Tides of history : ocean science and Her Majesty's Navy / Michael S. Reidy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Reidy, Michael S.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Great Britain. Royal Navy--History.

Great Britain.

Oceanography--Research--Great Britain--History.

Oceanography.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (405 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the first half of the nineteenth century, the British sought to master the physical properties of the oceans; in the second half, they lorded over large portions of the oceans' outer rim. The dominance of Her Majesty's navy was due in no small part to collaboration between the British Admiralty, the maritime community, and the scientific elite. Together, they transformed the vast emptiness of the ocean into an ordered and bounded grid. In the process, the modern scientist emerged. Science itself expanded from a limited and local undertaking receiving parsimonious state support to worldwide and relatively well financed research involving a hierarchy of practitioners. Analyzing the economic, political, social, and scientific changes on which the British sailed to power, Tides of History shows how the British Admiralty collaborated closely not only with scholars, such as William Whewell, but also with the maritime community -sailors, local tide table makers, dockyard officials, and harbormasters-in order to systematize knowledge of the world's oceans, coasts, ports, and estuaries. As Michael S. Reidy points out, Britain's security and prosperity as a maritime nation depended on its ability to maneuver through the oceans and dominate coasts and channels. The practice of science and the rise of the scientist became inextricably linked to the process of European expansion.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Littoral in Science and History

1. Philosophers, Mariners, Tides

2. The Bounded Thames

3. Dessiou's Claim

4. "Tidology"

5. The Tide Crusade

6. Calculated Collaborations

7. Creating Space for the "Scientist"

Conclusion: The Tides of Empire

Glossary: Terms Applied to Tidal Theory in the Early Victorian Era

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 341-364) and index.

ISBN:

9786612426858

9781282426856

1282426850

9780226709338

0226709337

OCLC:

503441962