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

Description

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 relationships and imaginations at the height of the imperial age. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvi Introduction (Steven Gray)....Pages 1-10 Front Matter ....Pages 11-11 Investigating the Coal Question (Steven Gray)....Pages 13-38 From Coal Consciousness to Coal Consensus (Steven Gray)....Pages 39-64 Front Matter ....Pages 65-65 Sourcing Coal for the Navy (Steven Gray)....Pages 67-100 Managing the Navy’s Imperial Supply (Steven Gray)....Pages 101-127 Front Matter ....Pages 129-129 “Gifted with Strength that Is not Human”: Using Indigenous Labour for Coaling (Steven Gray)....Pages 131-157 “A Shadow Would Come Over the Ship”: Using Naval Labour for Coaling (Steven Gray)....Pages 159-182 Front Matter ....Pages 183-183 A Maritime Community? (Steven Gray)....Pages 185-220 Exploring the Station (Steven Gray)....Pages 221-251 Epilogue (Steven Gray)....Pages 253-261 Back Matter ....Pages 263-289