Corporate naval supply in England’s commercial empire, 1600–1760
Britain’s imperial and commercial success rested on maritime links. Whether trading wool across the Channel to Europe, seeking spices in South Asia or importing sugar from the Caribbean, shipping was an essential resource. Yet, to undertake these trades, merchants required naval supplies – finished...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0843871419860693 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0843871419860693 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/0843871419860693 |
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crsagepubl:10.1177/0843871419860693 2023-05-15T17:34:18+02:00 Corporate naval supply in England’s commercial empire, 1600–1760 Smith, Edmond 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0843871419860693 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0843871419860693 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/0843871419860693 en eng SAGE Publications http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license International Journal of Maritime History volume 31, issue 3, page 574-589 ISSN 0843-8714 2052-7756 Transportation History journal-article 2019 crsagepubl https://doi.org/10.1177/0843871419860693 2022-04-14T04:46:41Z Britain’s imperial and commercial success rested on maritime links. Whether trading wool across the Channel to Europe, seeking spices in South Asia or importing sugar from the Caribbean, shipping was an essential resource. Yet, to undertake these trades, merchants required naval supplies – finished ships, timber to build them and stores to fill them – that were not always easily accessible. This challenge was particularly apparent in the early seventeenth century for trading corporations whose specific needs demanded innovative approaches to the naval supply problem. This article examines the responses of English corporations to the challenge of supplying its international shipping by focusing on activities on each side of the Atlantic. First, it assesses the development of the East India Company’s docks at Blackwall and Dundaniel, before turning to a detailed study of ship-building and supply in Virginia and New England. In doing so, this article highlights the importance of naval supply to Britain’s north Atlantic empire, both in terms of the rhetorical support for empire and the economic incentives of participants. This reveals how traditional interpretations of Britain’s naval development have too often focused on state-driven activities (particularly from the very end of the seventeenth century) and failed to examine the complex, sometimes chaotic attempts by private individuals and corporations to overcome the naval supply challenges common to this early period of globalisation. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic SAGE Publications (via Crossref) Blackwall ENVELOPE(-66.800,-66.800,-68.367,-68.367) International Journal of Maritime History 31 3 574 589 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
SAGE Publications (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crsagepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Transportation History |
spellingShingle |
Transportation History Smith, Edmond Corporate naval supply in England’s commercial empire, 1600–1760 |
topic_facet |
Transportation History |
description |
Britain’s imperial and commercial success rested on maritime links. Whether trading wool across the Channel to Europe, seeking spices in South Asia or importing sugar from the Caribbean, shipping was an essential resource. Yet, to undertake these trades, merchants required naval supplies – finished ships, timber to build them and stores to fill them – that were not always easily accessible. This challenge was particularly apparent in the early seventeenth century for trading corporations whose specific needs demanded innovative approaches to the naval supply problem. This article examines the responses of English corporations to the challenge of supplying its international shipping by focusing on activities on each side of the Atlantic. First, it assesses the development of the East India Company’s docks at Blackwall and Dundaniel, before turning to a detailed study of ship-building and supply in Virginia and New England. In doing so, this article highlights the importance of naval supply to Britain’s north Atlantic empire, both in terms of the rhetorical support for empire and the economic incentives of participants. This reveals how traditional interpretations of Britain’s naval development have too often focused on state-driven activities (particularly from the very end of the seventeenth century) and failed to examine the complex, sometimes chaotic attempts by private individuals and corporations to overcome the naval supply challenges common to this early period of globalisation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Smith, Edmond |
author_facet |
Smith, Edmond |
author_sort |
Smith, Edmond |
title |
Corporate naval supply in England’s commercial empire, 1600–1760 |
title_short |
Corporate naval supply in England’s commercial empire, 1600–1760 |
title_full |
Corporate naval supply in England’s commercial empire, 1600–1760 |
title_fullStr |
Corporate naval supply in England’s commercial empire, 1600–1760 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Corporate naval supply in England’s commercial empire, 1600–1760 |
title_sort |
corporate naval supply in england’s commercial empire, 1600–1760 |
publisher |
SAGE Publications |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0843871419860693 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0843871419860693 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/0843871419860693 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-66.800,-66.800,-68.367,-68.367) |
geographic |
Blackwall |
geographic_facet |
Blackwall |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
International Journal of Maritime History volume 31, issue 3, page 574-589 ISSN 0843-8714 2052-7756 |
op_rights |
http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0843871419860693 |
container_title |
International Journal of Maritime History |
container_volume |
31 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
574 |
op_container_end_page |
589 |
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1766133100794871808 |