Maritime history of the United Kingdom

The Maritime history of the United Kingdom involves events including shipping, ports, navigation, and seamen, as well as marine sciences, exploration, trade, and maritime themes in the arts from the creation of the kingdom of Great Britain as a united, sovereign state, on 1 May 1707 in accordance with the Treaty of Union, signed on 22 July 1706. Until the advent of air transport and the creation of the Channel Tunnel, marine transport was the only way of reaching the British Isles. For this reason, maritime trade and naval power have always had great importance.
Prior to the Acts of Union, 1707, the maritime history of the British Isles was largely dominated by that of England. (See Maritime history of England for more details.)
Chronology.
Eighteenth century.
The main British export in the 18th century was corn.
Lloyd's List was established in 1734 and Lloyd's Register in 1764/5. The Marine Society was set up in 1756 with the aim of sending poor boys to sea.
Steam technology was first applied to boats in the 1770s but sailing ships continued to be developed. In 1794 an experimental steam powered ship called the "Kent" was built which showed designers the way forward. Nathanial Symonds demonstrated a sinking boat in 1729.
Towards the end of the century, the Napoleonic Wars started with Napoleon, later crowned as French Emperor, and naval battles continued into the 19th century.
Nineteenth century.
In 1801 a steamship called the "Charlotte Dundas" ran trials on a canal near Glasgow, towing barges. In 1815 Pierre Andriel crossed the English Channel aboard the steamship "Élise". By the mid-century steamboats were a common sight on British rivers and canals. Regular steamship sailings across the Atlantic started in the 1830s.
Shipbuilders began using iron instead of wood as the ships could be made larger with more cargo space. Ships also began to be fitted with steam engines and paddle wheels but the latter was found to be unsuited to open sea use. From the 1840s screw propellers replaced paddles. In the 1870s new more efficient engines were introduced so that sailing ships began to be phased out. From the 1880s steel began to replace iron for the hulls.
Because of the space required for coal and the large crew requirements on steamships, sailing ships were favoured for long voyages and reached a design peak with the clippers used for transporting tea and wool. Steamships gradually replaced sailing ships for commercial shipping during the 19th century, particularly after more efficient engine designs were developed in the later part of the period.
The Battle of Navarino in 1827 was the last to be fought by the Royal Navy entirely with sailing ships. By the end of the century submarine design had progressed sufficiently to be useful, as had the design of torpedoes.
Twentieth century.
At the start of the century 25% of the world's trade was through British ports, 18% of this being to North America. Trans-oceanic travel was important at the start of the century with transatlantic liners competing for the "Blue Riband" for the fastest crossing. A significant event was the sinking of the "Titanic" in 1912. This led to the Global Maritime Distress Safety System and to the Iceberg Patrol. The rise of air travel led to a decrease in ocean travel but then, towards the end of the century, cruise ships became important again.
During the 20th century new types of cargo ships appeared - the container ship, the oil tanker and the gas container ship. Specialised ports for handling these were also developed.
Most warships used steam propulsion until the advent of the gas turbine in the mid part of the period. Steamships were superseded by diesel-driven cargo ships in the second half of the century. Submarines were mainly powered by a combination of diesel and batteries until the advent of nuclear marine propulsion in 1955.
There were two major wars against Germany and its allies that saw a massive expansion in naval fleets and the use of air power at sea, resulting in the construction of aircraft carriers that became the main centre of sea power. Both wars saw massive destruction of the British merchant fleet but new construction exceeded the rate of destruction. After World War II there was an initial drop in warship numbers but then the rise of the Soviet naval threat resulted in the Cold War with the construction of new warships and submarines. The reduction of the Soviet threat at the end of the century was offset by threats from other sources and piracy as well as sea-borne drug trafficking.
Cod War, offshore oil, gas and wind farms. Exploitation of wave power was started.
Twenty-first century.
The start of the century saw the building of superliners. The Royal Navy saw further reductions in its strength, though new larger aircraft carriers have been promised.
Royal Navy.
Eighteenth-century navy.
Under the Acts of Union 1707 in 1707 the Royal Scots Navy merged with the English navy and the British Royal Navy came into being. The early 18th century saw the Royal Navy with more ships than other navies. Although it suffered severe financial problems through the earlier part of this period, modern methods of financing government, and in particular the Navy, were developed, This financing enabled the Navy to become the most powerful force of the later 18th century without bankrupting the country. The Napoleonic Wars saw the Royal Navy reach a peak of efficiency, dominating the navies of all Britain's adversaries.
Under William III and Mary II a hospital at Greenwich was founded to relieve the sufferings of British seamen.
Nineteenth-century navy.
Between 1793 and 1815 the Royal Navy lost 344 vessels due to non-combat causes: 75 by foundering, 234 shipwrecked and 15 from accidental burnings or explosions. In the same period it lost 103,000 seamen: 84,440 by disease and accidents, 12,680 by shipwreck or foundering and 6,540 by enemy action.
From the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 until the outbreak of the European War in 1914, Britain had an almost uncontested power over the world's oceans, and it was said that "Britannia ruled the waves". During the Napoleonic Wars, there was increasing tension at sea between Britain and the United States, as American traders took advantage of their country's neutrality to trade with the French-controlled parts of Europe as well as with the British Isles. The Anglo-American War of 1812 was characterised by single-ship actions and the disruption of merchant shipping.
Twentieth-century navy.
The start of the 20th century saw structural changes in the Navy brought about by the First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher who retired, scrapped or placed in reserve many of the older vessels, making new funds and manpower available for newer ships. He saw the development of , the first all-big-gun ship and one of the most influential ships in naval history. This ship rendered all other battleships then existing obsolete, and indeed lent her name to an entire class of battleships, the dreadnoughts. Admiral Percy Scott introduced new programmes such a gunnery training and central fire control which greatly increased the effectiveness in battle of the Navy's ships.
During the First World War the Royal Navy played a vital role in escorting convoys of food, arms and raw materials to Britain. It defeated the German campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare and prevented the breakout of the German High Seas Fleet. As well as tasks in the Atlantic it also carried out operations in the Baltic, Mediterranean and Black Sea.
In the inter-war years the Royal Navy was stripped of much of its power. The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, together with the deplorable financial conditions during the immediate post-war period and the Great Depression, forced the Admiralty to scrap some capital ships and to cancel plans for new construction. The London Naval Treaty of 1930 deferred new capital ship construction until 1937 and reiterated construction limits on cruisers, destroyers and submarines. As international tensions increased in the mid-thirties, the Second London Naval Treaty of 1936 failed to halt the development of a naval arms race and by 1938 treaty limits were effectively ignored. The re-armament of the Royal Navy was well under way by this point; the Royal Navy had constructed the "King George V" class of 1936 and several aircraft carriers including . In addition to new construction, several existing battleships, battlecruisers and heavy cruisers were re-constructed and new anti-aircraft weaponry reinforced. However, around this time the Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States Navy began to surpass the Royal Navy in power.
After the Second World War, the decline of the British Empire and economic hardships in Britain forced reduction in size and capability of the Royal Navy. The increasingly powerful United States Navy took on the former role of the Royal Navy as a means of keeping peace around the world. However, the threat of the Soviet Union created a new role for the Navy within NATO.
The 1960s saw the peak of the Royal Navy's capabilities in the post-war era. The fleet carriers , , the rebuilt , and gave the Royal Navy the most powerful fleet outside the United States. The navy also had a large fleet of frigates and destroyers. New, more modern units like the County-class destroyers and "Leander" class-frigates began to enter service in the 1960s. At this time the Royal Navy received its first nuclear weapons and was to become responsible for the maintenance of the UK's nuclear deterrent.
However, a Labour government came into power and was determined to cut defence expenditure. After this the navy began to fall in size and by 1979 the last fleet carrier was scrapped. The navy was forced to make do with three much smaller "Invincible"-class aircraft carriers with Sea Harrier aircraft. The fleet was now centred around anti-submarine warfare in the North Atlantic. Further Defence Reviews have further cut the Royal Navy.
Although the Royal Navy has significantly reduced in size since the 1960s, reflecting the reduced requirements of the state, this does not take into account the increase in technological capability of the Navy's ships. The navy is responsible for the British strategic nuclear deterrent. It concentrates on anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures as part of NATO.
The Navy Board.
The Navy Board was responsible for providing the ships and the men to man them, including Warrant Officers. The Impress Service recruited volunteers but also took many against their will. After 1740 the Admiralty gained control over the Navy Board.
Ministry of Defence.
In 1964 the Admiralty and the Navy Board became part of the integrated Ministry of Defence. This included the Fleet Air Arm.
Notable wars.
American Wars.
During the American Revolution, a primitive submarine tried and failed to sink a British warship, the flagship of the blockers, in New York City harbour in 1776. John Paul Jones attacked British shipping in the Irish Sea and also the towns of Whitehaven and Kirkcudbright. In the Anglo-American War of 1812, an unsuccessful submarine attack was made on a British warship stationed in New London harbour.
French Revolutionary/Napoleonic Wars.
In 1793 France declared war on Britain. The next 12 years saw many battles such as that at Cape St. Vincent and at the Battle of the Nile, and short-lived truces such as the Treaty of Amiens. The height of the Royal Navy's achievements came on 21 October 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar, where a numerically smaller but more experienced British fleet under the command of Lord Horatio Nelson decisively defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet.
Maritime events of World War I.
At the start of the war the German Empire had cruisers scattered across the globe. Some of them were subsequently used to attack Allied merchant shipping. The Royal Navy systematically hunted them down, though not without some embarrassment from its inability to protect Allied shipping. For example, the detached light cruiser , part of the East-Asia squadron stationed at Qingdao, seized or destroyed 15 merchantmen as well as sinking a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. However, the bulk of the East-Asia squadron - consisting of the armoured cruisers and , light cruisers , , and and two transport ships - did not have orders to raid shipping and was instead underway to Germany when it was defeated by the British at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914, with only "Dresden" escaping destruction.
The Battle of Jutland was the major sea battle of the First World War. Although the British Grand Fleet suffered greater losses than the German High Seas Fleet, the latter withdrew to port and the British retained control of the North Sea.
