Public-domain ebook
History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce, Volume 1 (of 4)
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Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #73757.
About this book
This work is a scholarly survey of maritime commerce from the earliest rafts to the rise of steam navigation, presented in a single volume that aims to blend the author’s own experience with the research of noted contemporaries. Lindsay begins by acknowledging the assistance of figures such as Mr. Vaux of the British Museum and Sir Patrick Colquhoun, then outlines a detailed contents list that proceeds chronologically through ancient shipbuilding, Phoenician trade, Egyptian rivercraft, Roman fleets, Byzantine commerce, and the development of European naval powers up to the age of exploration. The introductory material frames the study as an “impartial narrative” of important events and changes, promising a comprehensive account of ships, routes, and the economic forces that shaped them.
Written in the formal, exhaustive style of late‑Victorian scholarship, the text reads like a reference handbook rather than a narrative history. Its dense chapter headings, extensive use of classical and medieval sources, and frequent citations of contemporary officials give it a tone of meticulous documentation. Readers with a keen interest in the evolution of shipping technology, the legal and fiscal aspects of trade, or the broader economic history of the ancient and medieval world will find its breadth and detail rewarding, while those preferring a more story‑driven approach may find the exhaustive cataloguing demanding.
Who appears in this book
- Mr. VauxMiddle‑aged Victorian gentleman, spectacles, waistcoat and frock coat, neatly groomed beard
- Sir Patrick ColquhounDistinguished older man in formal tailcoat, top hat, powdered hair, dignified bearing
The opening · free to read
Although familiar with most subjects relating to Merchant Ships, I have found it alike necessary and desirable to look to others for aid in collecting some of the materials for this work; and I am especially indebted to my friends Mr. Vaux, F.R.S., late of the British Museum, and Sir Patrick Colquhoun, Q.C., for much valuable assistance rendered by them in connection with the two volumes now presented to the public. By combining the learning of my friends, so far as regards the records of the ships and commerce of ancient times, with my own knowledge of the subject, I am not without hope that the work may in some respects prove useful.
I am also much indebted to Mr. T. H. Farrer, of the Board of Trade, and to his assistant, Mr. Thomas Gray, of the Marine Department, for many valuable suggestions; and in thanking them for their courtesy, I venture to express the belief that by their assistance and that of other friends I shall be able to give in the two succeeding volumes necessary to complete the work an impartial narrative of the many important events and changes which have occurred within my own time, I might say within my own experience, together with an accurate account of the ships and maritime commerce of the age in which we live.
W. S. LINDSAY.
SHEPPERTON MANOR, MIDDLESEX.
CONTENTS.
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