Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

Preserving Vasa / Emma Hocker. "The story of Vasa began almost four hundred years ago. On 10 August 1628, the Vasa, newly built flagship of the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf, set sail in Stockholm harbour. Less than an hour later, Sweden's great warship sank to the bottom of Stockholm harbour.0Various attempts were made to raise the ship. In the 1660s attention turned to salvaging the ship's consignment of bronze cannon, while the hull itself remained relatively undisturbed at the bottom of the sea until April 1961 when the great ship was raised from the waters of Stockholm harbour. Conservation and reconstruction was to prove a far cry from plain sailing......taking almost 30 years before the ship was placed on permanent display in the purpose-built Vasa Museum in central Stockholm. This book, published in association with The Vasa Museum, documents how this huge ship survived the forces of decay; how the conservators of the 1960s approached the task of preserving such an enormous volume of waterlogged wood; what needs to be done to preserve the ship for future generations and how the ship is looked after on a daily basis."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.82WASA

Europe and the sea / edited by Dorlis Blume, Christiana Brennecke, Ursula Breymayer and Thomas Eisentraut for the Deutsches Historisches Museum "Europe is a maritime continent: measured by the length of its coasts and its total size, none of the five continental masses on the planet has more points of contact with the seas than Europe. The importance of the sea for the development of European civilisation is illustrated by the themes of myths, shipbuilding and seafaring, rule of the seas, European coastal trade, expansion, the slave trade, migration, the maritime global economy, resources, oceanography, tourism, and the artistic perception of the sea. Thirteen themes, each linked to a port city, range from Antiquity to the present day and demonstrate that the domination of the seas was a central component of European power politics for centuries."--Provided by the publisher. c2018. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 930.9(26)

Trading in war : London's maritime world in the age of Cook and Nelson /Margarette Lincoln "A vivid account of the forgotten citizens of maritime London who sustained Britain during the Revolutionary Wars In the half-century before the Battle of Trafalgar the port of London became the commercial nexus of a global empire and launch pad of Britain's military campaigns in North America and Napoleonic Europe. The unruly riverside parishes east of the Tower seethed with life, a crowded, cosmopolitan, and incendiary mix of sailors, soldiers, traders, and the network of ordinary citizens that served them. Harnessing little-known archival and archaeological sources, Lincoln recovers a forgotten maritime world. Her gripping narrative highlights the pervasive impact of war, which brought violence, smuggling, pilfering from ships on the river, and a susceptibility to subversive political ideas. It also commemorates the working maritime community: shipwrights and those who built London's first docks, wives who coped while husbands were at sea, and early trade unions. This meticulously researched work reveals the lives of ordinary Londoners behind the unstoppable rise of Britain's sea power and its eventual defeat of Napoleon."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 942(26)"17/18"

Company curiosities : nature, culture and the East India Company, 1600-1874 /Arthur MacGregor. "For nearly three hundred years, the East India Company dominated British trade and relations with Asia. It made handsome profits for shareholders but also provided collectors in Europe with natural specimens and man-made rarities that were prized for their scientific, aesthetic or cultural value. An array of administrators, soldiers, surveyors spent much of their lives attempting to inventory and to comprehend India's vast country, its teeming populations and its myriad rituals and wildlife: nearly forty species of mammals and over 120 species of birds were discovered in the Katmandu valley alone; astonishing wall paintings from the fifth-century were unearthed in caves at Ajanta; and spectacular fossil fauna arrived from the Siwalik Hills. Company Curiosities: Nature, Culture and the East India Company, 1600-1874 offers the first-ever overview of the remarkable role of the East India Company and its servants in collecting and showcasing a treasure-house of natural specimens and man-made objects - craft materials, paintings and sculptures, weapons, costumes, jewels and ornaments - that established the look and the feel of India for those who had never ventured abroad. Arthur MacGregor tells the stories behind the remarkable discoveries and collections, and those responsible for them, and their impact on natural science, commerce and industry, and personal taste."--Provided by the publisher 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 347.71EAST INDIA

