This article is a robust riposte to the commonly held view that work aloft in sailing vessels-and particularly in the Royal Navy – was highly risky and resulted in frequent accidents and death. It ...

Part 7 of a series of articles drawn from the manuscript of the late Sir Oswyn Murray, originally planned as a volume in the Whitehall Series. This Part deals with the organisational structure of the ...

Transport of meat required cold storage at port of loading, on-board and on discharge. The discussion concentrates on mechanical on-board systems. Early voyages under sail required auxiliary engines, ...

In the 17 th Century systematic drainage of the Fenland freed large areas for agricultural development. To export products to the harbours of The Wash, the rivers Nene and Ouse together with their ...

In 1822, under Lord Cochrane’s audacious leadership the new Brazilian Navy swept superior Portuguese forces from the seas, forced them to abandon their stronghold of Salvador de Bahia and then, in a ...

In the 1920s and up to 1945 there was a movement to unite Indian seamen (Lascars) in the employ of British shipping companies resident in London and lobby for the improvement of the very ...

The impact of technology – ‘steam, steel and torpedoes’ – upon the concepts of naval blockade is discussed in detail. The commercial and military forms are each considered with regard to the ...

From 1977 to 1987 the Norwegian merchant marine declined by almost 80 per cent by tonnage. This article describes the reasons for the collapse, and argues that there were two primary causes: first, ...

During the American Revolution the Dutch Caribbean island of St Eustatius was a major transit point for trade with the rebels and French islands. The British Administration was particularly aggrieved ...

During the battle of Copenhagen Nelson sent a short letter to the Danish Government asking them to cease hostilities to save the lives of Danes on ships which had surrendered. The motive for the ...

While the development of instruments has been well documented, little has been published concerning the finances and awards of the Board of Longitude. The article describes in detail the awards made ...

This article describes how a British Fleet, under Sir William Parker, consisting of a line-of-battle ship, some frigates, sloops and transports, in all seventy sailing vessels, proceeded under canvas ...