SPECIALIST SEMINAR
TO BE HELD IN PARALLEL WITH THE FINAL DAY OF THE TENTH CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE HISTORY OF THE NORTHERN SEAS
MERSEYSIDE MARITIME MUSEUM,
LIVERPOOL, 22 AUGUST 2001

CALL FOR PAPERS

For some historians of the last generation, such as Bird or Hyde, it was axiomatic that by the second half of the nineteenth century ports could only succeed by continuing with ever-increasing investment in their physical infrastructure. Although more recent research, by the likes of Gordon Jackson and Skip Fischer, broadly supports this thesis, it has become clear that much more empirical and quantifiable research into port efficiency is needed.

This seminar will address the issue at the strategic level, to pose such deceptively simple questions as ‘Was the development of Rangoon in the late nineteenth century a good idea?’ It will also seek to explore micro-level approaches, to query, for example, whether investment in double storey transit sheds, which could double throughput per yard of quay, but cost much more to build, were always profitable.

Proposals, outlining the scope and argument of the proposed paper and the main sources used, should be submitted by 1 December 2000.