Some of Portsmouth’s historic fortifications are being uncovered in two trenches on the site of the new University of Portsmouth Sports Facility in Ravelin Park. The walls that have been revealed would have protected the naval port during the 17th century, a major period of development for the port. A gun platform or embrasure has now been uncovered by the archaeologists, AOC archaeology.
See the most recent article on the project in the University of Portsmouth News
Ian Atkins, a second year History student at the University of Portsmouth, wrote the following blog entry on his experience of doing a work placement at the National Museum of the Royal Navy Library for the Public History Placement Unit. The unit is co-ordinated by Dr Melanie Bassett, Research Assistant for Port Towns and Urban Cultures and Part Time Lecturer in History.
The Public History Placement unit, a vital part of any university career, is an option that is available to Second Year Students in the School of Social, Historical and Literary Studies. Encompassing a wide and varied variability of placements the option aims to give an insight into the types of careers that are available to the deserving History graduate. Skills learnt in this unit allow for opportunity into a wide area of Public History, which as described by Faye Sayer ‘is the work by historians to associate the past with the present and communicate such to the public’, in a way that is understood and managed by those who do not possess a professional qualification. [1] This is not to diminish the importance of the past, nor is it too dumb down the past, it is a way of integrating everyone in their collective history. The use of public history allows for further understanding of collective memory, a function that academics are at lengths to stress binds us all, as we have lived through the experiences and are able to learn from them. [2]
I undertook a placement that was based at the National Museum of the Royal Navy Library. A collections library based at the Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth. The library holds extensive collections showcasing treasures of over 350 years of seafaring history, focusing on exclusive collections of Horatio, Lord Nelson, service records, personal accounts and many other collections that have a relation to the sea and the way the British Navy dominated the oceans. [3] A museum of this type has a dedicated team of professional historians and volunteers, who ‘make a positive and lasting impact contributing to the industry [and] their support is vital to releasing the creative energies of the hard-pressed professional’. [4] The volunteers and staff are, as suggested, a vital part of allowing the public to fully engage with the museum and its artefacts.
When envisioning working in a place such as the NMRN, or indeed any institution, local or national, there has to be consideration of the way that that institution understands its sense of place. There has to be understanding that it is relevant, how that even after 600 years museums are still one of the most active tourist attractions available to the public. [5] With such a varied history themselves, the museum ultimately becomes part of the artefacts that they display. There has been, as of 1992, rapid growth and ‘change within the museum industry, throwing the previous assumptions of museums into disarray’. [6] This is where a unit dedicated to Public History is essential. It is a way of understanding those changes and the necessity to, as anniversaries come and go, understand the collective past. History is something that connects us all, a state we cannot escape from, if we don’t learn about it we will never learn from it. [7] It is for this reason why a placement unit is important, and why more students should take advantage of it. The work may be time consuming, and sometimes not what is always expected, but nonetheless it is stimulating and it is always interesting to be able to handle and read documents and artefacts, many over 200 years old.
The Placement allowed for skills that will be beneficial to an industry that is so fast paced that there is very little time to give full and professional training; an industry very much built on ‘on the job training’, and voluntary work is a vital component to the smooth running of such. [8] Collections management is a role that all those looking for a career in Public History should be prepared to do; it is the role most accessible in this industry. It also allows for interrelation with historical documents and artefacts that can only ever normally be viewed by appointment or behind glass. Public history is very dominated by government intervention. Progressive governments have ideas on how and what should be taught as part of the nation’s history. The addition or omission of certain facts, objects or other form in museums is testament to this. A public history placement allows for both hands-on experience in a museum or other industry, but in-class experience is also invaluable to the understanding of what is available within this field.
The unit is one that comes highly recommended, if either you have experience in working in the industry or work experience in general. This unit will give you strong and lasting insights into the roles that are available to you as a graduate. History is a complex and fulfilling degree to hold, it is a course that shows you have the skills to work independently, to spec, and within time limits. The Public History industry is made up of multi-facet levels within an organisation, to be counted and noticed in this industry you must demonstrate experience, the placement will give you the skills which can be used to further this experience. It is also an industry that can, at times, be quite demanding. There are a lot of things to do within the organisation and not nearly enough time to do them. The placement will allow you to be able to see this first hand. University is a bubble, one where you are naturally helped along at every stage, the work place is far more different and to gain this experience whilst still having that safety net of university is invaluable. The placement may also allow for continued involvement with your chosen industry which, as already explained, will not only lead to a long lasting relationship for yourself, but for the university as a whole. It is therefore noted this unit and its subsequent placement are both rewarding and thought provoking.
