | Twentieth Century
Subjects include: Harbours & Dockyards
Book Review – ‘Forty Years Master: A life in sail and steam’ by Frank Scott
The title of this autobiography, Forty Years Master, sums up the dominating theme in Killman’s recollections: being in command of a merchant ship for four decades. This is also its structure, ship by ship, and the style, ‘authoritative’. The autobiographical text occupies 250 pages, and the remaining 100 pages are taken up the editorial team, […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | Other (Twentieth C) | Nineteenth Century | Other (Nineteenth C) | Twentieth Century | Pacific
Subjects include: Biography | Merchant Marines
Book Review – ‘The First Atlantic Liner: Brunel’s Great Western steamship’ by W. Mark Hamilton
Helen Doe has written a marvellous new book on the early years of transatlantic passenger traffic, with special reference to the Great Western steamship. Her examination is from the perspective of the cultural and social historian and not the technical maritime specialist, but the reader is informed of the numerous technical challenges of early steamship travel. The Great […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | Nineteenth Century | Other (Nineteenth C)
Subjects include: Historic Vessels, Museums & Restoration | Manpower & Life at Sea | Ocean Liners & Passenger Craft