This analysis of a crucial transformation in the history of world trade reveals how London and its surroundings grew during the eighteenth century to become the first true entrepot. The city developed a new kind of commercial structure sharply distinct from that of Holland and Amsterdam during the seventeenth century.

This book places the marine insurance business of Amsterdam in the wider context of the political economy of Europe during the second half of the eighteenth century. The analysis is based on the simultaneous quotations of premiums for the twenty-two groups of destinations which formed a major part of the commerical matrix of the Netherlands. It considers the operation of the market at two levels. On the one hand, the provision of insurance responded to risk uncertainties in the market: in the 1760s and 1770s, Amsterdam experienced three serious unheavals, in the form of the financial crises of 1763 and 1772–73 and the hostilities leading to American independence and the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. On the other hand, underwriters accepted risks in situations of structural uncertainty. The book is fully illustrated with graphs and maps and uses a wide range of original documents drawn from archives and libraries in Europe. An appendix provides the basic data of premiums quoted in the price-lists of the market.

The warships of the World War II era German Navy are among the most popular subject in naval history with an almost uncountable number of books devoted to them. However, for a concise but authoritative summary of the design history and careers of the major surface ships it is difficult to beat a series of six volumes written by Gerhard Koop and illustrated by Klaus-Peter Schmolke. Each contains an account of the development of a particular class, a detailed description of the ships, with full technical details, and an outline of their service, heavily illustrated with plans, battle maps and a substantial collection of photographs. These have been out of print for ten years or more and are now much sought after by enthusiasts and collectors, so this new modestly priced reprint of the series will be widely welcomed. The first volume, appropriately, is devoted to the Kriesmarine's largest and most powerful units, the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz, whose careers stand in stark contrast to each other - one with a glorious but short life, while the other was to spend a hunted existence in Norwegian fjords, all the time posing a threat to Allied sea communications, while attacked by everything from midget submarines to heavy bombers.

This book is an historical study of piracy in the ancient Greek and Roman world. It examines the origins and growth of piracy, the impact of piracy on trade, and the relationship between warfare and piracy, and evaluates attempts to suppress piracy by the states and rulers of the ancient world. A major innovation is the author's discussion of the way that pirates and piracy are portrayed in major works of classical literature, including Homer, Cicero and the ancient novels.

Stanley Lane-Pool - grand-nephew of the Arabic scholar, Edward Lane - was a professor of Arabic at Trinity College, Dublin from 1898 to 1904. His books included several works on Oriental history. The Barbary Corsairs recounts how the expatriation of the Spanish Moors at the end of the fifteenth century led to their taking vengeance from their new settlements in North Africa and elevating the skills of piracy to a fine art. The Barbary Cost had long been a haunt of pirates for its narrow creeks and natural harbours offered shelter to their boats of shallow draught while denying access to larger vessels. Despite commercial treaties between African and European states, piracy was carried on throughout the Middle Ages, chiefly by privateers from Chrisitan states whose rulers were powerless to stop them.It was to this wild and notorious coast the Barbarossa and his brother came in 1504 from the island of Lesbos. There follows an account of their exploits and those of their successors which kept 'all the nations of Europe in perpetual alarm for three centuries'. The subsequent skirmishes drew heads of state and religious leaders alike into the conflict. Although the failure to besiege the Knights of Malta and the defeat at the Battle of Lepanto marked the end of the age of the great Corsairs, piracy continued on a less spectacular scale for a further two hundred years and more, until the last Corsairs were driven from the Barbary Coast by the events of the nineteenth century.

Malta and Gozo s geographical location in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea has, since ancient times, led to numerous ships passing through the islands waters. Several records of this maritime activity exist in different archives and other evidence can be deduced from the seabed. Despite this, the maritime archaeology of our islands has remained largely unexplored. This book has been produced to address just a small part of this lacuna. By looking at the history of underwater archaeology in Malta and providing an overview of some of the most important finds from the seabed around the archipelago readers will be able to familiarize themselves with the fascinating world of our submerged cultural heritage. In order to portray the full story it was necessary to start at the beginning of underwater exploration in Malta. The authors had the opportunity to meet and interview a number of pioneers who took up scuba diving in the late 1950s and early 1960s. We are indebted to them for the invaluable information that they passed on as well as for the archival material they shares. Other sources used fo this research came from the stores and archives of the Superintendence of Cultural heritage and Heritage Malta. Both these institutions have done a professional job keeping up to date with all material recovered from an underwater context. This book should be of interest to divers, students, researchers as well as the general public with the hope to increase awareness and passion towards the submerged cultural heritage of the Maltese islands.

