English merchant shipping and early modern maritime communities, c.1588–c.1765: BALH Dymond Lecture 2024

How did England’s merchant fleet develop over the course of two tumultuous centuries? Who sailed in these ships and what roles did they play in their local communities? What types of goods were imported and exported? And how did war, politics, and regional differences affect English seaborne trade?

This lecture will introduce the early findings of a three-year, AHRC-funded project that will help us to answer these – and many more – questions. By undertaking a systematic investigation of records relating to maritime commercial activity around the country, the project sheds new light on the development of merchant shipping, maritime communities, and local networks of trade. In order to demonstrate the practical application of the project’s findings, the remainder of the lecture will explore some of the merchant and maritime communities along England’s south coast. Upon its completion, the project’s freely accessible digital resources will allow historians to undertake the same fine-grained analysis for other parts of the country.

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