Endeavour : the ship and the attitude that shaped the western world. "The Enlightenment was an age of endeavours. Britain was consumed by the impulse for grand projects. In 1768 the Royal Navy bought a Whitby collier for an expedition to the South Seas. No one could have guessed she would become the most significant ship in the history of British exploration. Her name was Endeavour. Endeavour was a ship with many lives, famously carrying James Cook on his first great voyage to the Pacific islands. She was there at the Wilkes Riots in London and witnessed the bloody birth of the United States. A Polynesian priest, botanists, the first kangaroo to arrive in Britain and Hessian soldiers were just a few amongst her many passengers. According to Charles Darwin, she helped Cook add a hemisphere to the civilised world. NASA named a space shuttle after her. Yet to others, she was a toxic symbol, responsible for the dispossession and disruption of societies. For the first time, Peter Moore tells Endeavour's complete story, exploring the different lives of this remarkable ship -- from the oak that made her to her rich and complex legacy."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82ENDEAVOUR

Back to Black : retelling Black radicalism for the 21st century /Kehinde Andrews. "Back to Black traces the long and eminent history of Black radical politics. Born out of resistance to slavery and colonialism, its rich past encompasses figures such as Marcus Garvey, Angela Davis, the Black Panthers and the Black Lives Matter activists of today. At its core it argues that racism is inexorably embedded in the fabric of society, and that it can never be overcome unless by enacting change outside of this suffocating system. Yet this Black radical tradition has been diluted and moderated over time; wilfully misrepresented and caricatured by others; divested of its legacy, potency, inclusivity and force for global change. Kehinde Andrews explores the true roots of this tradition, and connects the dots to today's struggles by showing what a renewed politics of Black radicalism might look like in the 21st century."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 308-054(42)

Italian Cruisers of World War II / Mark Stille; illustrated by Paul Wright. "The Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) operated one of largest cruiser forces of World War II. As a signatory to the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, the Regia Marina immediately attempted to reinforce its treaty-limited battleship force by building seven large 10,000-ton heavy cruisers. Italian light cruisers also possessed an interesting design history and were involved in every major fleet engagement in the Mediterranean, as well as several smaller encounters with units of the British Royal Navy. Fully illustrated with specially commissioned artwork, this fascinating volume examines the history of the Regia Marina's cruisers during World War II where they came up against the might of the British Royal Navy."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.822.3(45)"1939/1945"

Dutch navies of the 80 Years' War, 1568-1648 / Bouko de Groot ; illustrated by Peter Bull. "The tiny new state of the United Provinces of the Netherlands won its independence from the mighty Spanish empire by fighting and winning the Eighty Years' War, from 1568 and 1648. In this long conflict, warfare on water played a much bigger role in determining the ultimate victor. On the high seas the fleet carved out a new empire, growing national income to such levels that it could continue the costly war for independence. Yet it was in coastal and inland waters that the most decisive battles were fought. Arguably the most decisive Spanish siege (Leiden, 1574) was broken by a fleet sailing to the rescue across flooded polders, and the battle of Nieuwpoort in 1600, the largest successful invasion fleet before World War II, was one of the most decisive battle in western history. Using detailed full colour artwork, this book shows how the Dutch navies fought worldwide in their war of independence, from Brazil to Indonesia, and from the Low Countries to Angola."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1568/1648"(492)

The deadly trade : the complete history of submarine warfare from Archimedes to the present /Iain Ballantyne. "This is a comprehensive account of how an initially ineffectual underwater boat - originally derided and loathed in equal measure - evolved into the most powerful and terrifying vessel ever invented, with enough destructive power to end all life on Earth. Acclaimed naval writer Iain Ballantyne considers the key episodes of submarine warfare and vividly describes the stories of brave individuals who have risked their lives under the sea, often with fatal consequences. His analysis of underwater conflict begins with Archimedes discovering the Principle of Buoyancy. Our clandestine journey then moves through the centuries and focuses on prolific characters with deathly motives, including David Bushnell who in 1775 in America devised the first combat submarine with the idea of attacking the British. Ballantyne also looks at pioneers in the area such as Admiral Jacky Fisher who helped to revolutionise the entire Royal Navy in the early 1900s.The Deadly Trade considers the advances in technology during the twentieth century, which helped to make the submarine one of the most feared arsenals in war. Today, nuclear-powered submarines are among the most complex, costly ships in existence. Armed with nuclear weapons, they have the ability to destroy millions of lives: they are the most powerful warships ever created."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 359.93

