Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

The pirate world : a history of the most notorious sea robbers /Angus Konstam ; illustrated by Nick Buxey. "Often romanticized in print and on the silver screen, real-life pirates were a brutal menace that plagued the high seas. In this book, Angus Konstam separates myth from reality, tracing the history of piracy through the centuries, from the pirates who plagued the Ancient Egyptians to the Viking raids and on to the era of privateers. He discusses the so-called "Golden Age of Piracy" and colorful characters such as Blackbeard and Captain Kidd, before examining the West's initial encounters with Eastern pirates off the Chinese coast and the phenomenon of the modern pirate. Highly illustrated with color images and specially commissioned maps throughout, this is a unique exploration of the pirate world"--Goodreads.com. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 341.362.1

Black poppies : Britain's black community and the Great War /Stephen Bourne. "In this updated edition of his acclaimed study of the black presence in Britain during the First World War, Stephen Bourne illuminates fascinating stories of black servicemen of African heritage. These accounts of the fights for their 'Mother Country' are charted from the outbreak of war in 1914 to the conflict's aftermath in 1919, when black communities up and down Great Britain were faced with anti-black 'race riots' despite their dedicated services to their country at home and abroad. With unprecedented access to the wartime personal correspondence of the Jamaican siblings Vera, Norman and Douglas Manley, Bourne helps bring to light the day-to-day trials, tribulations and tragedies of life on the battlefield. The stories of servicemen like Arthur Roberts - Scotland's Black Tommy - and Trinidadian soldier and campaigner George A. Roberts sit alongside the experiences of people of African descent at home during the First World War. These include a black police officer, munitions factory workers and even stars of the stage like Cassie Walmer. Informative and accessible, with first-hand accounts and original photographs, Black Poppies is the essential guide to the military and civilian wartime experiences of black men and women, from the trenches to the music halls."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.4/008996/041

Aquatint worlds : travel, print, and empire, 1770-1820 /Douglas Fordham. "In the late 18th century, British artists embraced the medium of aquatint for its ability to produce prints with rich and varied tones that became even more stunning with the addition of color. At the same time, the expanding purview of the British empire created a market for images of far-away places. Book publishers quickly seized on these two trends and began producing travel books illustrated with aquatint prints of Indian cave temples, Chinese waterways, African villages, and more. Offering a close analysis of three exceptional publications--Thomas and William Daniell's Oriental Scenery (1795-1808), William Alexander's Costume of China (1797-1805), and Samuel Daniell's African Scenery and Animals (1804-5)--this volume examines how aquatint became a preferred medium for the visual representation of cultural difference, and how it subtly shaped the direction of Western modernism."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 769.922

Seaforth world naval review 2020 / edited by Conrad Waters. "Now moving into its second decade, The Seaforth World Naval Review 2020 provides an affordable yet authoritative summary of global naval developments over the past twelve months. Regional surveys of fleet evolution and procurement by editor Conrad Waters are supplemented by in-depth articles from a range of subject experts focusing on significant new warships, technological advances and specific navies. Features in this edition include in-depth coverage of the US Navy's Virginia class submarines, the Royal Navy's Tide class tankers and the Indian P28 Komorto class corvettes. Technological subjects include assessments of recent developments in submarine technology by Norman Friedman, whilst David Hobbs' usual review of naval aviation focusses on the F35 Lightning II. The in-depth fleet reviews look at Finland and Germany and analyse how they are responding to the increased Russian threat. Now firmly established as providing the only annual naval overview of its type, The Seaforth World Naval Review is essential reading for anyone - whether enthusiast or professional - interested in contemporary maritime affairs."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.353"2020"

Pirate enlightenment, or, The real Libertalia / David Graeber. "The Enlightenment did not begin in Europe. Its true origins lie thousands of miles away on the island of Madagascar, in the late seventeenth century, when it was home to several thousand pirates. This was the Golden Age of Piracy - but it was also, argues anthropologist David Graeber, a brief window of radical democracy, as the pirate settlers attempted to apply the egalitarian principles of their ships to a new society on land. In this jewel of a book, Graeber offers a way to 'decolonize the Enlightenment', demonstrating how this mixed community experimented with an alternative vision of human freedom, far from that being formulated in the salons and coffee houses of Europe. Its actors were Malagasy women, philosopher kings and escaped slaves, exploring ideas that were ultimately to be put into practice by Western revolutionary regimes a century later. Pirate Enlightenment playfully dismantles the central myths of the Enlightenment. In their place comes a story about the magic, sea battles, purloined princesses, manhunts, make-believe kingdoms, fraudulent ambassadors, spies, jewel thieves, poisoners and devil worship that lie at the origins of modern freedom." 2023. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4/5