Generations of readers have enjoyed the adventures of Jim Hawkins, the young protagonist and narrator in Robert Louis Stevenson s Treasure Island, but little is known of the real Jim Hawkins and the thousands of poor boys who went to sea in the eighteenth century to man the ships of the Royal Navy. This groundbreaking new work is a study of the origins, life and culture of the boys of the Georgian navy, not of the upper-class children training to become officers, but of the orphaned, delinquent or just plain adventurous youths whose prospects on land were bleak and miserable. Many had no adult at all taking care of them; others were failed apprentices; many were troublesome youths for whom communities could not provide so that the Navy represented a form of floating workhouse . Some, with restless and roving minds, like Defoe s Robinson Crusoe, saw deep sea life as one of adventure, interspersed with raucous periods ashore drinking, singing and womanising. The author explains how they were recruited; describes the distinctive subculture of the young sailor the dress, hair, tattoos and language and their life and training as servants of captains and officers. More than 5,000 boys were recruited during the Seven Years War alone and without them the Royal Navy could not have fought its wars. This is a fascinating tribute to a forgotten band of sailors.

This book is an historical study of piracy in the ancient Greek and Roman world. It examines the origins and growth of piracy, the impact of piracy on trade, and the relationship between warfare and piracy, and evaluates attempts to suppress piracy by the states and rulers of the ancient world. A major innovation is the author's discussion of the way that pirates and piracy are portrayed in major works of classical literature, including Homer, Cicero and the ancient novels.

The 1954 film On the Waterfront brought to life the New York docks of the 1950s, when it was often said that a ship, usually a freighter, arrived or departed every 24 minutes, around the clock. Now, the Port of New York is handling more cargo than ever before, but all of it containerised. Along the Waterfront, a followon to Along the Hudson (which looked at passenger ships in the Port of New York), covers the vast and fascinating fleet of freighters that once called at New York, including ships and companies that did not quite make it, such as the Bull Line, Standard Fruit, Torm Lines and the Booth Steamship Company. In this book, William H. Miller takes the reader on an evocative trip back to the days of the New York docks as they were portrayed in On the Waterfront.

Long before the rise of New World slavery, West Africans were adept swimmers, divers, canoe makers, and canoeists. They lived along riverbanks, near lakes, or close to the ocean. In those waterways, they became proficient in diverse maritime skills, while incorporating water and aquatics into spiritual understandings of the world. Transported to the Americas, slaves carried with them these West African skills and cultural values. Indeed, according to Kevin Dawson's examination of water culture in the African diaspora, the aquatic abilities of people of African descent often surpassed those of Europeans and their descendants from the age of discovery until well into the nineteenth century. As Dawson argues, histories of slavery have largely chronicled the fields of the New World, whether tobacco, sugar, indigo, rice, or cotton. However, most plantations were located near waterways to facilitate the transportation of goods to market, and large numbers of agricultural slaves had ready access to water in which to sustain their abilities and interests. Swimming and canoeing provided respite from the monotony of agricultural bondage and brief moments of bodily privacy. In some instances, enslaved laborers exchanged their aquatic expertise for unique privileges, including wages, opportunities to work free of direct white supervision, and even in rare circumstances, freedom. Dawson builds his analysis around a discussion of African traditions and the ways in which similar traditions-swimming, diving, boat making, even surfing-emerged within African diasporic communities. Undercurrents of Power not only chronicles the experiences of enslaved maritime workers, but also traverses the waters of the Atlantic repeatedly to trace and untangle cultural and social traditions.