Soon after the outbreak of hostilities the British initiated a Naval Blockade of Germany, preventing supplies from reaching its ports. The strategy proved effective, cutting off vital military and civilian supplies, though this blockade violated generally accepted international law codified by several international agreements of the past two centuries. A blockade of stationed ships within a three-mile (5 km) radius was considered legitimate, however Britain mined international waters to prevent any ships from entering entire sections of ocean, causing danger to neutral ships. Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar response to its unrestricted submarine warfare.
German U-boats attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain during the First Battle of the Atlantic. The nature of submarine warfare meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant ships little hope of survival. The United States launched a protest and Germany modified its rules of engagement. After the infamous sinking of the passenger ship RMS "Lusitania" in 1915, Germany promised not to target passenger liners. Britain armed its merchant ships. Finally in early 1917 Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, realizing the Americans would eventually enter the war. Germany sought to strangle Allied sea lanes before the US could transport a large army overseas.
The U-boat threat lessened in 1917 when merchant ships travelled in convoys escorted by destroyers. This tactic made it difficult for U-boats to find targets. The accompanying destroyers might sink a submerged submarine with depth charges. The losses to submarine attacks were reduced significantly, but the convoys system slowed the flow of supplies. The solution to the delays was a massive programme to build new freighters. Troop ships were too fast for the submarines and did not travel the North Atlantic in convoys. The First World War also saw the first use of aircraft carriers in combat, with launching Sopwith Camels in a successful raid against Zeppelin hangars at Tondern in July 1918.
Maritime events of World War II.
In the North Atlantic, German U-boats again attempted to cut supply lines to Britain by sinking merchant ships. In the first four months of the war they sank more than 110 vessels. In addition to supply ships, the U-boats occasionally attacked British and Canadian warships. One U-boat sank the British carrier while another managed to sink the battleship at her home anchorage of Scapa Flow.
In the early stages of the war the Royal Navy placed much faith in ASDIC (an early form of active sonar) to detect submerged U-boats but the Germans countered this by the use of the "wolfpack" which attacked on the surface at night. To form this pack, the U-boats communicated to their base by radio, to coordinate the action of several U-boats. The British eventually broke the German Naval code, which allowed this tactic to be defeated. The Germans then switched to attacking shipping off the American coast.
The British sank the in December 1939 and the battleship in 1941. However the threat caused by the was only countered later after many attacks. The Royal Navy suffered significant losses in the early stages of the war including the battlecruisers , which had been sunk by "Bismarck", and and the battleship , both of which were sunk by Japanese bombers in late 1941.
The Royal Navy provided critical cover for the British and French troops during the Dunkirk evacuation and rescued the bulk of the troops, the remainder being evacuated by a fleet of small ships. Later the Navy provided cover for the Dieppe Raid catastrophe, that saw 3,623 of the 6,086 men who made it ashore killed, wounded, or captured.
In the summer of 1941, the Soviet Union entered the war on the side of Britain. Although the Soviets had tremendous reserves in manpower, they had lost much of their equipment and manufacturing base in the first few weeks following the German invasion. The Allies attempted to remedy this by sending Arctic convoys, which travelled from Britain and later the United States to the northern ports of the Soviet Union, Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk. The treacherous route around the North Cape of Norway was the site of many battles as the Germans continually tried to disrupt the convoys using U-boats, bombers and surface ships.
Malta was an important base for attacking the Axis supply lines to North Africa. Submarines, aircraft and surface ships were used from Maltese bases. In 1941 "Force K" was based in Malta which caused the Italians to suspend their convoys but the Germans insisted that they be resumed. Force K ran into a minefield and warships were also lost by attacks by U-boats and human torpedoes. Axis aircraft attacked Allied supply convoys to Malta and the situation became desperate. Eventually in 1942 "Operation Pedestal", 14 ships with a large escort was sent. However, only 5 ships got through and many escorts were lost. The renewed attacks by the submarine force prevented full use of the Axis held port of Tobruk and eventually to victory in North Africa. Gibraltar was also an important naval base, as was Alexandria.
In late 1941 Winston Churchill tried to prevent Japanese aggression against British territories in the Far East by sending a naval deterrent called "Force Z". The Royal Navy could only spare one new battleship, HMS "Prince of Wales", an old battlecruiser HMS "Repulse" and the carrier . The latter hit an uncharted rock and was put out of action but Churchill insisted on the other two ships being sent. They arrived at Singapore on 2 December 1941. A day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the ships with escorting destroyers sailed to attack Japanese transports. They were spotted by reconnaissance aircraft and eventually sunk by torpedoes from planes.
The turning point in the "Second Battle of the Atlantic" was in early 1943 as the Allies refined their naval tactics, making effective use of new technology to counter the U-boats. The Allies produced ships faster than they were sunk and lost fewer ships by re-adopting the convoy system. Improved anti-submarine warfare meant that the life expectancy of a typical U-boat crew would be measured in months. The vastly improved Type 21 U-boat appeared at the end of the war but was too late to affect the outcome. In December 1943 the last major sea battle between the Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine (War navy) took place. At the "Battle of North Cape" Germany's battleship was sunk by , and several destroyers.
For the D-Day landings in 1944 the Royal Navy provided most of the warships and three-quarters of the landing craft. After the German surrender, a force was sent to the Pacific Ocean to attack the Japanese.
Post World War II operations.
Since the late 1950s, the United Kingdom became engaged in a protracted dispute with Iceland over fishing rights in North Atlantic waters. The Royal Navy, along with tugs from the MAFF and British civilian trawlers, was involved in three major confrontations with the Icelandic Coast Guard from 1958 to 1976. These largely bloodless clashes became known as the Cod Wars, and consisted in a series of close encounters and rammings between Icelandic gunboats and British frigates and tugs. A total of 15 Royal Navy warships and five Icelandic gunboats were damaged in different degrees during the third conflict only. The dispute ended in June 1976 with the recognition by Britain of Iceland's exclusive 200 nautical miles fishery zone.
The Falklands War was fought in 1982 between Argentina and Britain over the disputed Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Britain was initially taken by surprise by the Argentine attack on the South Atlantic islands, but launched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force, and to retake the islands by amphibious assault. A Westland Lynx HAS.2. and three Westland Wasp HAS.1 from the Royal Navy disabled the Argentine submarine ARA "Santa Fe" with AS-12 air-to-surface missiles in South Georgia and nuclear submarine HMS "Conqueror" sank the light cruiser ARA "General Belgrano", but lost the destroyers HMS "Sheffield" and HMS "Coventry" and the frigates HMS "Ardent" and HMS "Antelope" due to air attack. The Argentine airstrikes also sank the freighter "Atlantic Conveyor", the logistic ship RFA "Sir Galahad" and an LCU landing craft from HMS "Fearless". Another Argentine submarine, the ARA "San Luis", launched a number of unsuccessful attacks on the British task force, which in turn expended 50 Mk 46 anti-submarine torpedoes during the conflict. The Argentine transport ARA "Isla de los Estados" was sunk by HMS "Alacrity", while the coaster ARA "Monsunen" managed to slip away after a hot pursuit by the frigates HMS "Yarmouth" and HMS "Broadsword". The assault force was landed at San Carlos Water, where Royal Navy warships and aircraft shot down 22 Argentine fighter-bombers. The British eventually prevailed and the islands returned to British control.
The Royal Navy took part in the 1990 Gulf War, the Kosovo War, the Afghanistan War and the 2003 Iraq War. In August 2005 the Royal Navy rescued seven Russians stranded in a submarine off the Kamchatka Peninsula. Using its Scorpio 45 remote-controlled mini-sub, the Russian submarine was freed from the fishing nets and cables that had held the submarine for three days.
Notable individuals.
Charles Hardy.
Charles Hardy was a British naval officer and colonial governor. He was appointed governor and commander-in-chief of the British colony of Newfoundland in 1744. In 1758 he and James Wolfe attacked French posts around the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River and destroyed all of the French fishing stations along the northern shores of what is now New Brunswick and along the Gaspé Peninsula.
Augustus Keppel.
Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel was a British admiral who held sea command during the Seven Years' War and during the American Revolutionary War. In the final years of the latter conflict he served as First Lord of the Admiralty. During the Seven Years' War he had seen constant service. He was in North America in 1755, on the coast of France in 1756, was dispatched on a cruise to reduce the French settlements on the west coast of Africa in 1758 and his ship was the first to get into action at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759. In 1757 he had formed part of the court-martial that had condemned Admiral John Byng, but was active among others who endeavoured to secure a pardon for him. However, neither he nor those who had acted with him could produce any serious reason why the sentence should not be carried out. When Spain joined France in 1762 he was sent as second in command with Sir George Peacock in the expedition which took Havana. His health suffered from the fever which carried off an immense proportion of the soldiers and sailors, but the £25,000 of prize money which he received freed him from the unpleasant position of a younger son of a family ruined by the extravagance of his father.
Edward Hawke.
Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke was a naval officer of the Royal Navy. During the War of the Austrian Succession he was promoted to Rear admiral. In the Seven Years' War Hawke replaced Admiral John Byng as commander in the Mediterranean.
Richard Howe.
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe was a British admiral. During the rebellion in North America, Howe was known to be sympathetic to the colonists. He had in prior years sought the acquaintance of Benjamin Franklin, who was a friend of Howe's sister, a popular lady in London society. During his career Howe displayed an uncommon tactical originality. His performance was unexcelled even by Nelson who, like Howe's other successors, was served by more highly trained squadrons and benefitted from Howe's concepts.
Horatio Nelson.
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson was a British admiral who was famous for his participation in the sea battles of the Napoleonic Wars, most notably at the Battle of Trafalgar a decisive British victory where he lost his life. He was born in 1758 in Norfolk and in 1771 joined . By the time he was 20 he had been to the Arctic, the Indies and the Caribbean. He was appointed Lieutenant in 1777, Post-Captain in 1779 and Commodore in 1796. He took part in the campaign in Corsica in 1794 where he lost his right eye. In 1797 he was at the battle of Cape St. Vincent at which he was promoted Rear Admiral of the Blue. That year he lost his right arm after the raid on Santa Cruz, Tenerife and was knighted. In 1798 he fought the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile in Abu Qir Bay, Egypt and was given the title "Baron of the Nile".
Nelson was noted for his considerable ability to inspire and bring out the best in his men, to the point that it gained a name "The Nelson Touch". His actions during these battles meant that before and after his death he was revered like few military figures have been throughout British history. Alexander Davidson was a contemporary and close friend of Nelson and is responsible for several acts that glorified Nelson's public image. These included the creation of a medal commemorating the victory at the Battle of Trafalgar and the creation of the Nelson Memorial at his estate in Swarland, Northumberland. As a close friend of the Admiral he acted as an intermediary when Nelson's marriage to his wife Frances Nelson fell apart due in large part to his affair with Emma Hamilton.
Hyde Parker.
