Islands and the Age of Revolutions in the Indian and Pacific Oceans

The Age of Revolutions altered the map of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. More of these oceans were ‘filled in’ in the European mind, as voyages of discovery and scientific studies of oceans, coastlines, and environments proceeded. But the map of these oceans changed in more important ways too. For people of all kinds, the islands of these oceans served as spaces for rethinking politics, forms of association, and social organization. Islands were key locales for the discourses and debates of the Age of Revolutions and their globalization. They became imaginative spaces for considering the past and the future of human society and for deliberating what constituted enlightenment, progress, and varieties of reform. By the middle of the nineteenth century, however, islands in these oceans became sites of counter-revolutionary imperialism. Ultimately, therefore, this chapter illustrates the changing place of islands on the globe and within Britain’s maritime empire.

Perdidos à vista da Costa. Trabalhos arqueológicos subaquáticos na Barra do Tejo

All ships entering or leaving Lisbon, the capital of a vast Maritime Empire since the 15th century, have to pass through one of the two narrow canals at the entrance to the Tagus. These channels are limited by the coast but also by two sand banks, called “Cachopos”. By its geography, this area is well protected from the north or east winds, but entirely open to southern storms. Especially during these storms, several ships sank on the north coast, or against both sand banks. Since the 1960s, several early modern and contemporary shipwrecks have been discovered in this area. This communication intends to present the work taking place since 2015, within the framework of the Cascais Underwater Archaeological Chart.

Visiting the ‘Liverpool of the East’: Singapore's place in tours of Empire

This article explores the idea of Singapore's repute as the ‘Liverpool of the East’ and the depictions of Britain's maritime empire in Asia. It does so via two important cruises related to the British Empire. The first is the Royal Tour of 1901 and the second cruise was the Empire Cruise of 1923 to 1924. By examining the reception afforded to both royal and naval visitors, this article argues that we have insights into what it meant for Singapore as a port city in a British maritime and imperial network. This article explores how Singapore was depicted as a maritime hub through these tours and concludes with a reflection that similar descriptions still hold a place in modern descriptions of Singapore.