Very Special Ships is the first full-length book about the six Abdiel-class fast minelayers, the fastest and most versatile ships to serve in the Royal Navy in the Second World War. They operated not only as offensive minelayers - dashing into enemy waters under cover of darkness - but in many other roles, most famously as blockade runners to Malta. In lieu of mines, they transported items as diverse as ammunition, condensed milk, gold, and VIPs. Distinguished by their three funnels, the Abdiels were attractive, well-designed ships, and they were also unique - no other navy had such ships, and so they were sought-after commands and blessed with fine captains. To give the fullest picture of this important class of ships, the book details the origins and history of mines, minelayers, and minelaying; covers the origins and design of the class; describes the construction of each of the six ships, and the modified design of the last two; tells in detail of the operational careers of the ships in the second World War, when they played vital roles in the battle of Crete and the siege of Malta, plied the hazardous route to Tobruk, and laid mines off the Italian coast.The post-war careers of the surviving ships is also documented. Written to appeal to naval enthusiasts, students of World War II and modelmakers, the author tells the story of these ships through first-hand accounts, official sources, and specially- commissioned drawings and photographs.

Pirates of Barbary is an extraordinary record of the European renegades and Islamic sea-rovers who terrorised the Mediterranean and beyond throughout the seventeenth century. From the coast of Southern Europe to Morocco and the Ottoman states of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Christian and Muslim seafarers met in bustling ports to swap religions, to battle and to trade goods and slaves -- raiding as far as Iceland and New England in search of their human currency. Studying the origins of these men, their culture and practices -- from pirate etiquette to intimidation tactics -- Adrian Tinniswood expertly recreates the twilight world of the corsairs in fascinating detail, and uncovers a truly remarkable clash of civilisations.
Pirates of Barbary draws on an incredible wealth of material, from furious royal proclamations to the private letters of pirates and their victims, as well as recent Islamic accounts to provide a new perspective on the corsairs, both as criminals and as devout warriors engaged in a battle against European incursions. The result is a kaleidoscopic image of a wild and exotic people, place and time, and a fascinating insight into what it meant to sacrifice all you have for a life so violent, so uncertain, and so alien that it set you apart from the rest of mankind.

"NAVIGATING AND ENGINEERING OFFICERS REQUIRED IMMEDIATELY FOR VERY LARGE CRUDE OIL CARRIER. TANKER EXPERIENCE PREFERRED." - Lloyd's List and Shipping Gazette The advertisement captured Ray Solly's attention whilst he was on leave and demanded direct action! Viewed from the bridge of dry-cargo ships, the sleek lines of VLCCs and their potential navigational challenges always intrigued Ray - so, without hesitation, he grabbed the chance, leaving his current employer, and setting out to fulfil a dream. Supertanker examines life at sea aboard a 1970s monster where reader and author meet on board, encountering and overcoming exciting new challenges in navigation, ship handling, and cargo control. All the while, overshadowing everything else, is the awareness that this loaded ship carries around 80 million gallons of oil every day. But Supertanker is more than just the record of a new adventure. It lifts the lid on the realities of life far out at sea handling such behemoths and reveals why international safety and competency bars had to be raised.

Amid the twists and turns of her survival to this day, the story of the light cruiser HMS Caroline spans a century and more. This book focuses on her early career, the role she played as just one of many components making up the Grand Fleet in time of war. We look at her routine participation in contraband control and, most dramatically, her appearance at the Battle of Jutland, when providence smiled upon her and guaranteed a safe emergence from that intense cauldron of explosion and fire. How does the life of a warship usually finish if it is not sunk in action? It can be the sad destiny of great warships to find themselves one day `surplus to requirements'. They might have performed gloriously in battle in defence of the realm. They might have made headlines by saving life where natural disaster strikes. Yet still the breaker's yard beckons. Most men-of-war become out of date, too costly to run, as their usefulness wanes. However, some ships find a last minute reprieve by being sold to foreign countries. And yet a very special few survive in home waters for future generations. Among these is HMS Caroline.

Captain Bligh and the mutiny on the Bounty have become proverbial in their capacity to evoke the extravagant and violent abuse of power. But William Bligh was one of the least violent disciplinarians in the British navy. It is this paradox that inspired Greg Dening to ask why the mutiny took place. His book explores the theatrical nature of what was enacted in the power-play on deck, on the beaches of Tahiti and in the murderous settlement at Pitcairn, on the altar stones and temples of sacrifice, and on the catheads from which men were hanged. Part of the key lies in the curious puzzle of Mr Bligh's bad language.

