Overview

The forts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were like snowflakes in their complexity and beautiful geometry. They were ephemeral too; they first appeared in Tudor times, with earthworks and bastions arranged in star or rose patterns, yet by the late nineteenth century they were all but redundant. This book will use The National Archives’ extensive collection of beautiful drawings and maps to explain the story of these structures- why they were built, their various functions and their immense historical legacy in laying the foundations of empire. Without forts, the history of America could have taken a very different course, pirates could have sailed the seas unchecked and Britain itself could have been successfully invaded.

Full Product Details

Author:   The National Archives ,  Jeremy Black (University of Exeter, UK)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Osprey Publishing
Weight:   1.640kg
ISBN:  

9781472827630

ISBN 10:   1472827635
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   20 September 2018
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

The book will use 100-150 documents from The National Archives, many of which have previously not been digitised and are not in the Image Library. This range includes: meticulously drawn original plans of forts from the 16th to 19th centuries, maps and original letters which tell the often turbulent stories of the forts and their inhabitants. Contents Early Forts Henry VIII first realised the potential of forts to protect England from the Catholic powers of Europe. The National Archives holds plans of some famous Tudor forts such as the rose-shaped Deal Castle, as well as subsequent fortresses erected under Elizabeth I. The beginnings of Empire Where British trade went, forts followed. Without them, the history of America might be very different as they were used in wars against the French and native populations. One of the most famous, Fort William-Henry, was subject to a siege in 1757 that was later immortalised in the film The Last of the Mohicans. Slavery Forts were instrumental in the slave trade, and were used to hold people in squalid conditions before they were transported to the Caribbean. The National Archives holds many drawings of forts in West Africa, along with letters and registers which give an important insight into the conditions in these buildings. Trade and Piracy The seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries were the heyday of piracy, when Captain Kidd and Blackbeard roamed the seas pillaging merchant vessels. To protect trade forts were built in the Caribbean, and to make an example of captured pirates they were often executed there in front of watching crowds. The National Archives holds a large collection of drawings along with contemporary accounts of the capture of Blackbeard and the death warrants issued to pirates. Home Defence In response to the threat from Napoleon, forts were upgraded and new defences built. Later in the nineteenth century a resurgent France prompted a huge programme of fort construction. Nicknamed ‘Palmerston’s Follies’ after the then Prime Minister, these forts featured new round designs and technology, but never had to be used. By the start of the twentieth century aircraft rendered them obsolete.

Reviews

The number and quality of the illustrations make this book a real bargain, and it is easy to recommend it to anyone interested in fortifications. - The Coast Defense Journal Beautifully illustrated. - Army Magazine

"""The number and quality of the illustrations make this book a real bargain, and it is easy to recommend it to anyone interested in fortifications."" - The Coast Defense Journal ""Beautifully illustrated."" - Army Magazine"

The number and quality of the illustrations make this book a real bargain, and it is easy to recommend it to anyone interested in fortifications. - The Coast Defense Journal

Author Information

For sales / publishing only. We can go two ways with this book. TNA suggested that we ask Jeremy Black to write the text and captions and he is willing to do this. However, we will have to pay him a higher advance than we would have had to do if we were working with TNA alone. We would probably need sales figures of c.4K to make this viable. Alternatively, the book could be written and edited by a team of specialist researchers at The National Archives. One of the suggested contributors, Dr George Hay, has a wealth of knowledge and experience on military installations.

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