In 1778 Sir Hyde Parker was engaged in the Savannah expedition, and in the following year his ship was wrecked on the hostile Cuban coast. His men, however, entrenched themselves and in the end were brought off safely. Parker was with his father, Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet at the Dogger Bank and with Richard Howe in the two actions in the Strait of Gibraltar. In 1793, having just become Rear Admiral, he served under Sir Samuel Hood at Toulon and in Corsica. Two years later, now a Vice Admiral, he took part under William Hotham in the indecisive fleet actions in 1795. From 1796 to 1800 he was in command at Jamaica and ably conducted the operations in the West Indies.
Edward Pellew.
Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, was a British naval officer who fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. Pellegrew is remembered as an officer and gentleman, earning his land and titles through courage, leadership and skill - serving as a paradigm of the versatility and determination of naval officers during the Napoleonic Wars.
James Saumarez.
James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable for his victory at the Battle of Algeciras Bay. In 1801 he was raised to the rank of Rear Admiral of the Blue, was created a baronet and received the command of a small squadron which was destined to watch the movements of the Spanish fleet at Cádiz. Between 6 and 12 July he performed a brilliant piece of service, in which after a first repulse at Algeciras he routed a much superior combined force of French and Spanish ships at the Battle of Algeciras Bay. For his services Saumarez received the Order of the Bath and the Freedom of the City of London.
William Dampier.
William Dampier made voyages from Weymouth to Newfoundland, Java, Jamaica and Honduras. From his experiences he wrote a book "A New Voyage Around The World" that was much admired and resulted in his command of the first voyage of exploration organised by the Admiralty. He reached Australia but found no wealth so it was not a success. Dampier later took up privateering and rescued Alexander Selkirk, which was the basis for Robinson Crusoe.
James Cook.
James Cook was born in Yorkshire in 1728. Having worked in a shop, he decided that a life at sea was what he wanted and he became apprenticed to a firm of Whitby coal shippers. He then joined the navy as a seaman and worked his way up to command. The Royal Society wanted to observe the transit of Venus due in June 1769 and to find the supposed southern continent. They persuaded the Admiralty to provide a ship and James Cook, a navigator who had prepared charts of the St Lawrence river. For the voyage Cook chose the HM Bark "Endeavour" which was a Whitby collier. It was adapted in the Royal Navy Dockyard at Deptford, and scientific instruments for observing the transit were loaded. Accompanying Cook were the astronomer Dr Green, a botanist Joseph Banks and two artists. The "Endeavour" sailed around Cape Horn to Tahiti, then to New Zealand and finally to Australia. After a year at home, Cook took two colliers, and , to the Antarctic and then to Tahiti, testing the new timekeeper of John Harrison. He made a third voyage, to try to find the Northwest Passage, with "Resolution" and . After encountering ice he turned back to Hawaii. There he was treated as a god but on leaving was forced to return. When Cook tried to take the king hostage, because of the theft of a ship's boat, he was killed on 14 February 1779.
George Vancouver.
George Vancouver was born in King's Lynn in 1757. He became a captain in the Royal Navy and carried out surveys of the west coast of America, using a different ship also called the "", of Australia and New Zealand. Both the city of Vancouver and Vancouver Island are named after him. He also negotiated agreements with the king of Hawaii but died at the age of 40.
Admiral Anson.
George Anson, 1st Baron Anson took a squadron of British ships around Cape Horn in 1740-4 to harass the Spanish. He captured several ships, raided the Philippines and visited Canton (now Guangzhou). He returned with much gold and silver to great acclaim.
Sir John Franklin.
John Franklin was an officer in the Royal Navy and an Arctic explorer. He was born in 1786 and joined the navy at the age of 16. He sailed on Matthew Flinders voyages around Australia and took part in the Battle of Trafalgar, but is best remembered for his four Arctic voyages. He made maps of over of the coast of northern Canada. On his final voyage in 1845 he had two ships the ' and the '. He was seen off Baffin Island but then disappeared. Various expeditions were mounted to find him and his crew. One expedition met Inuit who said that the ships had been crushed in the ice. Messages from the explorers were found but all later died. Franklin had died in 1847 and the remainder had tried to travel south. Robert McClure completed the route in 1850.
James Clarke Ross.
James Clark Ross surveyed Victoria Land in Antarctica in 1842. The Ross Sea and Ross Island are named after him as is a ship of the British Antarctic Survey.
Robert Scott.
Robert Falcon Scott surveyed the Great Ice Barrier in the Antarctic in 1901–4 in RRS "Discovery". He died in 1910 on the journey back from the South Pole.
Ernest Shackleton.
Ernest Shackleton led an expedition to try to cross Antarctica in 1914. His ship became crushed in the ice but he led 28 men to safety on Elephant Island. To get help Shackleton and six men crossed of sea in an open boat to South Georgia and then crossed the mountains to Grytviken. He returned to rescue all his men from Elephant Island. He died on South Georgia in 1922.
Shipbuilding.
At the time of the creation of the United Kingdom, England had important royal dockyards at Harwich, Sheerness and Plymouth. A mechanised block mill was set up at Portsmouth in 1806 that was cheaper and faster than producing them by hand. As shipbuilding centres in the north east of England expanded, those in East Anglia declined.
Ship sizes increased in the 19th century due to the change from wood to iron and then steel. Yards in the north east and in Scotland became dominant. British yards produced the majority of the world's shipping at the end of the century, mostly tramp steamers.
In 1913 Britain had 61% of the world market, with 40% in 1920 but this had declined to 0.7% in 1997. Modernisation of the shipyards took place in the 1960s allowing construction of supertankers. The British yards were nationalised as part of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977 and renamed "British Shipbuilders" but were privatised again in the 1980s. Rosyth Dockyard was started in 1909 while HMNB Clyde (Faslane) submarine base was created in the 1960s. American nuclear submarines were based in Holy Loch but have since left.
Famous ships.
"Cutty Sark".
The "Cutty Sark" was a clipper ship built in 1869 in Dumbarton, Scotland, to carry 600 tons of cargo. She raced the "Thermopylae" and other clippers in the tea trade from China and later in the wool trade from Australia. She was capable of sailing at over . Built as a full-rigged ship, she spent her final trading years as a barquentine. She was dismasted in 1916 but restored in 1922 then used as a training ship. "Cutty Sark" was taken over by a preservation society in 1952 and moved to Greenwich. In 2007 she was damaged by fire during restoration work but is now repaired and offers visitors tours as well as a souvenir shop and a coffee shop.
"Endeavour".
HM Bark "Endeavour" was built in 1768 as a collier at Whitby. She was a full-rigged ship and sturdily built with a large hold. "Endeavour's" flat-bottomed hull was well suited for sailing in shallow water and was designed to be beached. She was acquired by the Royal Navy, and after a major refit at Deptford she was used by James Cook on his first voyage to the Pacific Ocean. She ran aground on "Endeavour Reef" in the Great Barrier Reef but was refloated and repaired. On her return to Britain, "Endeavour" was used as a store ship and then sold out of the navy and used as a merchant ship. Her later fate is uncertain.
A replica of "Endeavour" was built in Fremantle from the original drawings, starting in 1988. This was completed in 1994 and "Endeavour" undertook a voyage to Whitby where she stayed from 1997 to 2003. She is now at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.
"Great Britain".
The SS "Great Britain" was Isambard Kingdom Brunel's second ship design, after a wooden paddle steamer called the SS "Great Western". She was the first steamship to make regular crossings of the Atlantic. This was the first large iron steamship and the first to use a screw propellor. After a long career she was abandoned in the Falkland Islands but was brought back to the drydock in Bristol in which she was built. There she has been restored.
"Great Eastern".
The SS "Great Eastern" was launched in 1858 and was six times bigger than any ship before. She was the third ship designed by Brunel. The "Great Eastern" had six masts as well as coal fired engines driving paddle wheels. It was designed to carry enough coal to travel to Australia and return, and was intended to carry 4,000 passengers (or 10,000 soldiers). Work started on the ship in 1854 but there were many problems in building and launching the ship. After fitting out at Deptford she undertook trials in September 1859 but the heater attached to the paddle engine boilers exploded. As the ship had been fitted with watertight bulkheads she survived and was repaired. Because of the opening of the Suez Canal, she was not used on the Australian route as envisaged but on the Atlantic crossings. Passengers did not like the rolling in storms and she was sold to a cable laying company after only six years. The "Great Eastern" was used to lay the first transatlantic telegraph cable and many others subsequently. She was broken up in 1888.
"Titanic".
The "Titanic" and her sister ships "Olympic" and "Britannic" were built the White Star Line to outdo the "Mauretania" and "Lusitania" which belonged to the rival Cunard Line. "Titanic" was 269 m long and weight 45,000 tons. She was described as a luxury hotel at sea and as "unsinkable". She was fitted with a double bottom and 16 watertight compartments so that even if two were flooded she would not sink. "Titanic" departed from Southampton on 10 April 1912 on her maiden voyage to America. She called at Cherbourg and then Queenstown (now Cobh) before heading for New York City. Despite warnings of icebergs, she continued at on the night of 14 April. About midnight she hit an iceberg and five compartments started to flood. Two hours afterwards she sank. There were only enough lifeboats for half the passengers and about 1,500 people perished. In 1985 her wreck was identified by sonar 4,000 m down and explored using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Many objects from the wreck have been recovered.
"Queen Mary".
RMS "Queen Mary" was built in 1936 by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland for what is now the Cunard Line. She made runs across the Atlantic between Southampton, Cherbourg and New York City in partnership with "Queen Elizabeth". The "Queen Mary" was used as a troop ship in the Second World War, carrying 16,082 people on one voyage. After the war she resumed Atlantic runs but these became loss making. She was withdrawn from service in 1967 and is now in Long Beach California as a hotel and tourist attraction.
"Britannia".
HMY "Brittania" was the name given to two yachts owned by the British royal family. The last one of these was built in 1953 and served the British royal family for nearly 43 years. Britannia is 5862 tons with an overall length of . During her time in service she steamed 71 million miles. She has been preserved in port at Leith in Scotland. She was designed to be used as a hospital ship in time of war but did not undertake this role.
"Victory".
 was built between 1759 and 1765 at Chatham Dockyard with over 100 guns. She fought at Ushant in 1778 and 1781, and at Cape St. Vincent in 1796. "Victory" was reconstructed in 1798 with more guns and then fought at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Later she sailed on many naval expeditions. However, in 1889, "Victory" became home to the "Naval School of Telegraphy". She got into a poor state and was restored 1922–8. "Victory" is now in drydock at HMNB Portsmouth (Portsmouth Historic Dockyard), where she received some damage in the Second World War. "Victory" is still the flagship of the Second Sea Lord.
"Warrior".
 was built in 1860 in response to the French ship "La Gloire". She was the first iron-hulled ironclad, with three skins of iron, teak and iron. "Warrior" was broadside firing with 9 ton muzzle loading guns. She was described by Napoleon III as a "black snake amongst the rabbits". Her construction started a revolution in shipbuilding which meant that she was soon outclassed. She ended her days as an oil jetty at Pembroke Dock but was restored and has been on display since the 1980s at HMNB Portsmouth.
"Belfast".
