Ships and Shipbuilders in the Seventeenth Century
Ships and Shipbuilders in the Seventeenth Century
This chapter explores the development of ships and the role of shipbuilders across England during the seventeenth century. It begins by examining the technical changes to ships in the sixteenth century, with major elements including the transition to three-masted ships and the lengthening of ships in relation to their beams. It examines the seventeenth century struggle to trade coal in English vessels due to their structural unsuitability in comparison to superior European flyboats. It then explores the British use of Dutch bulk-carriers taken as prizes during the Dutch Wars; and the reasons for the reluctance of British shipbuilders to alter their methods. It concludes with the collapse of East Anglian shipbuilding due to the preference for Dutch prize-ships, and the realisation that British shipbuilding needed to develop in order to expand.
Keywords: British Shipbuilding, Maritime East Anglia, Merchant Vessels, Coal Trade, First Dutch War, Prize-Ships, Dutch Shipbuilding, Dutch Flyboats
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