Scotland and the Sea

This collection of essays on the theme of ’Scotland and the Sea’ ranges far and wide in the maritime history of Scotland. Colin Martin explores the Roman use of harbors and seapower in the conquest of Scotland; David Ditchburn deals with the pirates of the late medieval seas; David Aldridge investigates the problems that the Jacobites faced with naval power up to 1719; Thomas Riis analyzes the Baltic trade of the seventeenth century. Alexander Fenton writes on the uses of shellfish as a way of examining the relationship between small-scale and large-scale fishing, and Ian Morrison investigates boat types in Shetland and in the Scandinavian islands. Shetland is explored again by Brian Smith’s exposition of local fishing tenures. Gordon Jackson investigates the DPL shipping line before 1840 and Anthony Slaven writes about the business leaders in the great ship building firms of the Clyde. Robert Prescott breaks new ground by describing the Lascar seamen who were the original of the Asian community in Glasgow, and Christopher Harvie and Stephen Maxwell write jointly on the political impact of North Sea oil. This volume is a pot-pourri of maritime history with something for all shades of interest.
Contents: Introduction; Water Transport and the Roman Occupation of North Britain, Colin Martin; Piracy in Late Medieval Scotland, David Ditchburn; Long Distance Trade or Tramping: Scottish Ships in the Baltic, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, Thomas Riis; Jacobitism and the Scottish Seas, 1689-1719, David Aldridge; Adam Smith’s Rents from the Sea: Maritime Sharecropping in Shetland, Brian Smith; Traditionalism and Innovation in the Maritime Technology of Shetland and Other Atlantic Communities, Ian Morrison; Shellfish as Bait: the Interface Between Domestic and Commercial Fishing, Alexander Fenton; Operational Problems of the Transfer to Steam: Dundee, Perth and London Shipping Company, c.1820-1845, Gordon Jackson; Scottish Shipbuilders and Marine Engineers: the Evidence of Business Biography

T.C. Smout is Professor of Scottish History at St. Andrews University.