For three centuries Portsmouth has been the leading base of the Royal Navy but the naval heritage of its port can be traced back to the Roman invasion of Britain. From the Roman walls of Portchester to the best-preserved Georgian dockyard in the world and the illustrious HMS Victory, Portsmouth is amongst the most important naval sites in the world. This fascinating book, in its new and fully revised edition, focuses on the history and present status of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard as well as the magnificent ships Victory, Warrior and Mary Rose that have been preserved and are now on display at Portsmouth. Drawing on impressive original research and illustrated by a host of colourful photographs, author Paul Brown has created a concise and helpful guide to the key maritime attractions in Portsmouth and Gosport, including the Submarine Museum, the sea forts, the Gunwharf and the commercial port.

A companion to his successful first book, James Pottinger's new volume Scottish Fishing Boats: A New Look looks farther afield, and covers the fishing history of the areas of north-east Scotland, the west coast and Shetland. Topics covered include miscellaneous types from today and the past, pursers, smaller craft, visiting boats and boats which were lost to sea or have been scrapped. A number of older boats are included to illustrate shapes and designs, which are often held to retain a measure of character and individuality, perhaps not as prevalent today. Touching on some of the changes in boat types and fishing methods, as well as changes and developments in design and catching methods, this second selection of images brings the story of Scotland's fishing boats up to date.

That seafaring was fundamental to Roman prosperity in the eastern Mediterranean is beyond doubt, but a tendency by scholars to focus on the grandest long-distance movements between major cities has obscured the finer and varied contours of maritime interaction. This book offers a nuanced archaeological analysis of maritime economy and connectivity in the Roman east. Drawing together maritime landscape studies and network analysis, Roman Seas takes a bottom-up view of the diverse socioeconomic conditions and seafaring logistics that generated multiple structures and scales of interaction. The material record of shipwrecks and ports along a vital corridor from the southeast Aegean across the northeast Mediterranean provides a case study of regional exchange and communication based on routine sails between simple coastal harbors. Rather than a single well-integrated and persistent Mediterranean network, multiple discrete and evolving regional and interregional systems emerge. This analysis sheds light on the cadence of economic life along the coast, the development of market institutions, and the regional continuities that underpinned integration-despite imperial fragmentation-between the second century BCE and the seventh century CE. Roman Seas advances a new approach to the synthesis of shipwreck and other maritime archaeological and historical economic data, as well as a path through the stark dichotomies-either big commercial voyages or small-scale cabotage-that inform most paradigms of Roman connectivity and trade. The result is a unique perspective on ancient Mediterranean trade, seafaring, cultural interaction, and coastal life.

This is the story of a ship and her pioneer master, Moses Rogers, who had the idea of making the first transatlantic voyage in a steam-propelled vessel. His "laudable and meritorious experiment" marked one of the world's maritime epochs.

The conception and building of the S. S. Savannah was guided by the engineering genius of Captain Rogers who, with Robert Fulton, was a leading exponent of steam in his day. The momentous voyage began in Savannah, Georgia, in 1819, and took the courageous crew to England, Sweden, and Russia. These were the elegant steam ship's times of triumph. Yet she also had moments of pathos, from the first doubts and fears of a public that dubbed her a "steam coffin" to that sad day when a Washington newspaper said her engine could be removed for only $200, leaving her "just as good" as any other ship.

The previously untold story of the first steam-powered vessel to cross the Atlantic is written in a scholarly, well-documented fashion, yet with the color, imagination, and humor of the men who lived it.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea focuses upon the seamen's experience in order to illuminate larger historical issues such as the rise of capitalism, the genesis of free wage labor, and the growth of an international working class. These epic themes were intimately bound up with the everyday hopes and fears of the common men who toiled upon the deep.

This historical analysis of the problems faced by the British navy during the War of 1739-1748 also sheds light on the character, limitations, and potentialities of eighteenth-century British administration. Originally published in 1965. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

From the Celtic sea-farers to the Cutty Sark and the Royal Yacht Britannia - Osborne and Armstrong champion great ships. Combining the ships' histories with their involvement and significance in Scottish life and imagination, this is a unique study of Scotland's oft forgotten maritime legacy. Not just a book for ship enthusiasts, this lavishly illustrated, highly accessible and readable account of Scotland's great ships will capture your imagination and leave you dreaming of life on the high seas.

When Commodore Perry opened Japan to the West, the U.S. Navy sent a surveying expedition to the North Pacific. The officers of that expedition, 1853-1856, recounted their experiences, and especially their dealings with the Japanese, in vivid and outspoken letters which are here reproduced for the first time. Entertaining reading, as well as important naval and diplomatic history. Originally published in 1947. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.