We are displaced : my journey and stories from refugee girls around the world /Malala Yousafzai ; with Liz Welch. "In this powerful and emotional New York Times bestseller, Nobel Peace Prize winner and activist Malala Yousafzai shares various stories of displacement, including her own. Part memoir, part communal storytelling, We Are Displaced introduces readers to some of the incredible girls Malala has met on her many journeys and lets each tell her story - girls who have lost their community, relatives and often the only world they've ever known, but have not lost hope. Longing for home and fear of an uncertain future binds all of these young women, but each is unique. In a time of immigration crises, war and border conflicts, We Are Displaced is an important reminder that every single one of the 79.5 million currently displaced is a person - often a young person - with dreams for a better, safer world." --Provided by the publisher 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 305.9069140922

Women and culture at the courts of the Stuart Queens / edited by Clare McManus. 2003. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 94(410)-055.2"15/16"

Mathematics at the Meridian : the history of mathematics at Greenwich /edited by Raymond Flood, Tony Mann and Mary Croarken. "Greenwich has been a centre for scientific computing since the foundation of the Royal Observatory in 1675. Early Astronomers Royal gathered astronomical data with the purpose of enabling navigators to compute their longitude at sea. Nevil Maskelyne in the 18th century organised the work of computing tables for the Nautical Almanac, anticipating later methods used in safety-critical computing systems. The 19th century saw influential critiques of Charles Babbage's mechanical calculating engines, and in the 20th century Leslie Comrie and others pioneered the automation of computation. The arrival of the Royal Naval College in 1873 and the University of Greenwich in 1999 has brought more mathematicians and different kinds of mathematics to Greenwich. In the 21st century computational mathematics has found many new applications. This book presents an account of the mathematicians who worked at Greenwich and their achievements."--Provided by the publisher. 2020 [i.e. 2019]. • BOOK • 2 copies available.

Unruly desires : American sailors and homosexualities in the age of sail /William Benemann. "In its voracious hunger to fill its decks and spars with the bodies of strong young sailors, the nineteenth century US Navy and the commercial maritime industry welcomed eccentrics, criminals, outcasts and misfits into a community of the marginalized, one that held very different values and expectations than the towns and villages from which the young men fled, a community that offered a tentative refuge to men who were sexually attracted to other men. Drawing from biographies and autobiographies, diaries, newspapers, government reports, Congressional hearings, religious tracts, pornography, ships' logs, medical treatises, maritime fiction, court-martial reports, personal letters and business correspondence, Benemann provides an in-depth examination of nineteenth century homosexual culture as it developed at sea and in America's port cities." [2019] • BOOK • 1 copy available. txt

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)

British Empire uniforms : 1919 to 1939 /Edward Hallett and Michael Skriletz "This book provides a unique insight into the uniforms and equipment used by British Empire forces between the two world wars. Including descriptions of deployments and incidents during the period, it features detailed photographs of individual artefacts as well as accurate uniform reconstructions in full colour. There are detailed descriptions and background information on subjects such as khaki uniforms, webbing, water bottles, communications equipment and so on. The equipment and uniforms portrayed in the book are derived from a broad range of collections, in order to provide comprehensive coverage of the uniforms and other items used by British Empire forces of the period. Covering British deployments in China, India, the North West Frontier and Palestine, this book is an indispensable guide to British Empire forces from the end of the First World War to the eve of the Second World War."--Provided by the publisher 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.14(42)

Converging on cannibals : terrors of slaving in Atlantic Africa, 1509-1670 /Jared Staller. "In Converging on Cannibals, Jared Staller demonstrates that one of the most terrifying discourses used during the era of transatlantic slaving-cannibalism-was coproduced by Europeans and Africans. When these people from vastly different cultures first came into contact, they shared a fear of potential cannibals. Some Africans and European slavers allowed these rumors of themselves as man-eaters to stand unchallenged. Using the visual and verbal idioms of cannibalism, people like the Imbangala of Angola rose to power in a brutal world by embodying terror itself. Beginning in the Kongo in the 1500s, Staller weaves a nuanced narrative of people who chose to live and behave as "jaga," alleged cannibals and terrorists who lived by raiding and enslaving others, culminating in the violent political machinations of Queen Njinga as she took on the mantle of "Jaga" to establish her power. Ultimately, Staller tells the story of Africans who confronted worlds unknown as cannibals, how they used the concept to order the world around them, and how they were themselves brought to order by a world of commercial slaving that was equally cannibalistic in the human lives it consumed."--Provided by the publisher. 2019 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 392.89