Notes
[1] Faye Sayer, Public History: A Practical Guide. (London: Bloomsbury, 2015), 22.
[2] John Tosh, The Pursuit of History 6th ed. (Abingdon: Routledge, 2015), 259.
[3] National Museum of the Royal Navy. “Home Page.” http://www.nmrn-portsmouth.org.uk/, last accessed 16 May 2018.
[4] Sinclair Goddard, and Stephanie McIvor, Museum Volunteers: Good Practice in the Management of Volunteers. (London: Routledge, 2005), 1.
[5] Eilean Hooper-Greenhill, Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge. (London: Routledge, 1992), i.
[6] Hooper-Greenhill, Museums, 1.
[7] Big Think. “”Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed To Repeat It.” Really?” http://bigthink.com/the-proverbial-skeptic/those-who-do-not-learn-history-doomed-to-repeat-it-really, last accessed 16 May 2018.
[8] The Historical Association. “Careers in History.” http://www.history.org.uk/student/resource/2914/careers-in-history, last accessed 2 January 2018.
Dr Fiona McCall teaches a third year special subject on the British Civil Wars. Below she looks at events in Portsmouth which give it a good claim to be considered the place where the Civil War broke out.
Hampshire saw considerable action during the First Civil War (1642-6), being sandwiched between the area of Parliamentary control in the South and East, and the South-West, which was controlled by the Royalists for most of the first war. One of the first major sieges took place here at Portsmouth, and one of the last, further north at Basing. Other notable actions occurred at Winchester, at Alton church, Cheriton, and just over the county borders at Farnham and at Arundel Castle.
In fact, whenever there was a battle for power, Portsmouth was likely to become involved. Portsmouth’s strategic significance had been recognised since the middle ages, due to its convenient location, capacious deep-water harbour, and the protection offered by Portsdown Hill. [1] A great chain placed across the harbour could, when necessary, close it off to outside shipping. [2] The early-Tudor fortifications which had impressed John Leland around 1540 had been further developed under the threat of attack by Spain in the years leading up to the Spanish Armada of 1588. [3] At the end of the sixteenth century the fortifications included the Square and Round towers, and ramparts known as the Great Platform and the Long Curtain, all surrounded by earthworks. The street plan was much like that of Old Portsmouth today.
Map of Old Portsmouth, 1584, http://www.memorialsinportsmouth.co.uk/old-portsmouth/images/1584.gif
However, away from Portsmouth itself, Portsea Island was little inhabited, with three-four miles of open cornfields and woods between Portsmouth and Portsbridge, and only three parishes: Portsmouth, Portsea and Wymering. Southsea castle had been built by Henry VIII in 1544, but between Portsmouth and Southsea there was no settlement; Southsea was a waste of marsh and common, some of it below sea level and subject to inundation. [4] Apart from some repairs to Southsea Castle in the 1630s, Portsmouth’s fortifications did not change significantly between the reign of Elizabeth and the start of the Civil War, although Charles I’s interest in developing naval power can be seen by his controversial efforts to extend payment of Ship Money in the 1630s.
Detail from a map of Hampshire published by Christopher Saxton, c. 1575, http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/hantsmap/hantsmap/saxton1/sax1smaf.htm.
The English Civil War is usually said to have begun when King Charles I raised his standard at Nottingham on the 22nd August 1642. But conflict had looked inevitable since the 18th June, when the King rejected the Nineteen Propositions, an ultimatum sent by parliament. Over the summer of 1642 the opposing sides competed to raise military support in the counties, and several skirmishes took place before the oft-quoted start-date. The siege of Portsmouth, which began with George Goring’s declaration for the King on Portsmouth on the 2nd August 1642, has some claim to be the place where war broke out, due to its strategic significance, and the course of events here nicely demonstrates the qualities associated with each side: reckless cavalier audacity contrasted with the solid military strength, technical competence, ample resources and sense of purpose which led to the ultimate, and some say inevitable, victory for parliament.[5] Several of those destined to play a leading part in the Civil Wars were involved, including the earls of Warwick and Essex, Sir William Waller and naval commander Browne Bushell on the parliamentary side and, against them, the thirty-four year old Colonel George Goring, the commander of the Portsmouth garrison.
