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Technological Advances in the Maritime Sector: Some Implications for Trade, Modernization and the Process of Globalization in the Nineteenth Century

David M. Williams and John Armstrong

Lewis R. Fischer and Even Lange (eds)

in Maritime History as Global History

This essay examines the impact of three tremendous developments in maritime transport technology - the steamship, the telegraph, and the railway - on global industrialisation and the advent of the ... More

This essay examines the impact of three tremendous developments in maritime transport technology - the steamship, the telegraph, and the railway - on global industrialisation and the advent of the ‘Second Global Age’. It is divided into three parts: the first surveys the development of steam navigation and locomotion by country and continent; the second explores the relationship between maritime trade and the ‘new world economy’ - particularly the impact of shortened distances and the increase in availability of information; and the third examines the challenges for maritime merchants that developed alongside the improved global communication systems. It concludes that both transport and communication were essential to the development of a world economy, and that British maritime activity was a crucial contributory element.Less

The Impact of Steam Shipping on Transatlantic Migration, 1870-1914

Torsten Feys

in The Battle for the Migrants: Introduction of Steamshipping on the North Atlantic and Its Impact on the European Exodus

This section is a brief introduction to the remainder of the journal, outlining how mass migration became a big business during the transition from sail to steam technology between 1870 and 1914. It ... More

This section is a brief introduction to the remainder of the journal, outlining how mass migration became a big business during the transition from sail to steam technology between 1870 and 1914. It also states that records from the Holland-America Line form the majority of the sources for the subsequent chapters.Less

Management Response in British Coastal Shipping Companies to Railway Competition

John Armstrong

in The Vital Spark: The British Coastal Trade, 1700-1930

This essay examines the way British coastal shipping companies handled competition from the rail industry. It explores the role of coastal shipping before the advent of rail; the impact of steam on ... More

This essay examines the way British coastal shipping companies handled competition from the rail industry. It explores the role of coastal shipping before the advent of rail; the impact of steam on short-sea shipping; the perceived minor threat of short-distance early railways; the direct threat of long-distance rail lines that began to appear in the 1840s; and the effectiveness of the attempts to address railway competition - the search for technological improvement, market segmentation, and re-pricing structures in particular. It concludes that the coaster and railway industries co-existed peacefully during the late nineteenth century as it served both of their interests, and assures that any serious threat to rail that the coastal industry could instigate would be met with swift and crippling retaliation, so they opted not to risk upsetting the balance.Less

The Quality, Skill and Supply of Maritime Labour: Causes of Concern in Britain, 1850-1914

Lars U. Scholl

in Merchants and Mariners: Selected Maritime Writings of David M. Williams

This final chapter is divided into three sections. The first concerns the skills of maritime labourers; the second addresses the alleged shortages of seamen; and the third is the contemporary ... More

This final chapter is divided into three sections. The first concerns the skills of maritime labourers; the second addresses the alleged shortages of seamen; and the third is the contemporary perception of and responses to these concerns. Williams examines public concerns over perceived lack of maritime employment in relation to nostalgia, and a pervasive, romanticised view of sailing and sailing culture. Williams finds, and concludes, that nostalgia for traditional sailing, yearning for a glorified British Empire, and an emotional public mindset, made little impression on the economic progress made during the age of steam, expansion, and technological development.Less

“Advance Notes” and the Recruitment of Maritime Labour in Britain in the Nineteenth Century

Lars U. Scholl

in Merchants and Mariners: Selected Maritime Writings of David M. Williams

This essay concerns the use of advance notes to recruit seamen for long distance voyages during the age of sail, how it both shaped market behaviour and came under scrutiny by maritime reformers of ... More

This essay concerns the use of advance notes to recruit seamen for long distance voyages during the age of sail, how it both shaped market behaviour and came under scrutiny by maritime reformers of the latter half of the century. Williams examines the exploitation of seamen that accompanied tbhe practice, the inability of owners to recruit seamen without the advance note, and details the efforts of reformers to abolish the notes - which succeeded in 1881 but was largely ignored by seamen and shipowners alike, and so advance notes were re-legalised in 1889. Williams then charts the true disappearance of the advance note, as they became obsolete once the age of sail shifted into the age of steam and the market shifted to accommodate new technology, fundamentally altering the role of the seafarer.Less

Migration and Maritime Networks in the Atlantic Economy: An Introduction

Stéphane Hoste and Lewis R. Fischer

in Maritime Transport and Migration: The Connections between Maritime and Migration Networks

This chapter explores the factors that caused the acceleration of transatlantic migration in the latter nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Major contributing factors include the transition ... More

This chapter explores the factors that caused the acceleration of transatlantic migration in the latter nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Major contributing factors include the transition from sail to steam technology; the decrease in the price of a transatlantic tickets (due, in part, to fierce business competition); the growing presence of emigration agents and the campaigns to fill passenger lists; the increasing presence of government regulation; and the interpersonal ties of chain migration networks. It then outlines the aims of subsequent chapters and states the overall aim of the journal: to stimulate further academic research into the crossover between maritime and migrant networks.Less