Charles I : King and collector /Royal Academy of Arts ; exhibition curators Per Rumberg, Desmond Shawe-Taylor. "Over a period of only two decades in the first half of the seventeenth century, King Charles I assembled one of the most spectacular art collections ever seen. Over 2,000 paintings and sculptures by such artists as Titian, Mantegna, Holbein, Dèurer, Rubens and Van Dyck filled London's royal palaces and became the envy of the most magnficient courts of Europe. Charles I was executed on 30 January 1649, and over the following years his collection was scattered. This book reassembles his exceptional collection, and explores how and why he became the pre-eminent art collector of his age." --Provided by the publisher. 2018 • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 7.074(42)"16"

Pirates of empire : colonisation and maritime violence in Southeast Asia /Stefan Eklèof Amirell. "The suppression of piracy and other forms of maritime violence was a keystone in the colonisation of Southeast Asia. Focusing on what was seen in the nineteenth century as the three most pirate-infested areas in the region--the Sulu Sea, the Strait of Malacca and Indochina--this comparative study in colonial history explores how piracy was defined, contested and used to resist or justify colonial expansion, particularly during the most intense phase of imperial expansion in Southeast Asia from c. 1850 to c. 1920. In doing so, it demonstrates that piratical activity continued to occur in many parts of Southeast Asia well beyond the mid-nineteenth century, when most existing studies of piracy in the region end their period of investigation. It also points to the changes over time in how piracy was conceptualised and dealt with by each of the major colonial powers in the region, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States"-- 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 341.362.1(5)

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)

Storm of the sea : Indians and empires in the Atlantic's age of sail /Matthew R. Bahar. Wabanaki communities across northeastern North America had been looking to the sea for generations before strangers from the east began arriving there in the sixteenth century. From earliest encounters to the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, scattered bands of Native hunter-gatherers came together to command fleets of sailing ships and engage in strategic diplomacy, thwarting English and French imperialism. Storm of the Sea narrates how by the Atlantic's Age of Sail, the People of the Dawn were mobilizing the ocean to achieve a dominion governed by its sovereign masters and enriched by its profitable and compliant tributaries--Provided by publisher. [2019] • BOOK • 1 copy available. 974.004/9734

First map : how James Cook charted Aotearoa New Zealand /Tessa Duder ; illustrated by David Elliot. "The story of how James Cook charted Aotearoa New Zealand, lavishly produced and richly illustrated Since it was published by the Admiralty in 1816, James Cook's chart of New Zealand has long been regarded as one of the most extraordinary achievements in the history of cartography. First Map: How James Cook Charted Aotearoa New Zealand tells the human story behind the creation of Cook's famous chart, following the progress of his six-month circumnavigation of New Zealand and piecing the map together as the narrative on H.M.B. Endeavour unfolds. It is a story of courage, dogged perseverance and Cook's extraordinary skills as both cartographer and seafarer. Scenes from Tessa Duder's evocative text are beautifully recreated by award-winning illustrator David Elliot in this exquisite large format edition. Published to coincide with the Tuia - Encounters 250 commemoration of James Cook's 1769-70 journey around New Zealand."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 993.01

Mr. Smith goes to China : three Scots in the making of Britain's global empire /Jessica Hanser. "This book delves into the lives of three Scottish private traders - George Smith of Bombay, George Smith of Canton, and George Smith of Madras - and uses them as lenses through which to explore the inner workings of Britain's imperial expansion and global network of trade, revealing how an unstable credit system and a financial crisis ultimately led to greater British intervention in India and China."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 382/.0941/051

Licentious worlds : sex and exploitation in global empires /Julie Peakman. "Licentious Worlds is a history of sexual attitudes and behaviour through five hundred years of empire-building around the world. In a graphic and sometimes unsettling account, Julie Peakman examines colonization and the imperial experience puttting women back in the picture, showing their role in the building of empires, but also how marginalized men and women were almost invariably exploited. Women acted as negotiators, brothel-keepers, traders and peacekeepers, but they were also oppressed, forced into marriages and raped. The book describes daily life in Turkish harems, Mughal zenanas and Japanese geisha houses, as well as in royal palaces, private households and on board ships. The stories are drawn from many sources -- from captains' logs, missionary reports and cannibals' memoirs to travellers' letters, traders' accounts and reports on prostitution. From debauched clerics and hog-sodomizing Pilgrims to sexually fluid cannibals and homosexual samurai, Licentious Worlds takes history where it has never been before"-- 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 306.709