George Goring (right) with Mountjoy Blunt by Sir Anthony Van Dyke, 1635, National Portrait Gallery, NPG 762
Goring been described as a ‘complex’ personality: quarrelsome, erratic, immature and treacherous, yet also, as remembered by Clarendon, ‘winning and graceful in all his motions’, courageous, modest, pleasant and witty. He had fought in the low countries during the Thirty Years’ War, and was left permanently lame and in pain from an ankle injury incurred during the Siege of Breda in 1637, a fact which may partly explain his fondness for drink. On a visit to the Isle of Wight in 1639 it is said he and his companions ‘drank and shot, shot and drank, till they were scarce compos mentis’. In late 1641, this ‘consummate actor and superb public speaker’, having convinced parliament of his loyalty, tricked them into sending him £3000 to repair the defects of Portsmouth garrison, whilst at the same time remaining in clandestine contact with the King and accepting an equivalent sum raised from the sale of the Queen Henrietta Maria’s silver plate and jewels.[6] Goring’s deception only became clear when, on the 2 August, he summoned all those in Portsmouth capable of bearing arms to assemble in support of the royalist cause, or leave the town. Most took the oath of allegiance to the king, but several refused. According to a contemporary account there were then about three hundred men in the garrison, and another hundred townsmen able to bear arms. [7] But Parliamentary sources suggest local support for the King was weak; according to Godwin, more than half left within the first ten days; one captain was killed by his men when he attempted to persuade them to support the royalists. [8]
Parliament responded swiftly when news of Goring’s treachery reached them on the 4 August. The earl of Essex was dispatched with a sizeable military force, who soon occupied Portsdown Hill. The size of the parliamentary forces can be gauged from a news-letter report of mid-August which reported about 240 cavalry and 500 foot soldiers ranged against Goring’s ever-dwindling numbers. Under the command of the earl of Warwick, parliament was gathering a naval squadron of ships off the coast to seal off the harbour. The royalists were dismayed to discover around the 9th of August that their own solitary vessel, the Henrietta Maria, had been seized from under their noses under cover of darkness in a daring raid by a naval officer, Browne Bushell, without any shots being fired.
View of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, etching by Wenceslas Hollar, 1643, British Museum Print Q, C.100
Sensing that their situation was deteriorating, the royalist garrison immediately requisitioned into Portsmouth all available food resources on the Island, including 2000 acres of standing corn, 1000 cattle and more than 1000 sheep. Bread, cheese, eggs, poultry and bacon were taken from nearby farms, ‘forcing poor and rich to come away and beg for bread to keep them alive’. [9] Luckily for the hapless inhabitants, the blockading parliamentary squadron took pity on them, ferrying them out of harm’s way from Langstone harbour to Hayling island, accompanied by several hundred cattle and sheep attached by ropes to the boats and swum across. On the 12th August, Goring’s forces at Portsbridge, said to number only eight men, were forced to retreat into Portsmouth. Hundreds of men were then set at work to set up guns taken from the Henrietta Maria to fire down on the town. Royalist morale was sinking: a member of the House of Commons reported that soldiers escaped down the walls on a nightly basis.
Next, the parliamentarians brought in their big guns. On 18th August the royalist defenders observed ‘much digging of pickaxes and driving of carts’ across the harbour at Gosport. Goring’s gunners fired on them, but caused minimal damage or injury, and soon two gun platforms had been established. A parley took place on 27th August in an attempt to persuade the royalists to come to terms, during which Goring and Sir William Waller were each entertained in the opposing headquarters, and on the 2 September one of Waller’s trumpeters even presented Goring with a brace of bucks (venison) as a token of friendship. But the same afternoon, when it was clear Goring was not going to surrender, the bombardment from Gosport was stepped up.
St Thomas’s Cathedral tower, rebuilt after the Restoration.
The tower of St Thomas’s church (now the cathedral), was the best lookout for miles around, so was always likely to become a target: during the Civil Wars many churches would be destroyed or damaged in course of the conflict. On the 3rd September, shots from Gosport hit the church bells and destroyed the church tower and nave, as well as many other houses in Old Portsmouth. The medieval church was ruined, its rebuilding only financed and completed at the end of the century.
