Steam Power and Sea Power : Coal, the Royal Navy, and the British Empire, c. 1870-1914 / by Steven Gray.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gray, Steven., Author.

Series:

Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies, 2635-1641

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Great Britain--History.

Great Britain.

Imperialism.

World politics.

Economic history.

History of Britain and Ireland.

Imperialism and Colonialism.

Political History.

Economic History.

Local Subjects:

History of Britain and Ireland.

Imperialism and Colonialism.

Political History.

Economic History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (XVI, 289 p. 27 illus., 5 illus. in color.)

Edition:

1st ed. 2018.

Place of Publication:

London : Palgrave Macmillan UK : Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

Summary:

This book examines how the expansion of a steam-powered Royal Navy from the second half of the nineteenth century had wider ramifications across the British Empire. In particular, it considers how steam propulsion made vessels utterly dependent on a particular resource – coal – and its distribution around the world. In doing so, it shows that the ‘coal question’ was central to imperial defence and the protection of trade, requiring the creation of infrastructures that spanned the globe. This infrastructure required careful management, and the processes involved show the development of bureaucracy and the reliance on the ‘contractor state’ to ensure this was both robust and able to allow swift mobilisation in war. The requirement to stop regularly at foreign stations also brought men of the Royal navy into contact with local coal heavers, as well as indigenous populations and landscapes. These encounters and their dissemination are crucial to our understanding of imperial relationshipsand imaginations at the height of the imperial age. .

Contents:

Chapter 1 — Introduction

Part I: The Rise of Coal Consciousness: Coal, State, and Imperial Defence

Chapter 2 — Investigating the Coal Question

Chapter 3 — From Coal Consciousness to Coal Consensus

Part II: ‘An Enormous System Under Splendid Control’: The Development of a Coaling Infrastructure

Chapter 4 — Sourcing Coal for the Navy

Chapter 5 — Managing the Navy’s Imperial Supply

Part III — Coaling Labour

Chapter 6 — ‘Gifted with Strength That Is Not Human’: Using Indigenous Labour for Coaling

Chapter 7 — ‘A Shadow Would Come Over the Ship’: Using Naval Labour for Coaling

Part IV — Sojourning at the Coaling Station

Chapter 8 — A maritime community?

Chapter 9 — Exploring the Station

Chapter 10 — Epilogue. .

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781137576422

1137576421