Britain and the ocean road : shipwrecks and people, 1297-1825

Britain and the Ocean Road uses new firsthand research and unconventional interpretations to take a fresh look at British maritime history in the age of sail. The human stories of eight shipwrecks serve as waypoints on the voyage, as the book explores how and why Britain became a global sea power. Each chapter has people at its heart – sailors, seafaring families, passengers, merchants, pirates, explorers, and many others. The narrative encompasses an extraordinary range of people, ships and events, such as a bloody maritime civil war in the 13th century, a 17th-century American teenager who stepped from one ship to another - and into a life of piracy, a British warship that fought at Trafalgar (on the French side), and the floating hell of a Liverpool slave-ship, sunk in the year before the slave trade was abolished. The book is full of surprising details and scenes, including England’s rudest and crudest streetname, what it was like to be a passenger in a medieval ship (take a guess), how a fragment of the English theatre reached the Far East during Shakespeare’s lifetime, who forgave who after a deadly pirate duel, why there were fancy dress parties in the Arctic, and where you could get the best herring. Britain and the Ocean Road is the first of two works aimed at introducing a general audience to the gripping (and at times horrifying) story of Britain, its people and the sea. The books will also interest historians and archaeologists, as they are based on original scholarship. The second book, Breaking Seas, Broken Ships will take the story from the age of steam to the 21st century. Shortlisted for the Mountbatten Maritime Literary Award, 2021. Britain and the Ocean Road uses new firsthand research and unconventional interpretations to take a fresh look at British maritime history in the age of sail. The human stories of eight shipwrecks serve as waypoints on the voyage, as the book explores how and why Britain became a global sea power. Each chapter has people at its heart sailors, seafaring families, passengers, merchants, pirates, explorers, and many others. The narrative encompasses an extraordinary range of people, ships and events, such as a bloody maritime civil war in the 13th century, a 17th-century American teenager who stepped from one ship to another - and into a life of piracy, a British warship that fought at Trafalgar (on the French side), and the floating hell of a Liverpool slave-ship, sunk in the year before the slave trade was abolished. The book is full of surprising details and scenes, including Englands rudest and crudest streetname, what it was like to be a passenger in a medieval ship (take a guess), how a fragment of the English theater reached the Far East during Shakespeares lifetime, who forgave who after a deadly pirate duel, why there were fancy dress parties in the Arctic, and where you could get the best herring. Britain and the Ocean Road is the first of two works aimed at introducing a general audience to the gripping (and at times horrifying) story of Britain, its people and the sea. The books will also interest historians and archaeologists, as they are based on original scholarship. The second book, Breaking Seas, Broken Ships will take the story from the age of steam to the 21st century. The renowned maritime historian and archeologist examines 600 years of shipwrecks to offer a fresh take on British life in the Age of Sail.In Britain and the Ocean Road, Dr. Ian Friel reexamines how and why Britain became a global sea power. With new firsthand research and provocative insights, the human stories of eight shipwrecks serve as waypoints on the voyage, bringing to life sailors, seafaring families, passengers, merchants, pirates, explorers, and many others. The narrative encompasses an extraordinary range of people, ships and events, such as a bloody maritime civil war in the thirteenth century; a seventeenth-century American teenager who stumbled into a life of piracy; a British warship that fought at Trafalgar—on the French side; and the floating hell of a Liverpool slave-ship, sunk in the year before the slave trade was abolished.Britain and the Ocean Road is the first of two works using original documentary research to tell the gripping story of Britain, its people, and the sea. The second book, Black Oil on the Waters, takes the story from the age of steam to the twenty-first century. The sea has played an important part in shaping Britain's identity, and the country has long needed to look outwards, not inwards, for its trade and security.