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This seventh volume of Naval Miscellany contains documents which range in date from the late thirteenth century to the Korean War. They illustrate the many different ways in which the naval forces of the crown have served the realm. Topics covered include the role of ships in campaigns against Scotland under Edward I and Edward VI, the protection of the Iceland fishery in the days of the Commonwealth government, and the operation of prize courts during the wars against France in the eighteenth century. Moving on to the nineteenth century, the supply of timber to the Royal Navy is examined, while two contributions deal with surveying off the west coast of Africa and another prints a diary kept by a member of the Naval Brigade operating onshore in the Zulu War. The most recent contributions deal with the origins and development of the Royal Australian Navy up to the 1950s. Two more controversial subjects are also included; the first gives more information about the storage of cordite on battle cruisers in 1916 and the battle of Jutland; the second documents the relief of Admiral North from Gibraltar in 1940. There is something here for every enthusiast for naval history and for all students of the relevant periods.

"The wool trade was undoubtedly one of the most important elements of the British economy throughout the medieval period - even the seat occupied by the speaker of the House of lords rests on a woolsack. In 'The wealth of England' Susan Rose brings together the social, economic and political strands in the development of the wool trade and show how and why it became so important. The author looks at the lives of prominent wool-men; gentry who based their wealth on producing this commodity like the Stonors in the Chilterns, canny middlemen who rose to prominence in the City of London like Nicholas Brembre and Richard (Dick) Whittington, and men who acquired wealth and influence like William de la Pole of Hull. She examines how the wealth made by these and other wool-men transformed the appearance of the leading centres of the trade with magnificent churches and other buildings. The export of wool also gave England links with Italian trading cities at the very time that the Renaissance was transforming cultural life. The complex operation of the trade is also explained with the role of the Staple at Calais to the fore leading to a discussion on the way the policy of English kings, especially in the fourteenth century, was heavily influenced by trade in this one commodity. No other book has treated this subject holistically with its influence on the course of English history made plain."--Page 4 of cover

Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Introduction: The Realm of England and Its Neighbours -- Chapter 1: The Sources for Medieval Maritime History -- Chapter 2: Strategic Imperatives -- Chapter 3: The 'navy of England': Understanding the Naval Resources of the Crown -- Chapter 4: Ships and Ship Types -- Chapter 5: Shipbuilding and Shore Facilities -- Chapter 6: The World of the Medieval Mariner -- Chapter 7: War at Sea -- Chapter 8: Corsairs and Commanders -- Chapter 9: The Navies of Other European States -- Chapter 10: The Legacy to Henry VIII -- Conclusion -- Further Reading -- Timeline -- Notes -- Acknowledgements.

Wine has held its place for centuries at the heart of social and cultural life in western Europe. This book will explain how and why this came about, providing a thematic history of wine and the wine trade in Europe in the middle ages from c.1000 to c.1500. Wine was one of the earliest commodities to be traded across the whole of western Europe. Because of its commercial importance, more is probably known about the way viticulture was undertaken and wine itself was made, than the farming methods used with most other agricultural products at the time