This book deals with the economic impact of technological changes and the rise of passenger shipping on social relations on board and ashore in European shipping industries between c.1850 and 2000. The changes in motive power, communication techniques and positioning technologies and the rise of passenger shipping went together with the creation of new tasks and functions and the marginalization or disappearance of traditional jobs and skills. This book presents case-studies on changes in different maritime professions between the middle of the nineteenth century and the end of the twentieth century, covering the shipping industries of a variety of seafaring countries in Europe. The subjects include changes in maritime labour at large, changes in specific groups of deck, catering or engine room personnel, such as captains, cooks, catering personnel, engineers, or radio-operators. A number of chapters employ a prosopographical or micro-historical approach, while others apply a spatial perspective, analyze business records, materials from professional associations or distil information from large sets of quantitative data. This book will be of interest to academics and students of economic history, maritime and labour history.
Author(s): Karel Davids, Joost Schokkenbroek
Series: Palgrave Studies in Economic History
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 295
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction
Changes in Merchant Shipping After 1850
New Dividing Lines, Fresh Tensions, Novel Opportunities
The Essays in This Volume
Notes
References
Part I Changes in Maritime Labour: Institutional, Technological and Spatial Contexts
2 The Human Element in Power-Driven Merchant Ship Propulsion Since 1850: The British Case
Introduction
Advances in Merchant Ship Power Propulsion2
Merchant Ship Engine Room Manning: Engineer Officers
Merchant Ship Engine and Boiler Room Manning: Firemen and Trimmers
Conclusion
Notes
References
3 Technological Change, Institutions and Maritime Labour: International Reforms and Their Reception in Sweden and Finland, c.1850–1939
Introduction
Transition from Sail to Steam and Its Effects on Maritime Labour
Institutional Response to Technological Change
The Question of Child Labour
Conclusions
Notes
References
4 Changes in Maritime Labour in Greece During the Transition from Sail to Steam, c. 1850–1917
Introduction1
Workforce in the Merchant Fleet
Assessment of Maritime Workers
The Origins of Seamen
Crews on Sailing Ships and Steamers
Size of Crews on Sailing Ships
Size of Crews on Steamships
Wages on Sailing Ships and Steamers
Wages on Sailing Ships
Wages on Steamships
Conclusions
Notes
References
5 Seamen in the City. Origins, Residence and Standard of Living of Le Havre Seamen from c. 1800 to the First Wold War
Introduction
Method
The Geographical Origins of Seamen in Le Havre
The Rootedness of Mariners in the Local Urban Environment
Wages and Standards of Living
Standards of Living of Mariners
Conclusion
Notes
References
6 Reading Shipboard Space: The Plans of Ships Serving the Netherlands East Indies, 1850–1914
Introduction1
Theoretical Orientation
1850–1871: The Cape and the Overland Route
1871–1900: The Trans-Suez Service
Networking the Indies: The KPM
1900–1914: ‘All the Comforts of a Well-Equipped Hotel’: The Sindoro and Its Successors
Conclusion
Notes
References
Part II Case Studies of Old Maritime Jobs
7 Reconfiguring Authority at Sea: Steamships and Their Captains in a Danish Context, c.1850–1950
Introduction
Background, Material and Theoretical Approach
The Shifting Role, Responsibilities, and Authority of the Captain ca.1300–1850
The Impact of Technology on the Commercial Role of the Captain
The Impact of Technology on the Nautical Responsibilities of the Captain
Corporal Punishment in Shipboard Discipline
Steamships and the Social Status of the Captain
Nostalgia and the Legacy of Sailing
Conclusions
Notes
References
8 Feeding the Fleet: Cooks in the Belgian Merchant Marine, c.1850–1930
Introduction1
The Transformation of the Belgian Fleet
A Job in Transition
Food for Crews and Passengers
Geographical Backgrounds and Careers Paths
Conclusion
Notes
References
Part III Case Studies of New Maritime Jobs
9 Elbowing Their Way: Ship’s Engineers in the Spanish Merchant Marine, c.1850–1950
Introduction1
Elbowing Their Way
Foreigners’ Domination
Legislation and Regulation of the Profession
Training and Learning
Careers
Professional Associations
Fighting on Multiple Fronts
Conclusion
Notes
References
10 From the Captain’s Tiger to the Chief Steward. Career Patterns of the Catering Personnel on British Passenger Liners, 1860–1938
Introduction
Rapid Expansion of the Catering Departments
Sources and Methodology
Recruitment and Training of the Catering Personnel
Gendered Patterns of Recruitment
Men Climbing up the Career Ladder
Criteria for Promotion and Reactions to Increasing Control
Conclusion
Notes
References
11 Surfing the Waves. The Rise and Decline of Radio Operators in the Dutch Mercantile Marine in the Twentieth Century
Introduction
Employment and Tasks of Radio Operators
Radio Operators in the ship’s Hierarchy
The Labour Market, Government Regulations and Technological Change
Conclusion
Notes
References
12 Conclusion
Transformations in Maritime Professions Between c.1850 and 1950
Coda: Changes in the Shipping Industry After 1950 and Their Impact
Further Lines of Inquiry
Notes
References
Index
