Cornwall is quintessentially a maritime region. Almost an island, nowhere in it is further than 25 miles from the sea. Cornwall's often distinctive history has been moulded by this omnipresent maritime environment, while its strategic position at the western approaches-jutting out into the Atlantic-has given this history a global impact.

It is perhaps surprising then, that, despite the central place of the sea in Cornwall's history, there has not yet been a full maritime history of Cornwall. The Maritime History of Cornwall sets out to fill this gap, exploring the rich and complex maritime inheritance of this unique peninsula.


In a beautifully illustrated volume, individually commissioned contributions from distinguished historians elaborate on the importance of different periods, from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century.


The Maritime History of Cornwall is a significant addition to the literature of international maritime history and is indispensable to those with an interest in Cornwall past and present.


Winner of the Holyer an Gof Non-Fiction Award 2015.

List of Editors and Contributors


List of Illustrations


List of Tables and Figures


Foreword


Introduction and Acknowledgements


Part I: 'Window to a Wider World': Early and Medieval Cornwall


1: Introduction Philip Payton, Alston Kennerley, Helen Doe


2: The Origins of Maritime Cornwall: Pre-Medieval Settlements and Seaways Caradoc Peters


3: Coastal Communities in Medieval Cornwall Maryanne Kowaleski


4: Overseas Trade and Shipping in Cornwall in the Later Middle Ages Wendy R. Childs


Part II: 'The Age of Turbulence': Maritime Disorder in Tudor and Stuart Cornwall


5: Introduction Philip Payton, Alston Kennerley, Helen Doe


6: Plunder and Prize: Cornish Piracy and Privateering during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries John C. Appleby


7: 'His Majesties Sea-Service in the Western Parts': Maritime Affairs in Cornwall during the English Civil War Mark Stoyle


8: Corruption and Inefficiency in the Cornish Customs Service in the Later Seventeenth Century W.B. Stephens


Part III: 'A Time for War and Trade': Cornwall in the Eighteenth Century


9: Introduction Philip Payton, Alston Kennerley, Helen Doe


10: Cornish Tin Ships, 1703-1710 John Symons


11: Cornwall and the Royal Navy in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries N.A.M. Rodger


12: Cornish Ports in the Eighteenth Century Helen Doe


13: Smuggling and Wrecking John Rule


14: The Cornish Arundells and the Right of Wreck: A Case Study in Landlord-Tenant Relations in the Long Eighteenth Century Cathryn Pearce


15: Navigation Adrian James Webb


Pat IV: 'Global Reach and Industrial Prowess': Cornwall in the Nineteenth Century


16: Introduction Philip Payton, Alston Kennerley, Helen Doe


17: The Cornish Sea Fisheries in the Nineteenth Century Tony Pawlyn


18: Cornwall: An Inside-out Industrial Region Bernard Deacon


19: The Coastal Trade in Cornish China Clay John Armstrong


20: Cornish Maritime Steam Roy Fenton


21: Yachting in Cornwall before the First World War Janet Cusack


22: The Smuggler and the Wrecker: Literary Representations of Cornish Maritime Life Simon Trezise


23: Cornish Ports, Shipping and Investment in the Nineteenth Century Helen Doe


Part V: 'Inventing "The Cornish Riviera"': From Twentieth to Twenty-first Century Cornwall


24: Introduction Philip Payton, Alston Kennerley, Helen Doe


25: Cornwall and the Decline of Commercial Sail Alston Kennerley


26: Maritime Cornwall in the Era of Two World Wars G.H. and R. Bennett


27: Cornwall's Trading Ports: twentieth-Century Decline into Diversity Terry Chapman


28: Twentieth-Century Maritime Tourism and Recreation Philip Payton


29: Cornish Fisheries in the Twentieth Century Paul Willerton


30: Epilogue Philip Payton, Alston Kennerley, Helen Doe


Select Bibliography


Index