Port Towns and Urban Cultures: International Histories of the Waterfront, C. 1700--2000

Despite the port’s prominence in maritime history, its cultural significance has long been neglected in favour of its role within economic and imperial networks. Defined by their intersection of maritime and urban space, port towns were sites of complex cultural exchanges. This book, the product of international scholarship, offers innovative and challenging perspectives on the cultural histories of ports, ranging from eighteenth-century Africa to twentieth-century Australasia and Europe. The essays in this important collection explore two key themes; the nature and character of ‘sailortown’ culture and port-town life, and the representations of port towns that were forged both within and beyond urban-maritime communities. The book’s exploration of port town identities and cultures, and its use of a rich array of methodological approaches and cultural artefacts, will make it of great interest to both urban and maritime historians. It also represents a major contribution to the emerging, interdisciplinary field of coastal studies. This Book Offers Innovative And Challenging Perspectives On The Cultural Histories Of Ports, Ranging From Eighteenth-century Africa To Twentieth-century Australasia And Europe. The Essays In This Collection Explore Two Key Themes: The Nature And Character Of Sailortown Culture And Port-town Life, And The Representations Of Port Towns That Were Forged Both Within And Beyond Urban-maritime Communities. Strangers Ashore : Sailor Identity And Social Conflict In Mid-eighteenth-century Cape Town / Nigel Worden -- Hail, Tyneside Lads In Collier Fleets : Song Culture, Sailing And Sailors In North-east England / Paul Gilchrist -- They Are Without Christ And Without Hope : Heathenism, Popular Religion, And Supernatural Belief In Portsmouth's Maritime Community, C. 1851-1901 / Karl Bell -- Hey Sailor, Looking For Trouble? : Violence, Drunkenness And Disorder In A Swedish Port Town : Gothenburg 1920 / Tomas Nilson -- On The Margins Of Empire : Antipodean Port Cities And Imperial Culture, C. 1880-1939 / John Griffiths -- Encounters On The Waterfront : Negotiating Identities In The Context Of Sailortown Culture / Tytti Steel -- Ports And Pilferers : London's Late Georgian Era Docks As Settings For Evolving Material And Criminal Cultures / William M. Taylor -- From Jolly Sailor To Proletarian Jack : The Remaking Of Sailortown And The Merchant Seafarer In Victorian London / Brad Beaven -- If There's One Man That I Admire, That Man's A British Tar : Leisure And Cultural Nation-building In A Naval Port Town, C. 1850-1928 / Robert James -- The Use Of Local Colour And History In Promoting The Identity Of Port Cities : The Case Of Durban, C. 1890s-1950s / Vivian Bickford-smith -- To Be A Sailor's Wife : Ideals And Images Of The Twentieth-century Seafarer's Wife In The Åland Islands / Hanna Hagmark-cooper -- Hull, Fishing And The Life And Death Of Trawlertown : Living The Spaces Of A Trawling Port-city / Jo Byrne -- Doing Urban History In The Coastal Zone / Isaac Land. Brad Beaven, Karl Bell, Robert James, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Acknowledgements"--"Contents"--"Notes on Contributors " -- "List of Maps" -- "List of Illustrations" -- "List of Tables" -- "Chapter 1: Introduction" -- "Urban-Maritime Cultures" -- "Representations and Identities" -- "Part I: Urban-Maritime Cultures" -- "Chapter 2: Strangers Ashore: Sailor Identity and Social Conflict in Mid-Eighteenth-Century Cape Town" -- "Bibliography" -- "Chapter 3: â#x80;#x98;Hail, Tyneside Lads in Collier Fleetsâ#x80;#x99;: Song Culture, Sailing and Sailors in North-East England" -- " Sailors and Sailing in Tyneside Song" -- " Robert Gilchrist: Tyneside Sailmaker and â#x80;#x98;Broadside Balladeerâ#x80;#x99;" -- " Robert Gilchristâ#x80;#x99;s Maritime Verse" -- " Conclusion" -- "Bibliography" -- "Chapter 4: â#x80;#x98;They Are Without Christ and Without Hopeâ#x80;#x99;: â#x80;#x98;Heathenismâ#x80;#x99;, Popular Religion, and Supernatural Belief in Portsmouthâ#x80;#x99;s Maritime Community, c.1851â#x80;#x93;1901" -- "Bibliography" -- "Chapter 5: Hey Sailor, Looking for Trouble? Violence, Drunkenness and Disorder in a Swedish Port Town: Gothenburg 1920" -- "Introduction" -- "Working-Class Masculinity, Honour and Violence" -- "Places of Conflict" -- "Different Forms of Violence" -- "Gothenburg as a Modern Port Town" -- "Sailortown Supreme: JÃÞrntorget and the Surrounding Area" -- "Police and Sailors in Sailortown" -- "Sailors in Town: A Crime Story?" -- "Conclusion" -- "Bibliography" -- "Chapter 6: On the Margins of Empire: Antipodean Port Cities and Imperial Culture c. 1880â#x80;#x93;1939" -- " The Antipodean Port City and the Built Environment" -- " Political Ties and Popular Imperialism c. 1884â#x80;#x93;1902" -- " Imperial Loyalty Societies" -- "Bibliography" -- "Chapter 7: Encounters on the Waterfront: Negotiating Identities in the Context of Sailortown Culture" -- "Coffee Breaks and Language Barriers: Interaction at Work" -- "Friends and Enemies" -- "Business as Usual." Front Matter....Pages i-xix Introduction....Pages 1-10 Front Matter....Pages 11-11 Strangers Ashore: Sailor Identity and Social Conflict in Mid-Eighteenth-Century Cape Town....Pages 13-28 ‘Hail, Tyneside Lads in Collier Fleets’: Song Culture, Sailing and Sailors in North-East England....Pages 29-48 ‘They Are Without Christ and Without Hope’: ‘Heathenism’, Popular Religion, and Supernatural Belief in Portsmouth’s Maritime Community, c.1851–1901....Pages 49-67 Hey Sailor, Looking for Trouble? Violence, Drunkenness and Disorder in a Swedish Port Town: Gothenburg 1920....Pages 69-89 On the Margins of Empire: Antipodean Port Cities and Imperial Culture c. 1880–1939....Pages 91-109 Encounters on the Waterfront: Negotiating Identities in the Context of Sailortown Culture....Pages 111-132 Front Matter....Pages 133-133 Ports and Pilferers: London’s Late Georgian Era Docks as Settings for Evolving Material and Criminal Cultures....Pages 135-157 From Jolly Sailor to Proletarian Jack: The Remaking of Sailortown and the Merchant Seafarer in Victorian London....Pages 159-178 ‘If there’s one man that I admire, that man’s a British tar’: Leisure and Cultural Nation-Building in a Naval Port Town, c. 1850–1928....Pages 179-199 The Use of ‘Local Colour’ and History in Promoting the Identity of Port Cities: The Case of Durban, c.1890s–1950s....Pages 201-219 To Be a Sailor’s Wife: Ideals and Images of the Twentieth-Century Seafarer’s Wife in the Åland Islands....Pages 221-242 Hull, Fishing and the Life and Death of Trawlertown: Living the Spaces of a Trawling Port-City....Pages 243-263 Doing Urban History in the Coastal Zone....Pages 265-281 Back Matter....Pages 283-289