This Hampshire Archives Trust webinar explores how merchant shipping and maritime communities developed along the Hampshire coast between c.1588 and c.1765, drawing on new findings from a major AHRC-funded project on early modern English seaborne trade. By shifting the focus from national patterns to the distinctive maritime world of Hampshire, the session highlights the growth of Hampshire’s fleet, examines its trade networks, and explores its maritime communities. The webinar also introduces the project’s digital resources and demonstrates how they open new avenues for research into England’s coastal economies.

About the speakers:

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.

Further details and booking on the Hampshire Archives Trust website.