 is a Town-class cruiser launched in 1938. At the start of the Second World War she was part of the force mounting a blockade on Germany. After sustaining mine damage she was reconstructed and became the heaviest cruiser of the class at 11553 tons. "Belfast" fought in the Battle of North Cape against the and took part in operations against . She was part of the bombardment force during the D-Day landings and later served in the Far East. "Belfast" also took part in the Korean War. "Belfast" was then modernised and went to the Far East again. She was paid off from the Royal Navy in 1963 and is now a museum ship on the River Thames at London.
Navigation.
Instruments and guides.
Between 1735 and 1760 John Harrison developed four types of marine chronometers for use at sea to allow accurate determination of longitude.
The gyrocompass was introduced in 1908.
Lighthouses.
The first offshore lighthouse was that built on the Eddystone Rocks in 1699. This was washed away in a great storm but a replacement was built. As its foundations were unsatisfactory it was taken down and rebuilt on Plymouth Hoe. The third lighthouse on the reef still stands. The first lightship was positioned at the Nore in 1732. Foghorns were incorporated in the 19th century to provide warning in low visibility. In the late 19th and early 20th century underwater bells were used as warning devices.
Navigation marks.
Trinity House of Deptford was founded in 1514 to look after navigation marks in the Thames Estuary. Similar organisations were founded at other places later. These were subsequently amalgamated and its authority was increased in 1836. Trinity House now looks after most of the marks in England and Wales, with the Northern Lighthouse Board in Scotland and the Commissioners of Irish Lights for the whole of Ireland.
Electronic navigation.
Ship's radar started to be used during WWII, though it was primarily for military use. After 1945 when it came off the secret list, it was used commercially by the merchant fleets. Radar is also used on land for monitoring the position of shipping, for example in the Strait of Dover which is the busiest area of sea in the world.
The Decca Navigator System was a hyperbolic radio navigation system for commercial use that was installed in the decades after WWII, when it had come off the secret list. It had been used to sweep and mark the channels for the D-Day invasion Operation Overloard. After the end of World War II the Decca Navigator Co. Ltd. was formed to enable commercial use, and the system expanded rapidly, particularly in areas of British influence. It gave unparalleled accuracy until the advent of GPS satellite-based systems. At its peak it was deployed in many of the world's major shipping areas. More than 15,000 receiving sets were in use aboard ships in 1970. There were 4 transmitting "chains" around England, 1 in Ireland and 2 in Scotland, 12 in Scandinavia and a number elsewhere in the world. It was only phased out after the USA GPS signals became available for public use in 2001.
Electronic echo sounding was introduced in the 1930s to determine water depth and was useful in shallow waters.
Safety and rescue.
Plimsoll line.
In the 19th century it was sometimes the practice to send heavily insured "coffin ships" to sea that were old, poorly maintained and overloaded. In 1868 Samuel Plimsoll became concerned by the scandal and published "Our Seamen" which revealed the situation. A load line (which became known as the Plimsoll Line) was required by the "Merchant Shipping Act" of 1876 but it was not until 1890 that the Board of Trade became responsible for determining where it should be.
Lifeboats.
There were some locally organised lifeboats in the 18th century, the first being in 1789 as a result of a tragic accident at the entrance to the River Tyne. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution was founded by Sir William Hillary in 1824 and is financed voluntarily. It maintains many lifeboats and lifeboat stations around the coast of Britain, the stations being run by paid engineers but mostly manned by local volunteers. An exception is the station at Spurn Head which is isolated so it is manned fully by paid crew. The boats were rowed with oars until the 1890s when steam-driven boats began to be introduced. Nowadays there are large diesel-driven offshore boats and small fast inshore boats. In some places hovercraft are used for rescues. The RNLI boats cooperate with the other rescue services, particularly the rescue helicopters.
Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency was formed in 1998 to look after safety in British waters. It coordinates the search rescue services and determines safety standards. It incorporated the Coastguard Agency, that had been formed from Her Majesty's Coastguard, and the Marine Safety Agency.
Ports and harbours.
Around the coast of Britain there are hundreds of ports and harbours, varying from the tiny (such as Porlock Weir) to the large (such as the Port of Felixstowe). Ships were also simply drawn up on beaches. Over the centuries the relative importance of each port and harbour has changed due to such factors as silting and trade alterations. In later periods deep water access has been a major factor in determining a port's success.
In the 18th century there were major harbour improvements with dredging of channels and construction of piers. Wet docks were built at London, Liverpool, Hull and Bristol.
London was still the largest port in the 19th century when new docks were built. Cardiff became a major coal exporting port after a railway link was built, as did other South Wales ports. The railways were responsible for developing new ports such as Newhaven as ferry terminals and the Manchester Ship Canal enabled Manchester to become a significant port though far inland.
When oil replaced coal after the First World War, coal ports like Cardiff declined. London, Southampton, Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow increased in trade during the inter-war years, and ferry ports such as Harwich and Dover grew. Oil terminals were built from the 1920s and the larger ships required new docks at existing ports. After the Second World War new cargo handling methods were introduced, such as pallets (1950), containerisation (1960s) and roll-on/roll-off ships. Dockers at some ports resisted this change so leading to the development of new facilities at ports such as Felixstowe and Tilbury.
Older port facilities became redundant and were redeveloped, such as Canary Wharf in London. In 1977 the major ports of Britain were London, Tees and Hartlepool, Grimsby and Immingham, Forth, and Milford Haven. Many of the small ports were redeveloped as marinas, such as Watchet.
Trade.
Goods.
The Navigation Ordinance of 1651 cut out Dutch shippers from English trade which led to war. In the 17th century trade expanded with imports of fish and sugar. Exports were of corn and manufactured goods. The Royal African Company had a monopoly of the African trade until 1712 but there was much privateering. Later a major part of this trade was in the "Triangular trade" which involved taking goods from Britain to West Africa, slaves from Africa to the West Indies and America, then sugar to Britain. The main ports involved were London, Bristol and Liverpool but there were many others, with a total of 11,615 sailings with 3.4 million slaves between 1662 and 1807. William Wilberforce and his supporters got the slave trade abolished in 1808 and subsequently the Royal Navy tried to suppress it.
In 1600 Queen Elizabeth had given the Honourable East India Company the right to trade east of the Cape of Good Hope. By 1804 the company's fleet from India was said to be worth £6M. The Virginia Company failed in 1624. The South Sea Company had been set up to trade in the Pacific but became involved in domestic politics. The Levant Company was set up to trade with Turkey.
The Industrial Revolution caused a large increase in shipping movements. Raw materials were imported and manufactured goods were exported. In addition there was a need for coal. In the 19th century Britain built up the largest merchant fleet in the world. Around half the ocean-going tonnage was under the Red Ensign.
Examinations for masters and mates of large merchant ships were introduced in 1845 for foreign-going ships and in 1854 for coastal ones. Engineers tickets were required after 1862. Logs were required to be kept after 1850.
In the First World War a fifth of Britain's pre-war merchant shipping had been sunk by 1917, including 1349 ships in August of that year. Most deep water ships were sunk by torpedoes while most coastal ones hit mines. The fleets of neutral countries had expanded and in the 1920s there was a slump in shipping. Development of refrigerated ships allowed the importation of lamb and other meats from places such as New Zealand. A large number of merchant ships were sunk in the Second World War, but Britain's fleet had expanded by the end due to new construction. In the 1950s "flags of Convenience" were taking an increasing share of world trade and the Eastern Bloc's shipping was expanding to earn foreign currency.
Excluding tankers and the US War Reserve, Britain still had the world's largest merchant fleet in 1957. However, since then there has been a sharp decline, partly because of "re-flagging" to cut costs. Britain now the world's fifth largest trading nation, exports 26% of its gross domestic product with 95% of this trade going by sea.
Passenger liners.
The first paddle steamer was used in 1793 and by 1821 there were services between Leith and London. The first British steamer to cross the Atlantic was the "Sirius" in 1838, closely followed by the "Great Western". The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company was originally set up to take passengers to Gibraltar and this was extended to India, the company eventually becoming "P&O". The "White Star Line" originally concentrated on the emigrant trade but had fast liners after 1871. During wartime the liners were used as troop ships. Southampton became the main passenger port because of its deep harbour with four tides.
Emigration/deportation.
Some 20,000 people emigrated from Britain to North America in the 20 years after the Mayflower's voyage. After the loss of the American Colonies, Britain used Australia as a penal colony. The First Fleet in 1787 consisted of 1,200 people including 780 convicts. After the Second World War emigrants travelled by sea to the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Ferries and cruise boats.
Ferries operate across the English Channel, the Irish Sea, to the Isle of Man, to the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly and to many Scottish islands. Ships have probably sailed these routes since prehistoric times. However, regular ferry services (apart from Mersey Ferry which started in 1200s) only started in the 18th century. On the Isle of Man route, sailing ships were used until 1830 but steamships proved faster and more reliable. The ferry trade expanded with the advent of roll-on/roll-off ship designs. The ferries across the English Channel were badly affected by the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994.
Cruise boats became popular in the 19th century. They operated from beaches in Dorset and Devon, and from Liverpool to North Wales. They also operated in the River Clyde, Thames and Bristol Channel. A paddle steamer, the "Waverley" built in 1946, is still running, making trips for example to Lundy.
Customs men and smugglers.
Customs duties are payable on specified goods imported or exported. The range of goods on which there are charges has varied over time. Customs men were put into the various ports and they tried to keep watch over the adjoining coasts. These boards were combined as the "Board of Customs and Excise" (later "Her Majesty's Customs and Excise", which was formed in 1909, and became part of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in 2005.
In the 18th and 19th centuries there was extensive smuggling by sea from the continent to Britain because of the high duty on luxury goods. The later was to finance the wars with France and the United States. Silks, spirits and tobacco came from France while gin came from the Netherlands. Revenue cutters were used to try and intercept the smugglers but with little success. After the Napoleonic Wars there was surplus manpower that was used to try and suppress smuggling. In certain areas (such as in Kent and Cornwall) smuggling was for many communities more economically significant than legal activities such as farming or fishing.
Fishing.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries herring fishing was a major activity in Britain. Herring fishing stopped in England and Wales during the 1960s but continued in Scotland until 1977/8. In 1937 the herring catch at Yarmouth dropped dramatically, then that at Lowestoft declined.
Trawling has also been a major activity, with the use of radio navigation aids and echo sounders making life easier now. Fishing in waters off Iceland became important, which led to three "Cod Wars" from the 1950s to the 1970s. British boats were excluded from Icelandic waters in 1976. In 1977 a fishing limit was set up by the European Economic Community, and British waters were opened to other Community members. This led to overfishing. Landings decreased 28% between 1967 and 1997, with fishing now mainly off Scotland.