The Dover Strait's Railway Cargo Steamers / John Hendy. "This limited edition publication attempts to cover new ground by detailing for the first time the place of the cargo steamers within the growth and development of the ports of Dover and Folkestone. Roll on - roll off traffic and containerisation effectively killed them off and their role within the general scheme of cross-Channel services is now consigned to history. In spite of their rather low-profile existence, the sturdy little cargo ships were far from characterless and were always much admired by those who sailed them. Their stories are full of incident and they played a significant part during both major twentieth century conflicts, some sadly never to return to these shores. The profusely illustrated book follows the operation of the rival Victorian cargo fleets of the 1870s and the the improvement in tonnage during the South Eastern & Chatham?s period of management. In 1923 the Southern Railway was formed and introduced the successful 'Town' class. The book concludes by charting the decline of the post war Folkestone - Boulogne service run by British Railways. The cargo steamers were the unsung heroes of the Dover Strait and in order to deliver their merchandise to the morning markets in London and Paris, frequently operated at night and from rather remote places within their respective harbours. It is difficult to believe that the ships which today ply the Dover - Calais route are linked to the diminutive Victorian merchandise steamers that some 140 years ago scuttled their way across the Dover Strait through fair weather and foul."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. txt

Opus opificem probat : ksiñega pamiñatkowa dedykowana Jerzemu Litwinowi, dyrektorowi Narodowego Muzeum Morskiego w Gdansku /edited by Roberta Domçza±a, Marii Dyrki, Anny Ciemiânskiej ; proofreading and translations of English texts, Peter Senn. 2018. • FOLIO • 2 copies available. 92LITWIN

The business of shipping / based on previous editions by James J. Buckley and Lane C. Kendall. "The classic Business of Shipping (now in its ninth edition) remains North America's most comprehensive industry-focused book that explains and analyzes marine transportation and related industries, both domestic and international. This is an authoritative text that is required reading for a newcomer looking to understand basic shipping operations, regulations, and international cargo movement, or a specialized professional seeking insight into other industry segments. Revised and fully updated, the ninth edition reaffirms its status as the cornerstone text in marine transportation education."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 387.5

Civilisations : first contact : cult of progress /David Olusoga "In Civilisations, David Olusoga travels the world to piece together the shared histories that link nations. In Part One, First Contact, we discover what happened to art in the great Age of Discovery, when civilisations encountered each other for the first time. Although undoubtedly a period of conquest and destruction, it was also one of mutual curiosity, global trade and the exchange of ideas. In Part Two, The Cult of Progress, we see how the Industrial Revolution transformed the world, impacting every corner, and every civilisation, from the cotton mills of the Midlands through Napoleon's conquest of Egypt to the decimation of both Native American and Maori populations and the advent of photography in Paris in 1839. Incredible art - both looted and created - relays the key events and their outcomes throughout the world."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 909

Mr Midshipman VC : the short accident-prone life of George Drewry, Gallipoli hero /Quentin Falk. Biography of George Leslie Drewry, a Royal Navy Reservist who was awarded the Victoria Cross for service at Gallipoli in the First World War. The book covers Drewry's early childhood, his apprenticeship in the merchant service and early employment by P&O, and his impressive war record as a midshipman, including at Gallipoli, before his death in an accident at Scapa Flow, aged just 26. Includes 16 pages of black and white plates. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92DREWRY

Tapa : de l'âecorce áa l'âetoffe, art millâenaire d'Ocâeanie de l'Asie du Sud-Est áa la Polynâesie orientale = From tree bark to cloth :an ancient art of Oceania from Southeast Asia to Eastern Polynesia. "The history of cloth made through the beating of tree bark began some eight millennia ago in South-East Asia, the cradle of the Oceanian peoples. Over the course of generations and successive migrations eastward that led to the peopling of the Pacific islands, human ingenuity enabled the creation of a type of cloth, whose most refined examples are incredibly soft and fine. The cloths were dyed, scented, and covered with motifs related to symbols of clan, ethnicity, islands ... to the point of becoming true works of art. Associated with sacred rites, ceremonial exchanges and rituals marking the milestones of life from birth to death, and deeply integrated into the social relationships of communities, they constituted an external sign of the wealth or power of the owner and served in customary exchanges, among many other uses. Today, the generic Polynesian term tapa is used to refer to barkcloth. Passionate "knowledge brokers" perpetuate the tradition and demonstrate that tapa is not fixed in the past, but is a living form that renews itself. For that very reason, this book culminates in the universe of artists, creators and a stylist who have appropriated the material to create original pieces of art."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 740

