Abstract
The contributions to this issue of the International Journal of Maritime History are diverse in terms of time and space. Ranging from the era of the Sasanid Empire, which commenced in Persia during the third century CE, to the ‘modern’ shipping epoch of the recent past, the volume includes analyses of maritime activity based in Australia, China, India, Korea, Indonesia, South America, California, Canada, the United States of America, Germany, the Netherlands, Iberia and Britain, and conducted on the seas and oceans between those territories. It opens with Richard Unger’s compelling overview of the endeavours of states to channel and gain from violence at sea from the high Middle Ages to the mid-nineteenth century, and also embraces an appraisal of a notable set of primary sources housed in the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), where this journal had its genesis in the late 1980s. This appraisal is presented in a Forum assembled and introduced by Valerie Burton, who elucidates the extent, evidential richness and scholarly utility of the Agreements, Crew Lists and Official Logs collected by the office of the Registrar-General of Shipping and Seamen in respect of the voyages undertaken by British Empire vessels from the 1860s to the mid-twentieth century. Transferred from England to Newfoundland in the 1960s and 1970s, these records underpinned the pioneering Atlantic Canada Shipping Project, and are now held in MUN’s Maritime History Archive, where digital technology has rendered them far more accessible than the pioneer researchers could have imagined. This has enabled the contributors to our Forum – all of whom are early-career researchers – to investigate themes as diverse as literacy rates in crews of Newfoundland vessels (Cynthia Power), material culture through the lens of inventories of deceased seafarers (Meaghan Walker), and the economic, social and labour ramifications of the engagement of Shetlanders in Arctic whaling voyages (Matthew Ylitalo).
The diversity of this issue of the IJMH augurs well for the 8th International Congress of Maritime History, which will take place from 30 June to 3 July 2020 in Porto, Portugal. Organised under the auspices of the International Maritime History Association, and hosted by the University of Porto, the conference addresses the overarching theme of ‘Old and New Uses of the Oceans’. The call for papers has been posted (https://imha2020.com/), with prospective speakers encouraged to consider the many aspects of the relationship between humans and the oceans. The conference organisers say: "We sail the surface of the oceans, harvest their resources, and exploit the minerals on and under the ocean floor. The oceans are also used as inspiration for literature and other forms of art, and they shape relations among humans – both distant and close.” Endorsing this broad definition of maritime history, the IJMH editors strongly advise readers to participate in an event that will surely be as stimulating and enjoyable as the previous seven congresses. The deadline for the submission of proposals is 30 September 2019.