GeoData Institute supports an ambitious University of Southampton research project exploring the development of Britain's merchant shipping, maritime trade and coastal communities over two centuries.

How did England develop into a global maritime and trading power? What can historical shipping records reveal about the movement of goods, the growth of trading networks and the lives of the people who worked at sea?

English Merchant Shipping, Trade, and Maritime Communities, from the Spanish Armada to the Seven Years War (c.1588–c.1765) is an interdisciplinary research project led by Professor Craig Lambert at the University of Southampton. The project brings together expertise in maritime history, computer science and digital technologies to investigate these questions through the systematic analysis of historical records.

GeoData's Contribution

The GeoData Institute plays an important role in developing the digital infrastructure needed to manage, process and analyse extensive historical datasets.

Jason Sadler, supported by Dr Julia Branson and Ian Waldock, contributes expertise in software architecture, database development and web technologies.

Central to the project is the development of a geospatial database that brings together information from historical customs accounts, shipping musters, taxation records and probate documents. By integrating these sources, researchers aim to investigate the geographical distribution of merchant vessels, trace the evolution of maritime trade routes and reconstruct the working lives of mariners, merchants and shipowners.

The project also incorporates digital approaches to processing historical documents, including Handwriting Text Recognition technology, supporting the transformation of archival material into structured data suitable for research and analysis.

Making Maritime Heritage Accessible

Beyond its academic contribution, the project aims to create lasting, interactive digital resources that allow researchers, local communities and the wider public to explore Britain's maritime past.

Through the combination of historical evidence, structured data and digital mapping, the research seeks to provide new perspectives on the development of maritime trade networks and the communities connected to them.

The project demonstrates how GeoData's expertise in data management and digital solutions can support research beyond conventional geospatial applications, enabling historical information to be explored in new and meaningful ways.

Find out more

Visit the English Merchant Shipping, Trade, and Maritime Communities project website to learn more about the research, its partners and the digital resources being developed.