Other sorts of fishing also take place on a commercial basis such as for crab, lobster, shellfish and mackerel. Sport fishing is popular from coasts and boats, including for shark off south west England.
In the past local conditions led to the development of a wide range of types of fishing boats. The bawley and the smack were used in the Thames Estuary and off East Anglia, while trawlers and drifters were used on the east coast. In 1870 paddle tugs were being used to tow luggers and smacks to sea. Steam trawlers were introduced in 1881, mainly at Grimsby and Hull. The steam drifter was not used in the herring fishery until 1897. In 1890 it was estimated that there were 20,000 men on the North Sea. The first trawlers fished over the side but in 1961 the first stern trawler was used at Lowestoft for fishing in Arctic waters. By 1981 only 27 of 130 deep sea trawlers were still going to sea. Many were converted to oil rig safety vessels. However the "inshore" boats landed a greater weight of fish even in 1973.
Herring fishing started in the Moray Firth in 1819. The peak of the fishing at Aberdeen was in 1937 with 277 steam trawlers, though the first diesel drifter was introduced in 1926.
Energy.
Gas and oil.
The first British tanker was launched in 1886 and could carry 1,950 tons of oil. By 1961 the typical tanker was around 80,000 tons which grew to over 100,000 tons by 1967 and to over 250,000 tons by 1973. By 1965 BP had 170 tankers.
The gas fields in the North Sea have been in production since the 1960s while oil was discovered off Scotland in 1975. This led to the development of several support bases in Scotland. Platform construction has declined since 1985. The imminent decline of North Sea gas has led to the construction of liquid gas tankers and import facilities at Milford Haven.
Oil spills.
There have been a number of major oil spills around the coast of Britain. The wreck of the Torrey Canyon in March 1967 resulted in the first major oil spill. The ship grounded on the Seven Stones reef between Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The ship was bombed to break it up and detergent used to disperse the 700 km² oil slick. It is estimated that 15,000 birds were killed and there was also a large effect on marine life. As a result of this incident many lessons were learned on how to handle such problems and it led to changes in regulations. The grounding of MV Braer in January 1993 in Shetland led to the loss of 84,700 tons of light crude oil. There was again a large effect on wildlife, both birds and mammals. Because of the stormy conditions, the oil slick became broken up and had dispersed by October 1994. The Sea Empress hit a rock off Milford Haven in February 1996. Some 730,00 tons of oil were spilt, resulting in an estimated 5,000 birds being killed with much oil being washed up on beaches. It is estimated that the cost of the spill was £60 million.
Offshore wind farms.
Britain started installing wind farms off shore in the year 2000. By February 2007 this had reached 2 GW capacity though its average output was much less. It could provide up to 1.5% of the United Kingdom's electricity. The capacity of offshore wind farms exceeds that of the onshore ones and is expected to rise over the coming years with many proposals being made.
Coast.
The coastline of the United Kingdom is constantly changing by erosion and deposition of materials. One area suffering from major erosion is the east coast of England, where in particular the town of Dunwich has been swallowed by the sea. At one time it was one of the largest ports in England but is completely gone. Another place that was largely destroyed is Hallsands, which was hit by storms in 1917, its defences having been removed by offshore dredging. Many beaches have had groynes constructed on them to control the movement of material.
Some areas of the UK are now under threat from rising sea levels while in the past the North Sea, Bristol Channel and English Channel have been flooded. The land is also still recovering from the deposition of ice on northern parts in the last ice age. Thus southern England is sinking while Scotland is rising. In some cases it has been decided to not defend areas against sea encroachments in storms, such as in Porlock bay, while valuable areas are being protected. The Thames Barrier was completed in 1994 to prevent flooding in the upper Thames estuary.
Leisure activities.
Resorts.
In the 18th century people began visiting places on the coast of Britain for pleasure. Initially this was for medical reasons but became popular when King George III made Weymouth his summer home around 1800 and later King George IV built a palace at Brighton. Many resorts such as Blackpool became popular when they were linked by railways to the big conurbations. More recently there has been a decline in popularity of British resorts due to the advent of cheap package holidays abroad with their better weather.
Rowing, yachting and power boats.
Offshore rowing races are popular in the southwest of England using gigs based on those originally used in the Isles of Scilly for pilotage and attending wrecks as well as smuggling. These are six oared vessels up to about 10 m long with nearly a 2 m beam.
Many yacht club "one designs" were popular between 1920 and 1960, such as the Salcombe yawl which was later built in plastic as the Devon yawl. Later more widespread dinghy designs became more popular, such as the "Enterprise" introduced in 1960. In the late 19th and early part of the 20th century great yachts such as the J-class were built, including "Shamrock V" constructed to attempt to win the America's Cup which originated in 1851. Cowes Week has been held since 1826 and includes a race around the Isle of Wight. The Fastnet race was first sailed in 1925. The first single-handed circumnavigation by a Briton was by John Gusswell between 1955 and 1959, while the first Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race was held in 1960 and won by Francis Chichester. The first nonstop circumnavigation race in 1968 was won by Robin Knox-Johnston, while the first "wrong way" circumnavigation was by Chay Blyth in 1970. A Round Britain Single Handed Race was instituted in 1966. A sailing speed world record of was set at Portland by a catamaran in 1980.
Frederick W. Lanchester built the first power boat in 1898 using a , water-cooled engine. Since then power boats have been used as run-abouts and for racing, as well as for water-skiing. Both inboard and outboard engines are used. The British Power Boat Company built many power boats between 1927 and 1946 including Miss Britain III and PT9 that became the basis of Motor Torpedo Boats and the US PT boats during the Second World War. The power speed record rose from in 1930 to in 1939. After the war the record speed rose again with runs by Donald Campbell, who was killed during an attempt on the record in 1967.
Marinas.
The increasing popularity of yachting and power boating has led to the creation of many purpose-built marinas and the conversion of existing harbours. See List of marinas#United Kingdom for those in the United Kingdom.
Marine science.
Hydrographics.
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (first the Admiralty then the Ministry of Defence) is responsible for publishing navigational nautical charts in Britain, now with worldwide cover. It also produces related publications. Originally based in London, it moved to Taunton in the Second World War. The Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty was set up in 1795 and had seven vessels by 1820. One of its chief interests was in finding a Northwest Passage around Canada. The first catalogue of charts was produced in 1825. The hydrographic squadron still forms part of the Royal Navy.
Oceanography.
One of the first scientific articles on oceanography was by James Cook who included information on the oceans in his report on his voyages between 1768 and 1779. James Rennell wrote the first textbooks about currents in the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean around 1800. Sir James Clark Ross took the first sounding in the deep sea in 1840 and Charles Darwin published a paper on reefs and atolls as a result of the second voyage of in 1831–6. The Royal Society sponsored the expedition (1872–76) that resulted in a 50 volume report, covering biological, physical and geological aspects. The 1910 North Atlantic expedition headed by Sir John Murray and Johan Hjort resulted in the classic book "The Depths of the Oceans".
The National Oceanographic Laboratory (later the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences) was set up at Godalming but was transferred to the Southampton Oceanographic Centre in 1994. The latter was renamed the National Oceanographic Centre. It operates a number of vessels that undertake exploratory cruises as well as various unmanned vehicles and buoys.
Maritime studies.
Colleges.
A number of places in the UK provide facilities for the study of the various aspects of seamanship, such as Orkney College. These courses lead to Certificates of Competency for particular jobs. Other places, such as Liverpool John Moores University, provide more academic courses on mercantile practice, ship design and operation. The University of Exeter is one of those places that has specialised in maritime history.
Admiralty law.
Admiralty law governing relations between entities that operate vessels on the oceans is dealt with by special courts. There was a High Court of Admiralty in London and Vice Admiral's Courts in other ports. Originally they dealt with administrative and naval matters but then included piracy cases (from 1700). By the 16th century they had wide powers but these were later reduced until restored in the 19th century. Trade disputes generally are dealt with by the commercial court. The admiralty laws were a prominent feature in causing the American Revolution.
Law of the sea.
This is a body of law governing international relations at sea. There have been three United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea - in 1956, 1960 and 1967 - which have been ratified by Britain. The last one came into force in 1994.
Ship design.
Originally ship design, or naval architecture, was by the skill of the shipwright only. In the 16th century shipwrights were authorised by the crown and under Henry VII a list of master shipwrights was produced. A treatise on ship design was written in the 16th century. A school of naval architecture was set up at Portsmouth in 1811. Nowadays ship design can be studied at a number of colleges in Britain. The professional body for ship designers in Britain is the Royal Institution of Naval Architects
Maritime museums.
The main maritime museum in Britain is the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. However, there are nearly 300 smaller ones (including ships) at various ports around Britain. These include museums at Kingston upon Hull, Hartlepool and the oldest Merseyside Maritime Museum at the Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool as well as HMNB Portsmouth. These provide much information on the maritime history of Britain.
Maritime archaeology.
Maritime archaeology is important in Britain because of the large number of shipwrecks around the coast and because of the large areas off the coast that have been submerged by rising sea levels. The archaeology of shipwrecks covers sites from the Bronze Age onward. Many artifacts have been obtained from the southern North Sea, for example. A recent find on the coast was Seahenge. The subject can be studied at universities in Bristol, Bournemouth and Southampton while English Heritage is also interested.
Maritime subjects in the Arts.
Art.
Many works of Marine art have been produced by British artists and on British maritime topics. One of the best known paintings in Britain is "The Fighting Temeraire" by J. M. W. Turner that hangs in London's National Gallery. A lot of seaside resorts have art galleries selling marine subjects.
In addition there is art produced by the sailors themselves, such as scrimshaw.
Literature.
Britain has had many authors who wrote on marine topics, the sailing era being a popular period. Joseph Conrad, who was born in Poland in 1857, came to Britain in 1878 and was naturalised in 1886. He undertook a voyage in a collier and then a wool clipper, obtaining a master's ticket in 1887. His last voyage in 1916 was in a Q-ship during the war. Conrad wrote many stories based on his experiences, such as "Lord Jim". Basil Lubbock went out to the Klondike and then sailed back from San Francisco on a grain ship. From this he wrote "Round the Horn before the Mast" describing the life of an ordinary seaman. After settling down in England he collected facts on sailing ships and wrote books about them. Alan Villiers first sailed in a British square rigger and then in Danish ones. He bought a small Danish fully rigged ship and sailed around the world. After his return he wrote books about square riggers. Many works of fiction have also been written, perhaps the most famous being the series on Horatio Hornblower by C. S. Forester.
Music.
There are a large number of sea shanties that have been collected, many by Cecil Sharp at Watchet.