Southsea Castle
That same night, parliamentarian forces turned their attention to Southsea castle, a compact building ‘strangely and marvellously praised of all men that have seen it’, with an enceinte of angled walls three-four yards thick, designed to withstand most onslaughts.[10] But by early September there were only a dozen royalists remaining in the castle, and the commander was reportedly drunk. At least four hundred parliamentary soldiers assaulted the fortress using scaling ladders, all the while singing psalms, against increasing harassment from the guns of Portsmouth garrison, once Goring got wind to what was happening. Browne Bushell’s brilliance once again demonstrated, and the castle captured, the drunken royalist commander Captain Challoner was said to have drunk ‘the King and Parliament’s health in sack with our officers’. The mayor of Portsmouth and other officers, knowing the game was up, promptly fled Portsmouth Garrison. The next day, Sunday morning, Goring negotiated generous terms of surrender under threat of firing the large stores of gunpowder and ammunition still held in the Square tower and other magazines. Thus on the 7 September the defenders were allowed a dignity not always accorded to Civil War siege defenders, of riding out with swords, pistols and personal possessions.
Goring became a leading royalist commander, notorious in the West Country for the plundering depredations of his ill-disciplined troops. Browne Bushell returned to his native Yorkshire, but changed sides, becoming renowned for leading royalist privateers in daring raids against parliamentary shipping in the North Sea. He was finally captured and executed for treason on the 28 March 1651, using the same block and axe which had been used on Charles I. [11]
No 1, Lombard Street, Portsmouth
In an age when communication by sea was often superior to inland transport, the capture of Portsmouth and the control of the navy gave parliament a distinct advantage. Besieged ports could be relieved by sea and prisoners transported away from the zone of conflict. Naval successes under Admiral Blake during Commonwealth and Protectorate period became the foundation for Britain’s naval supremacy, and the great period of expansion for Portsmouth continued under the later Stuart Kings. Some late-seventeenth-century buildings survive from this period near the Cathedral at 1,3,& 5 Lombard Street, and in St Thomas’s Street opposite.
The Maner of the Queenes Maties. Landing at Portsmouth by Dirk Stoop, Lisbon, 1662, showing the arrival of Queen Catherine of Braganza and what the fortifications at Portsmouth looked like in 1662.
References
[1] A. Temple Patterson, Portsmouth: A History (Bradford-on-Avon, 1976), 10, 16, 20.
[2] G.H. Williams, The Western Defences of Portsmouth Harbour 1400-1800, Portsmouth Papers No. 30, December 1979 (Portsmouth City Council).
[3] The Itinerary of John Leland , in about the .years 1535-1543, ed. Lucy Toulmin Smith (London, 1907).
[4] Williams, Western Defences, 30, 36.
[5] See Clive Holmes, Why Was Charles I Executed? (London, 2006), chapter 4, 71-92.
[6] John Webb, The Siege of Portsmouth in the Civil War, Portsmouth Papers No. 7, July 1969 (Portsmouth City Council), 4, 7.
[7] A Declaration of the Passages of the Taking of Portsmouth, (London, 15 September 1642).
[8] G.N. Godwin, The Civil War in Hampshire (Alresford, 1973), 11.
[9] Webb, Siege of Portsmouth, 15.
[10] Ibid., 18-19.
[11] Jack Binns, ‘Bushell, Browne’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2008.
Sources
I am indebted for this account to different issues of the Portsmouth Papers including:
John Webb, The Siege of Portsmouth in the Civil War, Portsmouth Papers No. 7, July 1969 (Portsmouth City Council).
Margaret J. Hoad, Portsmouth – as others have seen it: Part I 1540-1790, Portsmouth Papers No. 15, March 1972 (Portsmouth City Council), 6.
G.H. Williams, The Western Defences of Portsmouth Harbour 1400-1800, Portsmouth Papers No. 30, December 1979 (Portsmouth City Council).
This blog, by Dr Mel Bassett, research associate for the Port Towns and Urban Cultures project, discusses the many activities of the PTUC group, from working on major First World War exhibitions, to sharing their research with schoolchildren. Mel’s research interests centre on dockyard workers’ identities and the role of empire in the Edwardian period.
Situated on the south coast, and on the doorstep of some of the nation’s most important naval and maritime heritage, the History Department at the University of Portsmouth are undertaking exciting new research into the influence of maritime history on land.