Copyright for archivists and records managers / Tim Padfield. "As an archivist or records manager it is essential to keep up to date with the complexities of copyright legislation, and Copyright for Archivists and Records Managers has been described as an 'unparalleled' resource for that purpose. What is copyright? Who owns it and for how long? What rights does it confer, and what are the limitations and exceptions? This comprehensive manual uniquely outlines copyright law in the UK with special reference to the unpublished materials commonly found in archive and records collections such as maps, legal records, records of local authorities and parish registers. It also gives comprehensive information on authorship and duration of copyright in older as well as modern works and on the wide range of exceptions and limitations to copyright, particularly those relevant to archivists, records managers, librarians and curators. It offers advice on rights in the electronic environment, moral rights and rights in databases and contains extensive tables of duration of copyright in other countries."--Provided by the publisher. [2019]. • BOOK • 2 copies available. 346.410482

Britain's island fortresses / Bill Clements. "During the 19th Century the Royal Navy played a key role defending the expanding British Empire. As sail gave way to steam power, there was a pressing requirement for coaling stations and dock facilities across the world's oceans. These strategic bases needed fixed defences. The author describes in detail, with the aid of historic photographs, maps and plans, the defences of the most important islands, Bermuda, Ceylon, Hong Kong, Jamaica and Singapore, and a number of lesser ones including Antigua, Ascension, Mauritius St Helena and St Lucia. He describes how the defences were modified over the years in order to meet the changing strategic needs of the Empire, and the technological changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Only three of these bases had to defend themselves in war (Hong Kong, Singapore and Ceylon) and the author relates the battles for these bases. The book will appeal not only to readers whose interest is in the study of fortifications, but also to those readers interested in the maritime history of the British Empire."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.1(42)

Le mystáere Lapâerouse, ou le rãeve inachevâe d'un roi / Association Salomon ; [avec le prâecieuse participation de Stâephane Camille ; coordination de la râedaction, Alain Conan et Stâephane Camille]. Ã2008. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 995.93

Scapa 1919 : the archaeology of a scuttled fleet /Innes McCartney. "The German High Seas Fleet was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world, and had fought the pride of the Royal Navy to a stalemate at the battle of Jutland in 1916. After the armistice was signed, ending fighting in World War I, it surrendered to the British and was interned in Scapa Flow pending the outcome of the Treaty of Versailles. In June 1919, the entire fleet attempted to sink itself in the Flow to prevent it being broken up as war prizes. Of the 74 ships present, 52 sunk and 22 were prevented from doing so by circumstance and British intervention. Marine archaeologist and historian Dr Innes McCartney reveals for the first time what became of the warships that were scuttled, examining the circumstances behind the loss of each ship and reconciling what was known at the time to what the archaeology is telling us today. This fascinating study reveals a fleet lost for nearly a century beneath the waves."--Provided by the publisher 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1919"(411.2)

Time tamed : the remarkable story of humanity's quest to measure time /Nicholas Foulkes. ''For more than 25,000 years, mankind has sought to understand and measure the passing of time, in the process creating some of the most remarkable and beautiful timepieces. Now, in Nicholas Foulkes's lavishly illustrated book, the battle to tame time is brought vividly to life. From the baboon bone dating back to the palaeolithic era that marked the lunar cycle and on to the 3500-year-old water clock at Karnak, from our earliest days mankind has sought to track the passing of time. More recently, the struggles to measure longitude and to create a workable train timetable across the vast, open expanse of the United States have inspired new developments. In Time Tamed, Nicholas Foulkes reveals how we have done this by focusing on some of the most significant developments in timekeeping across the ages. He also highlights the most stunning and lavish clocks and watches in history - from Big Ben to Rolex - for telling the time has never been purely about function, but also about design. The book is filled with remarkable tales, from the 14th century monk in St Albans who created one of the first mechanical clocks to the Holy Roman Emperor who built a clock into an automated ship that fired a cannon to summon guests to dinner. More recently, there was the Surrey woman who used a Napoleonic era watch to 'deliver' the accurate time to London shopkeepers in the wartime era of Churchill, or the Swiss denture maker who solved a tricky problem for the Indian Raj's polo players. Time Tamed is a book you'll want to spend many hours enjoying.''--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 681.11309

Explore our Collection