Thinking outside the gundeck

Maritime history, the royal navy and the outbreak of British civil war, 1625-42

Bibliographic Data

ID4558633
AuthorsRichard J Blakemore (0000-0002-0281-6826, University of Exeter, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume87
Issue236
Pages251-274
Publication date2014-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistorical Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0950-3471 • E-ISSN: 1468-2281
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/1468-2281.12049
OpenAlexW1574418801
LanguageEN
References cited69

Maritime history seems to be suffering an identity crisis, rising in popularity but unsure of its place within historical scholarship and divided in approach. Seafarers, as a consequence, have remained marginal within mainstream history. This article argues that only by integrating the study of maritime topics into wider historical debates can maritime history overcome these doubts, taking as a case study the role of seafarers and the navy in British politics during 1625−42. First examining previous interpretations offered by scholars, largely based on a conception of seafarers as politically and socially isolated from developments ashore, the article then reassesses the available evidence for popular political activity within the maritime community. It argues that seafarers were deeply involved in the political and religious divisions that drove Britain into civil war in 1642; and, more broadly, that scholars should recognize the importance of both local and global approaches to maritime history – that they should think outside the gundeck

Aeronautics · Ancient history · Archaeology · Navy · Outbreak · Political science · Spanish Civil War · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Engineering · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Medicine · Virology

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