Ottoman Delphi

The Ottomans finalized their domination over Phocis and Delphi in ca. 1410. Delphi itself remained almost uninhabited for centuries. It seems that one of the first buildings of the early modern era was the monastery of the Dormition of Mary or of Panagia (the Mother of God) built above the ancient gymnasium. It must have been towards the end of the 15th or in the 16th century that a settlement started forming there, which eventually ended up forming the village of Kastri.
Cyriacus of Ancona and his description.
The first Westerner to have described the archaeological remains in Delphi and offered a rare view of the area for a period relatively unknown was Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli otherwise known as Cyriacus of Ancona. He was a remarkable personality, a genuine representative of Renaissance. He was originally a merchant, yet when he came across antiquities during his travels he became so impressed that he decided to learn ancient Greek and Latin at the age of 30, and then went on to a series of travels aiming at archaeological investigation and documentation, while undertaking various diplomatic missions, particularly to the Ottoman court. Cyriacus visited Delphi in March 1436 and remained there for six days. He recorded all the visible archaeological remains based on Pausanias for identification. He described the stadium and the theatre at that date as well as some free standing pieces of sculpture. He also recorded several inscriptions, most of which are now lost. His identifications however were not always correct: for example he described a round building he saw as the temple of Apollo while this was simply the base of the Argives' ex-voto.
Information for the following two centuries of Ottoman rule is relatively sparse and confused. Delphi was renamed Kastri and was subjected to the kaza (district) of Salona (Amphissa). We also know that the destructive earthquake of 1580 caused severe damage to the antiquities.
The European travelers.
Over the centuries the travelers from European countries increased and thus information on Delphi became more abundant. One of the roads which connected eastern and western Central Greece continued to pass from Delphi and thus many travelers coming from the West disembarked at Itea or Naupaktos and then took the long up the mountains passing from Delphi, usually on horseback.
From the mid-17th century onwards such visits became more frequent, as the fashion of traveling and collecting antiquities became so popular in Europe. Two renowned visitors of Delphi in those days were
Sir George Wheler and Jacob Spon, who passed by in January 1676. The first building which attracted their attention was the monastery of Panagia built in “Marmaria”. It was an annex of the Monastery of Jerusalem situated in Davleia in Boeotia and stood there until its demolition during the Great Excavation at Delphi. In this monastery sojourned many of the travelers, who usually mention the good wine offered to them by the monks.
In 1766 came to Delphi a group of three men, namely the Oxford epigraphist Richard Chandler, the architect Nicholas Revett, and the painter William Pars, in the course of an expedition funded by the Society of Dilettanti, which promoted the study and collection of Greco-Roman antiquities. Their studies were published in 1769 under the title “Ionian Antiquities” followed by a collection of inscriptions as well as by two travelogues, one about Asia Minor (1775) and one about Greece (1776). Apart from the antiquities, they also related some vivid descriptions of daily life in Kastri, such as the crude behaviour of the Turco-Albanians who guarded the mountain passes.
In 1805 Edward Dodwell visited Delphi, accompanied by the painter Simone Pomardi. His descriptions and are the fine engravings by Pomardi, which decorated their book, published in 1819, constitute a valuable source on daily life in Kastri and Amphissa. For example, he describes a dinner at Chrisso or the hospitality offered to him and his companion by the priest of Kastri in a single-roomed house without ventilation for the escape of the smoke coming out of the hearth. The family used to live all together, without any sense of privacy.
A travelling destination such as Delphi naturally attracted the great Philhellene Lord Byron, who visited in 1809, accompanied by his friend John Cam Hobhouse. The poet was inspired by this visit to write -among other things- the following verses:
Yet there I've wandered by the vaulted rill;

Yes! Sighed o'er Delphi's long deserted shrine,

where, save that feeble fountain, all is still.
At the same time he noticed the signatures of other visitors on the ancient columns, in second use at the monastery of Panagia; among these was the signature of Lord Aberdeen (later Prime Minister), whom Byron accused, as he did with Lord Elgin, for the mutilation and steeling of antiquities. His disgust, however, did not prevent him from leaving his own signature on the marble of the same column, nowadays standing in the Gymnasium at Delphi.
The first decades of the Greek state.
After the foundation of the modern Greek state following the Greek War of Independence, the care for antiquities was a primary concern in the country. Several sculptures found in situ in Delphi were transported to the first museum founded by governor Capodistria in Aegina. However, there was a demand for creating a museum in Delphi itself. Plans for the excavation of the entire area existed since the 1860s, but the poverty of the Greek state made this impossible. Meanwhile, the foreign travelers continued to visit Delphi, among them the French poet and author Gustave Flaubert, who visited the site in 1851. The increasing numbers and influence of visitors possibly contributed to the final achievement of a deal between the French and Greek state, which ended up in the expropriation of the village Kastri, the relocation of the inhabitants and the implementation of the Great Excavation in Delphi.
Bibliography.
Elliot, C.W.J., “Lord Byron, Early Travelers and the Monastery at Delphi”, AJA 1967, 283–291, πιν. 85-86


Margaret of Burgundy, Countess of Savoy

Marguerite of Burgundy (referred to as Anne by some sources; 1192–1243), was, by marriage, Countess of Savoy from 1233 until her death. She was the youngest daughter of Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy, and his second wife, Béatrice of Albon.
Around 1217, she married Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy. As dowry, she brought Miribel castle, Ornacieux castle, and other properties in Viennois territory. The marriage was agreed to as part of a treaty between the families, including terms not to acquire further territories within each other's dominions. She and her new husband were also designated as heirs for her brother Guigues VI of Viennois after any children of his. However, this peace between the families did not last long, with conflict resuming by 1228.
She also personally inherited some money upon the death of her mother. The 1267 will of her nephew Guigues VII of Viennois confirmed donations of property which she had made.
Marguerite and Amadeus had two daughters:
Note that some scholars are unclear on Marguerite's given name. A book about the house of Savoy at this time mentions the debate regarding her name, but finds a source which Cox finds settles the debate.


Treaty of Xanten

The Treaty of Xanten () was signed in the Lower Rhine town of Xanten on 12 November 1614 between Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, with representatives from England and France serving as mediators. The accord officially ended the War of the Jülich Succession and divided the Cleves–Jülich territory between Wilhelm and Sigismund.
Terms.
The treaty ended the War of the Jülich Succession and all hostilities between Wolfgang Wilhelm and John Sigismund. Based on the terms of the treaty, the territories of Jülich-Berg and Ravenstein went to Wolfgang Wilhelm and the territories of Cleves-Mark and Ravensberg went to John Sigismund. These last territories were the first provinces at the Rhine and in Westphalia to be governed by the House of Hohenzollern, and were the oldest constituents of the future Prussian Rhineland and the future Province of Westphalia.


