19th Annual Student Research Conference
Social Science
A Quest for Supremacy of the Sea: The Technological Development of the Early Modern English Navy
William J. Tollerton* and Christopher P. Peterson
Dr. Kathryn Brammall, Faculty Mentor
The technology of naval warfare gradually changed over the course of the early modern period in Western Europe. Naval development produced a warship which was quite different in the year 1700 than it had been in the year 1500. Throughout most of the early modern period, England was not the most technologically advanced nation on the high seas, and major English naval improvements were made in response to or borrowed from other European nations, particularly in the areas of naval artillery and hull design. I have set out to answer several questions in my research. For instance, was technology diffused from one nation to the other, or did certain innovations spring up independently? How quickly did English shipbuilders respond to foreign innovations? England had not yet achieved significant naval superiority in Europe by the time of the Spanish Armada, nor did it until the second half of the seventeenth century.
Keywords: warship, technology, early modern period, England, Western Europe
Topic(s):History
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 57-3
Location: VH 1232
Time: 3:15