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Paper short abstract:

This paper investigates the relationship between British marine resource extraction and expanding colonization efforts between the 16th and 19th centuries, as well as the implications of these activities for marine ecologies.

Paper long abstract:

England’s (Great Britain following the 1707 Acts of Union) colonial empire was dependent on control and exploitation of marine environments. One area that historians and archaeologists have thoroughly studied regarding this topic is the role of naval sea power in England’s imperial expansion, with less attention given to the relationships between resource extraction activities, like fishing, and colonial endeavours. Recent research, however, has begun to emphasize the acquisition and distribution of marine resources as an essential aspect of globalizing processes. Examples of these connections include provisioning the navy with cod and herring for voyages, establishing and challenging trade relationships with other imperial powers, and distributing supplies and trade goods to colonial subjects. These activities not only impacted colonization efforts, but also the marine ecosystems from which resources were extracted. Urban centers are a valuable starting point to begin investigating these relationships, because they often acted as hubs of imperial systems and central points of exchange for colonial peripheries between the 16th-19th centuries. Using archival documentation, including supply contracts, trade agreements, and newspaper advertisements, this paper frames urban English fish markets as a starting point to interrogate where marine resources were coming from, where they were being distributed, and how this affected globalization. These networks complicate the relationship between British marine resource extraction and expanding colonization efforts between the 16th and 19th centuries, as well as the implications of these activities for marine ecologies.