Haemus

In Greek mythology, King Haemus (; , "Haîmos") of Thrace, was the son of Boreas, the north wind.
Mythology.
Haemus was vain and haughty and compared himself and his wife, Queen Rhodope, to Zeus and Hera. The gods changed him and his wife into mountains (respectively Haemus Mons, now known as the Balkan Mountains, and the Rhodope Mountains). In ancient Greek, the Balkan Peninsula was thus known as the "Peninsula of Haemus" (), a name which retains some currency in modern Greek.
Another classic etymology derives the name 'Haemos' from the myth about the fight of Zeus and the dragon Typhon:


Palazzo Chiablese

The Palazzo Chiablese is a wing of the Royal Palace of Turin, in Northwest Italy.
It was the residence of the Duke of Chablais first and then of Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia, and Ferdinando, Duke of Genoa. Today it is home to a cultural collection honouring the history of Piedmont. It is open to the public Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 4 pm to 8pm and during press conferences, cultural events, concerts.
History.
Located in "Piazza San Giovanni", the Palazzo Chiablese is part of the Royal Palace of Turin which was a residence of the Kings of Sardinia. As an extension of the palace, it was the home of Maurice of Savoy and his wife Luisa Christina of Savoy before they moved to the "Vigna di Madama" outside the capital. It was then used as offices by the court.
From 1753, it served as the residence of Benedetto of Savoy, son of Charles Emmanuel III and Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine. Consequently, it was named after his courtesy title of Duke of Chablais.
Chablais carried out various improvements to the interior of the palace under the direction of Benedetto Alfieri, a popular Savoyard architect of the era. After the death of Chablais it was the home of his wife Maria Anna of Savoy who willed it to her brother Charles Felix, Duke of Genoa who lived there with his wife Princess Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily. The former died here in 1831. The building was the seat of the provisional government of France during the Napoleonic occupation. It was the home of Camillo Borghese and his wife Pauline Bonaparte.
Restored to the House of Savoy, it was later the birthplace of Margherita of Savoy, daughter of the Duke of Genoa and later Queen of Italy as wife of Umberto I.
A century later the palace was bombed during World War II, which caused considerable damage and many furnishings and decorative elements were lost. The property passed to the State in the 1950s and it was then used as the Superintendence headquarters. Later on the palace was converted to provide the dormitories, kitchens and facilities for the pupils of the Istituto Nazionale per le Figlie dei Militari Italiani (National Institute for Italian Soldiers' Daughters) which was installed there.
Until 1995 it was home to the city's cinema archive when it became the home of the "Soprintendenza per i Beni Ambientali, Architettonici e Archeologici" – The "General Directorate for the scenery, fine arts, architecture and contemporary art". It is closed to the public except on special occasions.


Callanafersy

Callanafersy is a stone ringfort (cashel) and National Monument located in County Kerry, Ireland.
Location.
Callanafersy is north of Killorglin.
History.
The cashel was built around the 7th century AD as a defended farmstead.
Description.
This is a circular stone ringfort ("caiseal").


Sven-Bertil Taube

Sven-Bertil Gunnar Evert Taube (born 24 November 1934) is a Swedish singer and actor. Born in Stockholm, he is the son of songwriter Evert Taube and sculptor Astri Taube.
Biography.
At age 14, Taube began playing guitar. While traveling throughout Europe, he developed an interest in folklore and folk music. He performed in concerts on Swedish radio while a student at the Royal Beskow School in Stockholm.
Taube graduated in 1954 from the Cherry Lawn School in Darien, Connecticut. While he was a student at the school, Folkways Records invited him to record an album of Swedish folk songs.
Taube has been married four times, and has four children, born in 1960, 1965, 1979, and 1994. He belongs to an untitled branch of the Baltic German noble Taube family, introduced at the Swedish House of Nobility in 1668 as noble family No. 734.
Musical career.
Taube released his first album in 1954; it included a cover of one of his father's songs. He has since released many albums which include songs written by his father. Several of his most well-known versions of Evert Taube songs come from albums recorded in the 1970s, but he recorded more of them at later stages, including his 2007 album "Alderville Road". Referring to that album, reviewer Peter Dahlgren said, "Evert had the yarns and Sven-Bertil had the voice."
He has recorded songs from both "Fredman's Epistles" and "Fredman's Songs" by the popular Swedish 18th-century songwriter Carl Michael Bellman, Paul Britten Austin wrote in his 1967 biography of Bellman that Sven-Bertil Taube's two Bellman albums (released in 1960 and 1963) "have sold more copies than any other disc, popular or classical, ever released in Sweden". Göran Forsling wrote that Taube helped to start "a new era in Bellman interpretation around 1960", like Fred Åkerström giving the songs "a hitherto unheard earthbound realism".
Taube recorded work by the poet Nils Ferlin (1898–1961), whose poems were mostly put to music by Lille Bror Söderlundh. Taube also recorded an album with songs by the Swedish songwriter and musician Ulf Peder Olrog, one with Swedish translations of songs by French songwriter Léo Ferré, and one with Swedish translations of songs by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis.
Acting career.
Taube also started an acting career that took him to London, where he performed in theater and musicals, notably as Prince Albert in "I and Albert".
He won a role on the television series "Upstairs, Downstairs". In the 1970s, Taube tried to find work as a film actor, and had some minor roles, most notably in the 1976 World War II drama "The Eagle Has Landed"
and a starring role as a US agent in the 1971 film version of Alistair MacLean's novel "Puppet on a Chain".
During the 1980s and 1990s, Taube starred in a number of Swedish films and television series, while keeping his music career alive.
Taube starred in the Swedish film version of Stieg Larsson's novel,
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", in the role of Henrick Vanger. The film was released in early 2010. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Guldbagge Award for his role in the film.


Dudelange Castle

The ruins of Dudelange Castle () are located on Mont St Jean, a forested hill to the west of Dudelange in the south of Luxembourg. The castle was completed in the early 16th century but was destroyed in 1552.
History.
While the site of the ruins bears traces of Gallo-Roman structures, the first evidence of a castle in the area is in Dudelange itself where a castle belonging to the Lords of Gymnich was destroyed around 1400 by Robert de Bar. At the beginning of the 15th century, work began on building a fortified castle which was completed early in the 16th century with Gothic and Renaissance influences. The finely cut stones and sculptures show how much the lords of Gynmich, Boulay, Neufchâtel, Hunolstein and Isembourg invested in their luxurious fortress. However from 1542 the castle was taken and retaken when Francis I and Henry II of France were at war with Emperor Charles V. In 1552, the castle was destroyed and deprived of any strategic value. Thereafter the ruins were used as a quarry for the surrounding villages.
Since the 1970s, the "Amis de l’Histoire de Dudelange et du Mont Saint-Jean" (Friends of the History of Dudelange and Mont St. Jean) have explored the ruins, discovering the foundations of several towers, the palace, living quarters, stables and outhouses. Three wells and a reservoir were partly unearthed. The ditches and the entrance to the castle can still be seen.


Bratnia Pomoc

Bratnia Pomoc (English: "Brotherly Help"), also known as Bratniak, was a popular Polish students’ mutual aid organization. The first branch of Bratniak was created in 1859 at the Jagiellonian University. Thirty years later, in 1889, another branch was opened at the University of Warsaw.
History.
Bratnia Pomoc was originally aimed at helping less affluent students by providing them with loans and scholarships. In addition, its members also organized cheap cafeterias for those who could not afford more expensive food. The Brotherly Help also contributed to the efforts to educate the populations of Polish towns and villages and to hinder their Russification and Germanisation.
In the interbellum period, Bratnia Pomoc maintained offices at most Polish colleges and universities, including University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University and Jan Kazimierz University of Lwów. Outside of Poland, the organization was also active on the territory of the Free City of Gdańsk, assisting students of the present day Gdańsk University of Technology, at the time "Technische Hochschule der Freien Stadt Danzig". Most branches of Bratniak, however, were in the 1930s dominated by the nationalist Academic Union “All Polish Youth”.
During the Second World War, under the Nazi German occupation, Bratniak branches functioned at the illegal, underground Polish universities.
After the war, Brotherly Help existed until the early fifties, when it was first politicized and subsequently dissolved and replaced by the communist Zrzeszenie Studentów Polskich (Association of Polish Students). Bratnia Pomoc in its traditional, non-communist form was recreated after 1989.


Katowice Forum

The Katowice Forum (Polish: "Katowickie Forum" ("Partyjne")) was a group of hardline Polish United Workers Party members affiliated with the PUWP Voivoidship committee in Katowice, that during the 1980-1981 political crisis advocated pro-Soviet views. On May 28, 1981 the forum published an attack on Kania's policies, warning of the “effects of Trotskyite-Zionism, nationalism, clericalism and anti-Sovietism”. TASS reported positively on the article. The de facto leader of the Forum was Wsiewołod Wołczew.


List of castles in Luxembourg

By some optimistic estimates, there are as many as 130 castles in Luxembourg but more realistically there are probably just over a hundred, although many of these could be considered large residences or manor houses rather than castles.
The present list of castles in Luxembourg runs to about 50 and includes all the well-known fortresses and residential chateaux in the country. Below the main list, there is a sublist mentioning some of the other castles which may be included at a later date.
Sublist.
This is a list of less important castles or castles which are not yet covered by articles in the English Wikipedia.


