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Sounding in silence : men, machines and the changing environment of naval discipline, 1796–1815
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Poskett, James (2015) Sounding in silence : men, machines and the changing environment of naval discipline, 1796–1815. The British Journal for the History of Science, 48 (2). pp. 213-232. doi:10.1017/S0007087414000934 ISSN 0007-0874.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0007087414000934
Abstract
Logbooks and sea charts may appear rather straightforward evidence to present at a naval court martial. However, their introduction into proceedings in the early nineteenth century reveals an important shift. Measuring the depth of water soon became a problem both of navigation and of discipline. Indeed, Captain Newcomb's knowledge of the soundings taken at the Battle of the Basque Roads proved crucial at Lord Gambier's court martial in June 1809. Through a case study of Edward Massey's sounding machine, this paper reveals the close connection between disciplinary practices on land and at sea. The Board of Longitude acted as a key intermediary in this respect. By studying land and sea together, this paper better explains the changing make-up of the British scientific instrument trade in this period. Massey is just one example of a range of new entrants, many of whom had little previous experience of the maritime world. More broadly, this paper emphasizes the role of both environmental history and material culture in the study of scientific instruments.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > History | ||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | The British Journal for the History of Science | ||||
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press | ||||
| ISSN: | 0007-0874 | ||||
| Official Date: | 2015 | ||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 48 | ||||
| Number: | 2 | ||||
| Page Range: | pp. 213-232 | ||||
| DOI: | 10.1017/S0007087414000934 | ||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||
| Related URLs: |
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