Industrialisation, Warfare, and Science: An Archaeological-Historical Insight into Technological Changes of Mid-18th to Early 19th-century European Naval Ships

Abstract

For European naval powers, whose economic and political well-being depended on the success of naval enterprises, warships played a fundamental role. Based on a multi-scalar and comparative approach, evidence from post-medieval (or historical) shipwrecks, can contribute to a better understanding of modern technology and society. This article deals with the innovations of British, French, and Spanish warships that sailed from about 1750 to 1815. An archaeological, archaeometric, and documentary study of wreck sites, with emphasis on ships’ structure, equipment, and ordnance, provided novel data to address the development of naval technology of the period. Based on this comprehensive approach, the information obtained allowed for a discussion of the impacts of industrialisation, warfare, and science on the innovation dynamic developed within the aforementioned states.

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