Black flags, blue waters : the epic history of America's most notorious pirates /Eric Jay Dolin. "Set against the backdrop of the Age of Exploration, Black Flags, Blue Waters reveals the dramatic and surprising history of American piracy's 'Golden Age' -spanning the late 1600s through the early 1700s- when lawless pirates plied the coastal waters of North America and beyond. Best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin illustrates how American colonists at first supported these outrageous pirates in an early display of solidarity against the Crown, and then violently opposed them. Through engrossing episodes of roguish glamour and extreme brutality, Dolin depicts the star pirates of this period, among them towering Blackbeard, ill-fated Captain Kidd, and sadistic Edward Low, who delighted in torturing his prey. Also brilliantly detailed are the pirates' manifold enemies, including colonial governor John Winthrop, evangelist Cotton Mather, and young Benjamin Franklin. Upending popular misconceptions and cartoonish stereotypes, Dolin provides this wholly original account of the seafaring outlaws whose raids reflect the precarious nature of American colonial life."--Provided by the publisher. 2018 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 341.362.1(73)

The Merchant Navy Seaman Pocket Manual 1939-1945 / edited by Chris McNab "The Allied Merchant Navies in World War II provided a vital but often forgotten service to their countries' war effort. At the outbreak of war, the British Merchant Navy was the largest in the world, and up to 185,000 men and women served during the course of the war, some as young as 14. The US Merchant Marine all told numbered over 200,000. The risks they faced to maintain the essential flow of armaments, equipment and food were considerable. Danger came from submarines, mines, armed raiders and destroyers, aircraft, kamikaze pilots and the weather itself. Life on board a merchant ship could be tense, with hour after hour spent battling high seas, never knowing if a torpedo was about to hit. In the Arctic convoys sailors had to cope with extreme cold and ice. But there was also comradeship and more open society than was the norm at the time, free of distinctions of class, race, religion, age or colour and a mixture of nationalities, especially in the British fleet. The Merchant Navy Seaman Pocket Manual provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of these intrepid seamen, many of whom did not return. Collating documents, diagrams and illustrations from British and American archives, it combines information on training, gunnery, convoys, anti-submarine techniques with personal accounts. Covering the battle of the Atlantic, the Arctic Convoys, and the Pacific, this pitches the reader into the heart of this vital but often forgotten arena of WWII."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 656.61(035)

Hillary's Antarctica : adventure, exploration and establishing Scott Base /text, Nigel Watson ; photography, Jane Ussher. "Sir Edmund Hillary's exploits in Antarctica include the riveting story of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition and the establishment of Scott Base. Written by Nigel Watson of the Antarctic Heritage Trust, and illustrated with Jane Ussher's stunning photographs, plus historic images and never-before-seen ephemera and diary entries, this is the first book that fully documents and celebrates Ed Hillary's contribution to Antarctic history. Hillary and the New Zealand team were supposed to be a support act to the British Commonwealth Antarctic crossing party. By heading on to the South Pole and reaching it before the crossing party, Hillary exceeded the brief. His actions created tensions, unleashed a media storm and denied the British an historic first overland to the South Pole since Captain Scott. Hillary even had the audacity to achieve the feat with three farm tractors. In doing so, Sir Edmund Hillary added another fascinating chapter to the exploration annals of Antarctica and he, and his expedition team, laid the foundations for New Zealand's continuous, and increasingly important, presence in Antarctica."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4(99)"1955/1958"

The Two Battles of Copenhagen 1801 and 1807 : Britain and Denmark in the Napoleonic Wars /Gareth Glover. "The Danish capital of Copenhagen was the site of two major battles during the Napoleonic Wars, but the significance of the fighting there, and the key role the country played in the conflict in northern Europe, has rarely been examined in detail. In this absorbing and original study Gareth Glover focuses on these two principal events, using original source material to describe them from the British and Danish perspectives, and he shows how they fitted into the little-understood politics of this region during this turbulent phase of European history. The first Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 - the naval battle celebrated in Britain as one of Nelson's great victories - and the second - the British army-s assault on the city in 1807 in which Wellington played a prominent part - were episodes in the continental struggle to resist the power of the French. Gareth Glover describes these events in vivid detail, quoting extensively from the recollections of eyewitnesses on both sides. His account is fascinating reading and an important contribution to the history of the period."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1801"(42:489)