Coat of arms of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship

The coat of arms of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship is a crowned white eagle in the red field with a golden band ending with a three-leafed triangle over the wings, with the same beak, tongue, and claws. The crown on the head of the eagle: gothic, open.
The coat of arms was established by a resolution of the Voivodship Sejm on 24 May 1999.
The authors of the coat of arms are Wojciech Drelicharz and Zenon Piech from the Department of History Auxiliary Sciences of the Jagiellonian University. The artwork was prepared by Barbara Widłak.
This coat of arms refers to the coat of arms of the Cracow Voivodeship of the First Republic of Poland, which was created already during the reign of Casimir III the Great in the 14th century. The stylization of the eagle refers to the Renaissance form when the coat of arms of the voivodeship began to be distinguished from the state one.
Gallery.
Cities and towns.
Eagle of Lesser Poland on coats of arms of Polish cities and towns:


Duchy of Siewierz

The Duchy of Siewierz was a Silesian duchy with its capital in Siewierz. The area was part of the original Duchy of Silesia established after the death of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1138 during the times of the fragmentation of Poland.
Siewierz in Upper Silesia was ruled by the Silesian Piasts as part of the Duchy of Bytom under Duke Casimir. In 1312 he granted the town to his youngest son Mieszko, who renounced it in favour of his brother Władysław. In 1337 it was acquired by Casimir I, Duke of Cieszyn, whose scion Wenceslaus I sold it to the Archbishop of Kraków in 1443. Zygmunt Gloger in his book "Historical geography of lands of ancient Poland" ("Geografia historyczna ziem dawnej Polski"), published in 1900, writes that the Duchy of Siewierz belonged to Lesser Poland, after it was bought by the Archbishops of Kraków.
Since 1443, after its acquisition by Archbishop Zbigniew Cardinal Oleśnicki for 6,000 silver groats, it was, alongside the Duchy of Nysa, the only ecclesiastical duchy in the region (ruled by a bishop of the Catholic Church). On many levels this tiny principality was almost a 'country within a country': it had its own laws, treasury and army.
The junction of the duchy with Lesser Poland was concluded when in 1790 the Great Sejm formally incorporated the Duchy as a Land of the Polish Crown into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the course of the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, the duchy and its adjacent regions were annexed by Prussia and incorporated into the new province of New Silesia. In 1800 the Kraków bishops moved their residence away from Siewierz.
Temporarily recreated in 1807 by Napoleon as a gift for his ally Jean Lannes within the Duchy of Warsaw, after the 1815 Congress of Vienna the lands became part of Congress Poland under Imperial Russian rule. In 1918, Siewierz became part of the Second Polish Republic, from 1939 to 1945 it was occupied by Nazi Germany. The bishops of Kraków continued to use the title of a "Prince of Siewierz" until the death of Adam Stefan Sapieha in 1951. The Dukes of Montebello claim the title "prince de Sievers", due to their descent from Marshall Lannes, but without recognition from the French or Polish States.


History of Monaco

The early history of Monaco is primarily concerned with the protective and strategic value of the Rock of Monaco, the area's chief geological landmark, which served first as a shelter for ancient peoples and later as a fortress. Part of Liguria's history since the fall of the Roman Empire, from the 14th to the early 15th century the area was contested for primarily political reasons. Since that point, excepting a brief period of French occupation, it has remained steadily under the control of the House of Grimaldi.
Early history and Ligurian settlement.
Grimaldi Man lived here from about 30,000 years ago.
According to the accounts of historian Diodorus Siculus and geographer Strabo, the area's first permanent settlers were the mountain-dwelling Ligures, who emigrated from their native city of Genoa, Italy. However, the ancient Ligurian language, which probably was Indo-European, is not directly connected to the Italian dialect spoken by the modern inhabitants of Liguria, nor to the modern Monegasque language.
Phoenician colonization and Melqart.
The Phoenicians were the first commercial navigators who found refuge in the Port of Monaco from the mistral of the sea. The Port and Rock of Monaco were consecrated by the Phoenicians in the name of their deity Melqart. After the Phoenicians, the Greeks, with their poetical imagination, rewrote the progress and conquests of the early Phoenicians as the journeys and labors of Hercules.
Greek colonization and Herculean legend.
During the 6th-century BC, Phocaeans from Massalia (modern day Marseille) founded the colony of Monoikos. The name of the colony derives from the local veneration of the Greek demigod Hercules, also later adopted by the Romans, who was said to have constructed the ancient path that passed through the region from Spain to Italy. The Roman emperor Julian also wrote of Hercules's construction of Monaco's port and a coastal road. The road was dotted with altars to Hercules, and a temple dedicated to him was established on the Rock of Monaco. The name Port Hercules was subsequently used for the ancient port. "Monoeci" meaning "Single One" or "Monoikos" meaning "Single House" could be a reference to Hercules or his temple, or the isolated community inhabiting the area around the rock.
According to the "travels of Hercules" theme, also documented by Diodorus Siculus and Strabo, both Greeks and native Ligurian people asserted that Hercules passed through the area.
Roman rule.
After the Gallic Wars, "Monoecus", which served as a stopping-point for Julius Caesar on his way to campaign in Greece, fell under Roman control as part of the Maritime Alps province (Gallia Transalpina).
The Roman poet Virgil called it "that castled cliff, Monoecus by the sea" ("Aeneid", VI.830). The commentator Servius's use of the passage (in R. Maltby, "Lexicon of Ancient Latin Etymologies," Leeds) asserts, under the entry "portus," that the epithet was derived:
No temple to Hercules has been found at Monaco (see also Lucan 1.405.), although the rocky ground and dense conurbation make future excavations unlikely.
The port is mentioned in Pliny the Elder's "Natural History" (III.v) and in Tacitus's "Histories" (III.42), when Fabius Valens was forced to put into the port ("Fabius Valens e sinu Pisano segnitia maris aut adversante vento portum Herculis Monoeci depellitur").
Middle ages to the Genoese.
Monaco remained under Roman control until the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476. The city was then under the domain of Odoacer until his fall at the hands of the Ostrogoths in the late 5th century. Monaco was recaptured by the Romans during the reign of Justinian in the mid-6th century and was held until its capture by the Lombards in the 7th century. Monaco then passed hands between the Lombards and Franks. Though these raids left the area almost entirely depopulated, the Saracens were expelled in 975, and by the 11th century the area was again populated by Ligurians.
In 1191, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI granted suzerainty over the area to the city of Genoa, the native home of the Ligurians. On 10 June 1215, a detachment of Genoese Ghibellines led by Fulco del Cassello began the construction of a fortress atop the Rock of Monaco. This date is often cited as the beginning of Monaco's modern history.
As the Ghibellines intended their fortress to be a strategic military stronghold and center of control for the area, they set about creating a settlement around the base of the Rock to support the garrison; in an attempt to lure residents from Genoa and the surrounding cities, they offered land grants and tax exemption to new settlers.
Rise of the Grimaldis.
The Grimaldis, descended from Otto Canella and taking their name from his son Grimaldo, were an ancient and prominent Guelphic Genoese family.
Members of this family, in the course of the civil strife in Genoa between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, took refuge in Monaco, accompanied by various other Guelphic families, most notably the Fieschis.
Francesco Grimaldi seized the Rock of Monaco in 1297, starting the Grimaldi dynasty, under the sovereignty of the Republic of Genoa. The Grimaldis acquired Menton in 1346 and Roquebrune in 1355, enlarging their possessions. In 1338 Monegasque ships under the command of Carlo Grimaldi participated, along with those of France and Genoa, in the English Channel naval campaign. Plunder from the sack of Southampton was brought back to Monaco, contributing to the principality's prosperity.
Honoré II, Prince of Monaco secured recognition of his independent sovereignty from Spain in 1633, and then from Louis XIII of France by the Treaty of Péronne (1641). Since then the area has remained under the control of the Grimaldi family to the present day, except when under French control during the French revolution from 1793 to May 17, 1814, as part of the "département" of Alpes-Maritimes.
Protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
The principality was re-established in 1814, only to be designated a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Monaco remained in this position until 1860, when by the Treaty of Turin, Sardinia ceded to France the surrounding county of Nice (as well as Savoy).
With the protectorate, that lasted nearly half a century, Italian was the official language of Monaco. The Monégasque dialect is closer to Ligurian than French, but influenced by both.
During this time there was unrest in the towns of Menton and Roquebrune, which declared independence, hoping for annexation by Sardinia and participation in the Italian Risorgimento. The unrest continued until the ruling prince gave up his claim to the two towns (some 95% of the country), and they were ceded to France in return for four million francs. This transfer and Monaco's sovereignty was recognised by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861.
19th century.
Designated as a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna after Napoleon's defeat, Monaco's sovereignty was confirmed by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. France accepted the existence of the Principality of Monaco, but annexed 95% of its former territory (the areas of Menton and Roquebrune). Monaco's military defense since then has been the responsibility of France.
The Prince of Monaco was an absolute ruler until the Monegasque Revolution of 1910 forced him to proclaim a constitution in 1911.
The famous Casino of Monte Carlo opened in 1863, organized by the Société des bains de mer de Monaco, which also ran the Hotel de Paris. Taxes paid by the S.B.M. have been plowed into Monaco's infrastructure. Economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with a railway link to France.
20th century.
In July 1918, a treaty was signed providing for limited French protection over Monaco. The treaty, written into the Treaty of Versailles, established that Monegasque policy would be aligned with French political, military, and economic interests. One of the motivations for the treaty was the upcoming Monaco Succession Crisis of 1918.
While Prince Louis II's sympathies were strongly pro-French, he tried to keep Monaco neutral during World War II but supported the Vichy French government of his old army colleague, Marshal Philippe Pétain.
Nonetheless, his tiny principality was tormented by domestic conflict partly as a result of Louis's indecisiveness, and also because the majority of the population was of Italian descent; many of them supported the fascist regime of Italy's Benito Mussolini.
On 11 November 1942, the Italian Army invaded and occupied Monaco causing a run on the casinos.
Soon after in September 1943, following Mussolini's fall in Italy, the German Army occupied Monaco and began the deportation of the Jewish population.
Among them was René Blum, the prominent French Jew who founded the Ballet de l'Opera in Monte Carlo, was arrested in his Paris home and held in the Drancy deportation camp outside the French capital before being transported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was later killed. Blum's colleague Raoul Gunsbourg, the director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, helped by the French Resistance, escaped arrest and fled to Switzerland. In August 1944, the Germans executed René Borghini, Joseph-Henri Lajoux and Esther Poggio, who were Resistance leaders.
Under Prince Louis's secret orders, the Monaco police, often at great risk to themselves, warned in advance those people whom the Gestapo planned to arrest. The country was liberated, as German troops retreated, on 3 September 1944.
The current ruler, Prince Albert II, succeeded his father Prince Rainier III in 2005. Prince Rainier, in turn, had acceded to the throne following the death of his grandfather, Prince Louis II, in 1949.
The revised Constitution of Monaco, proclaimed in 1962, abolished capital punishment, provided for female suffrage, established a Supreme Court to guarantee fundamental liberties and made it difficult for a French national to transfer his or her residence there.
In 1993, Monaco became a member of the United Nations with full voting rights.
21st century.
In 2002, a new treaty between France and Monaco clarifies that if there are no heirs to carry on the dynasty, the Principality will remain an independent nation, rather than be annexed by France. Monaco's military defense, however, is still the responsibility of France.
The principality's mild climate, attractive scenery, and gambling facilities have made Monaco world-famous as a tourism and recreation centre.