In July 1937 their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth paid a state visit to Northern Ireland as part of the celebrations to mark the Coronation of the new monarch. Arriving at Thompson’s Wharf in the port of Belfast aboard HMY Victoria and Albert, the Royal procession travelled from Donegal Quay along the High […]
Why Maritime History Matters Maritime history can be broadly defined as the study of humanity and its relationship to the seas and oceans of the world in the past. It is a huge topic with tendrils creeping into many nooks and crannies of other, seemingly far removed, branches of the historian’s craft. Its gambit includes […]
Brad Beaven’s inaugural lecture as Professor of Social and Cultural History, University of Portsmouth, took place on Wednesday 29 March 2017. In his well-received lecture, Beaven argued that the cultural life of port towns has largely remained a hidden history due to the focus of conventional histories of ports on their global and imperial networks. […]
The tide creeps in: why maritime history matters Can we even imagine a world without the sea and its influence? Trying to define maritime history in his introduction to ‘The Sea and Civilization’, Lincoln Paine asks the opposite question: what exactly is ‘terrestrial history’? He tries to re-imagine the story of mankind as a land-bound […]
Why Naval History Matters Have you ever wondered why English is the world’s most widely spoken language; reflected on why a small island nation on the fringe of northern Europe could come to control roughly both a quarter of the world’s population and its land mass at the height of a racially and socially diverse […]
The Masters Degree in Naval History was established in 2016 and offers a unique opportunity to study the history of the Royal Navy at postgraduate level. It is an online course which offers flexible distance learning. However, as it is located at the home of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, and we have established a strong partnership with […]