The Royal Navy Wasp : an operational and retirement history /Larry Jeram-Croft and Terry Martin. "This book tells the story of the first helicopter in the world designed from the outset to be deployed at sea, in Destroyers and Frigates. It is primarily based on the words of those who operated it. Designed from the outset to cope with the restricted space of a warship both for stowage and flight operations it proved an immediate success. Its original role was to act as a weapon carrier to launch torpedoes and depth charges on submarine contacts out of range of the parent ship's weapons range. Soon, it also took on a second primary role of air to surface attack using wire guided missiles. The flexibility of the machine was such that it was able to conduct a plethora of secondary roles from visual search to collecting the all-important ship's mail. Wherever the Royal Navy was deployed on operations a Wasp was there. The book has accounts of operations around the world particularly during the Cold War of the Seventies and the Falklands War where amongst other things it had the honour of being the first RN platform ever, to fire a guided missile at a surface target. However the story doesn't end there. Although the aircraft went out of service in the Royal Navy in 1988, it continued to operate with other navies around the world. To this day there are still several airworthy examples flying. The second part of the book gives accounts of these machines and brings the story of the Wasp completely up to date"--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.746.174(42)

Abson & Company : slave traders in eighteenth-century West Africa /Stanley B. Alpern. "Yorkshireman Lionel Abson was the longest surviving European stationed in West Africa in the eighteenth century. He reached William's Fort at Ouidah on the Slave Coast as a trader in 1767, took over the English fort in 1770, and remained in charge until his death in 1803. He avoided the 'white man's grave' for thirty-six years. Along the way he had three sons with an African woman, the eldest partly schooled in England, and a bright daughter named Sally. When Abson died, royal lackeys kidnapped his children. Sally was placed in the king's harem and pined away; her brothers vanished. That king became so unpopular as a result that the people of Dahomey disowned him. Abson also mastered the local language and became an historian. After only two years as fort chief, he was part of the king's delegation to make peace with an enemy, a unique event in centuries of Dahomean history. This singular book recounts the remarkable life of this key figure in an ignominious period of European and African history, offering a microcosm of the lives of Europeans in eighteenth-century West Africa, and their relationships with and attitudes towards those they met there."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92ABSON

The heart of the race : black women's lives in Britain /Beverley Bryan, Stella Dadzie and Suzanne Scafe ; foreword by Lola Okolosie. "Heart of the Race is a powerful corrective to a version of Britain's history from which black women have long been excluded. It reclaims and records black women's place in that history, documenting their day-to-day struggles, their experiences of education, work and health care, and the personal and political struggles they have waged to preserve a sense of identity and community. First published in 1985 and winner of the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize that year, Heart of the Race is a testimony to the collective experience of black women in Britain, and their relationship to the British slate throughout its long history of slavery, empire and colonialism. This new edition includes a foreword by Lola Okolosie and an interview with the authors, chaired by Heidi Safia Mirza, focusing on the impact of their book since publication and it continuing relevance today."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 305.48/896041

HMS Gannet : ship and model /William Mowll ; foreword by Fred Walker. "HMS Gannet, beautifully restored today at Chatham Historic Dockyard, is a fine example of the small colonial schooners that were built and deployed in the second half of the nineteenth century to police Britains great empire and enforce the peace of Pax Britannica. Launched at Sheerness in 1878 with her white Mediterranean livery and elegant clipper bow, she was the epitome of the colonial gunboat.In this new book by the well-known ship modeller Will Mowll, the design and history of Gannet is outlined before the author takes the reader on a detailed photographic step-by-step exposition of the building of his 1/48 scale model of the ship. A particular feature of the model is the inclusion of a static representation of the 2-cylinder compound steam engine with its three cylindrical boilers. Exquisitely detailed, with even the bunkered coal beautifully modelled, all the machinery is made visible by means of the removable deck. The author has therefore reconstructed a major feature of the ship which is no longer extant on the prototype at Chatham.All the information that a ship modeller might need is included here hull construction and the coppering of the ships bottom, the making of the ships steam propulsion systems, the decks and decking, armament, steering gear, mast and yards and rigging, and even the furniture in the wardroom. No part of the ship is left hidden. Inspiring with the sheer quality of his workmanship, the author has brought beautifully to life another of Britains great museum ships."--Provided by the publisher 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 359.3/22

Black Americans in Victorian Britain / Jeffrey Green. "Black Americans informed the Victorian British and Irish about slavery and repression in the United States. Villages, towns and cities from Dorchester to Cambridge, Belfast to Hull, Dumfries to Brighton, also learned of their ambitions and achievements. Numerous publications were sold everywhere, and lectures were crowded. The refugees settled in Britain. Some worked as domestic servants, others qualified as doctors, wrote books, taught in schools, laboured in factories and on ships. The youngsters went to school. This book documents refugees, settlers, and their families as well as pioneering entertainers in both minstrel shows and stage adaptions of the 1850s best-selling novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'. It offers new perspectives on both Victorian and Afro-America history."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.2

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