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. 

Biographies:

Craig Lambert is Professor of Maritime History at the University of Southampton. He is Principal Investigator on a number of research projects, including the AHRC-funded project, ‘English merchant shipping, trade and maritime communities from the Spanish Armada to the Seven Years War, c.1588–c.1765’. Craig’s recent research has focused on Medieval and Tudor merchant shipping and maritime communities.

John McAleer is Associate Professor of History at the University of Southampton and Co-Investigator on the AHRC project. His work explores the British encounter and engagement with the wider world, situating the history of empire in its global and maritime contexts. John was previously Curator of Imperial and Maritime History at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

The Dymond Lecture

In 2021 BALH were proud to launch of a new annual lecture, to be held each winter, welcoming a distinguished academic to share their research with us. We hope this will become a highlight of our annual calendar for our members and the wider public to enjoy. The lecture has been named in honour of Dr David Dymond, who died in August 2021. David had been closely involved with the British Association for Local History for many years including serving as a council member, trustee, vice-chair, chair and vice-president.