Port Towns and Urban Cultures (PTUC) group was established in 2010 by Professor Brad Beaven, Dr Karl Bell and Dr Robert James, and now boasts a team of international collaborators from the academic and professional world.
We have a vibrant postgraduate environment. There have been 11 ‘Port Town’ PhD students so far, and the creation of the new Naval History MA in October 2016 has already welcomed over 40 students. We also had the pleasure of welcoming a visiting scholar from the University of Oviedo, Asturas, Spain.
Indeed, Portsmouth has become the centre of all things ‘Port Towns.’ We have established links with universities and museum networks in Liverpool, Hull, London and Scandinavia, and are now looking East and forging partnerships with Kobe University’s ‘Port Cities’ project in Japan. Moreover, we have a presence on the internet and social media. The Port Towns and Urban Cultures website features a range of collaborators from established academics to postgraduate students and offers a vibrant platform in which those interested in the influence of the sea can share their research. This is complimented by our presence on social media where we have loyal followings on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. There is now also a book, edited by Beaven, Bell and James, which showcases the importance and social and cultural uniqueness of port towns from around the globe.
We are currently undertaking research into several areas. One of our most ambitious projects has been to map the impact of Royal Naval, merchant and fishing sailor communities on land in Portsmouth by using our ‘Sailortown’ app, which was officially launched this year. Scholars and the general public will be able to understand the relationship between maritime livelihoods and community structures and physically walk through sailortown using our online guides. We hope to also extend this project out to other maritime communities, and are working in collaboration with the University of Gothenburg to do the same in Sweden.
Another exciting project has been to research the impact the First World War’s most famous naval engagement, the Battle of Jutland, had on the British public. The project was funded by the AHRC’s Gateways to the First World War research centre, and working with the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsdown University of the Third Age, and several undergraduate student volunteers, we traced every Royal Naval sailor killed at the Battle. This has enabled us to make unique insights into how the naval war affected contemporary society, where sailor families lived and the long-term effects of the war at sea on memorialisation and heritage.
I am the original PhD student that came out of the Port Towns and Urban Cultures stable, so to speak, and am now a Research Associate on the project. As a postgraduate a few colleagues and I helped to establish the PTUC website and social media presence, which has gone from strength-to-strength since its creation in 2013. I have been very fortunate to work on a number of important and interesting projects such as Portsmouth’s First World War Centenary commemorations which included staging a £97,000 Heritage Lottery Funded exhibition and events programme. I came from a Museum professional background before undertaking my PhD, and this has helped greatly in forging links and establishing working relationships with non-academic collaborators. Another great project was working with the University’s UP for Uni team on workshops introducing children to the world of ‘Sickly Slums and Sailortowns’ – a Horrible Histories-themed day where they could learn about slum living, sailor slang and create their own tattoos (on nylon).
I also teach part-time at the University of Portsmouth, and without doubt, the most exciting part of my work is getting the opportunity to spread our research to our undergraduates. We have had several students volunteer on high-profile projects such as our AHRC Gateways to the First World War-funded Battle of Jutland project. Through working on an actual research project in tandem with Professor Brad Beaven and me, the students were able to get a real sense of the purpose of the research. They could see the tangible results that were produced through assisting us, and also got to see their work make a difference too. As a result the students have not only learned skills to help them in their degree, but also have experiences to cite on their CVs; which will raise their chances of employability. We are also pleased to note that some were so inspired that they undertook dissertation projects based on the topic.
The University of Portsmouth’s History Department is making big waves on land on the subject of maritime history, and I am glad to be at the forefront of new and exciting research.
Follow us:
Website: porttowns.port.ac.uk
Twitter: @PortPTUC
Facebook: Port Towns Ptuc
Instagram: porttownsandurbancultures
All images author’s own.
“Abigail based her study on engagement with, and critical examination of, a wide range of sources, from secondary ones to printed Calendars of government records and original Treasury Papers which revealed expenses for gifts to the Miskito to ensure a positive relationship. Extant artefact and pictorial evidence, though scant, was also employed. There was adept use of cartography and consideration of the three Miskito rulers brought to England – ‘The Prince’ brought to England at some point in the 1630s by Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, ‘Oldman’ here in 1655 and George, in England c. 1774 –November 1776, before becoming King of the Miskito. Written in a clear, confident and crisp manner, this study sheds remarkable light on an Indian tribe who remained autonomous and independent in a relationship with Britain on the margins of the European imperial world during a period of both crucial significance and not insubstantial change.” – Dr James Thomas, Abigail’s dissertation supervisor.
