Ships, society, maritime space and identity: or the agency of power, vernacular boats and bacteria

It can be argued that the major episodes of technological change in shipbuilding and seafaring between the late medieval period and the mid 17th century in Europe are directly related to similarly fundamental changes in society that move Europe from medievalism to modernity. Indeed it is in these correlations that we find explanations for what have often been treated as insoluble technical ‘mysteries’ such as the clinker to carvel transition, as well as the subsequent changes in timber conversion, hull form, construction and rig in the late 16th century. But were other factors also at work? This paper begins by reviewing the clinker to carvel change in the light of contemporary power politics as well considering transformative phenomena over which the dynastic competitors of early Europe had no control.And if we can correlate technological change with society at large, what about changes in the communities who conceptualized, designed, built, sailed and sometimes lost the ships that developed Europe’s global network? It is here we see new expressions of maritime identity and new perceptions of maritime space.