Tudor and Stuart Seafarers

Tudor and Stuart Seafarers tells the compelling story of how a small island positioned on the edge of Europe transformed itself into the world’s leading maritime power. In 1485, England was an inward-looking country, its priorities largely domestic and European. Over the subsequent two centuries, however, this country was transformed, as the people of the British Isles turned to the sea in search of adventure, wealth and rule. Explorers voyaged into unknown regions of the world, while merchants, following in their wake, established lucrative trade routes with the furthest reaches of the globe. At home, people across Britain increasingly engaged with the sea, whether through their own lived experiences or through songs, prose and countless other forms of material culture.

This exquisitely illustrated book delves into a tale of exploration, encounter, adventure, power, wealth and conflict. Topics include the exploration of the Americas, the growth of worldwide trade, piracy and privateering and
the defeat of the Spanish Armada, brought to life through a variety of personalities from the well-known – Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Drake and Samuel Pepys – to the ordinary sailors, dockyard workers and their wives and families whose lives were so dramatically shaped by the sea.

James Davey is Lecturer in Naval and Maritime History at the University of Exeter, and formerly Curator of Naval History at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. He holds degrees from King’s College London and the University of Oxford, and completed his PhD at the University of Greenwich in early 2010. He is the author of The Transformation of British Naval Strategy: Seapower and Supply in Northern Europe 1808–1812 and In Nelson’s Wake: The Navy and the Napoleonic Wars, and was a volume editor on Nelson, Navy and Nation. In 2015 he was awarded the Jan Glete Prize by the Swedish Society for Maritime History.

Tudor and Stuart Seafarers contains contributions from Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, David Scott, J. D. Davies, Megan Barford, Louise Devoy, Laura Humphreys, Robert J. Blyth, Elaine Murphy, Richard J. Blakemore, Rebecca Rideal, Aaron Jaffer and Christine Riding.

The National Maritime Museum is the world's largest maritime museum, telling stories of Britain's epic relationship with the sea global exploration, cultural exchange and human endurance.