The narrative of early modern European imperialism is one that sees historians neglecting the influences of indigenous peoples and the autonomy they held. This topic gripped my interest, and throughout each academic year I found myself choosing units that complimented and furthered my interest. During my second year I read an article discussing the Miskito Indians, a group of indigenous Native Americans in Honduras and Nicaragua, operating along the Miskito Coast.
The article itself focused on how the British manipulated the Miskito in order to further their own colonial and imperial ventures in the area. When it came to choosing a topic for my dissertation, I immediately knew I wanted to delve deeper into the story of the Miskito in the hope of uncovering the reality of their relationship with the British, as many historians painted them as subordinates to British rule, only focusing on Anglo primary sources and not considering the Miskito perspective.
My dissertation analysed the relationship between the Miskito and the British by looking at different elements of their relationship. First, it was important to look at how the relationship was formed, and whether or not this was controlled and orchestrated by the British, or was one of negotiations and cooperation. Through looking at the initial encounters of British buccaneers, and the people of Providence Island, it was clear that despite the historical narrative of overarching British control and of European superiority, and a quest to enlighten ‘savages’, the Miskito had full control over whether or not they wished to work with the British. The Miskito assisted British buccaneers, helping them navigate the rocking coasts and wild inland, while also benefitting from the relationship by receiving goods for their services such as guns, which led them to become the dominant tribe along the Miskito Coast. Miskito autonomy was also clear in British attempts from Providence Island to evangelise the Miskito. British missionaries claimed the Miskito desired for a Christian schoolmaster to properly educate their children. However, in reality, when looking at requests from Miskito King Edward I in full, it is clear that this request was a political one, as he also requested supplies, arms, and governor status, demonstrating Miskito manipulation of British values. The pinnacle of Miskito autonomy can also be clearly seen when looking at the War of Jenkin’s Ear, a war between Britain and Spain over mercantile and colonial control in the area. The Miskito worked with the British, not out of duty, but out of their own deep hatred for the Spanish after cruelty experienced during early Spanish attempts at colonisation. The Miskito were in control, and fully cognisant of their ability to manipulate their relationship with the British for their own gain.
However, working on a dissertation that focuses on the perspective of people ignored by the historical narrative did indeed come with many difficulties. Finding primary sources from the Miskito point of view proved impossible, forcing a reliance on sources from a British perspectives and an ability to read between the lines to look at Miskito motivations and actions. Furthermore, many sources were written in Spanish, and often untranslated, requiring attempts at translation in order provide a view from the Spanish. Finding sources relevant to the study also proved difficult, as the topic itself is one that has been neglected by historians and history itself. Despite investigation in the National Archives, Lambeth Palace and Portsmouth History Centre, many source leads led to dead ends. For example, in attempts to discover the name anonymous author ‘M.W’, and attempts to discover the background of Superintendent Robert Hodgson, no sources could be uncovered. However, this does reveal the need to investigate topics such as the Miskito, as it reveals a lack of historiography around the histories and perspective of minority ethnic groups.
Material sources also proved a dead end in looking at the Miskito. The only remaining material artefact from the Miskito during this period is a hand axe held by The British Museum, highlighting how many traded items have either not been catalogued, or haven’t survived the harshness of time.
Despite the difficulty in finding original source work from the Miskito themselves, or even material history, I am incredibly happy and fulfilled by researching the Miskito as my dissertation topic, so much so that I wish to pursue the topic further in the future. As a result of my topic, I was given the opportunity by Dr James Thomas to deliver a talk to the Historical Association, which gave me a chance to share the story of the Miskito, which is something I’d love to look into more. Writing a dissertation gives you the opportunity to delve into a topic that you are passionate about, all while revealing a piece of history that is under researched. By doing this dissertation, I hope to have shed a light on the need for historians to question the approved Anglo-historical narrative, and look into the stories and experiences of those people who played a large, but hidden role.
Abigail Jeffrey is a BA History student at the University of Portsmouth. Her dissertation won the Stephens Prize for best dissertation on imperial and maritime history of early modern Europe. The prize is named after Thomas Stephens (1549-1619), Wiltshireman and Jesuit. He was the first Englishman to sail round the Cape of Good Hope and take up permanent residence in India in 1579, where he lived for the remainder of his life.
