Japanese Imari porcelain, with its vivid red, blue and gold palette, reached Europe in the late seventeenth century and created a sensation among collectors accustomd to the more austere palette of blue-and-white Chinese wares. Soon Imari chargers and full garnitures graced the palaces and great houses of Europe and formed significant portions of the massive collections of Asian porcelains formed by many kings and princes. When high prices and increased competition from China caused imports of Imari to slow in the mid-eignteenth century, Imari continues to exert a strong influence on both the design and palette used to create porcelains at the newly established porcelain factories both in England and on the Continent.--pg. 6.
This guide to Hawaii covers all of Hawaii's visited islands, from the lush resorts and deluxe beaches to the interior wilderness, rainforest and volcanoes. The book provides comprehensive details on outdoor activities; a detailed background on Hawaiian culture; and in-depth reviews of hotels, restaurants and nightlife options, to suit every budget.
As any sailor knows, life at sea is hazardous under even normal circumstances. In times of war with an enemy intent on killing and sinking you it is infinitely more so. David Blackmore has researched 100 extreme cases over the span of history and written graphic descriptions covering the background, the events and the tragic consequences. Many were the result of enemy action, others (too many) straight human error and the remainder were caused by act of God, not least the weather.
As a "Sea Hunter" and host, with novelist Clive Cussler, for the new National Geographic International television series, join Delgado as the team searches for, discovers and explores, among others, the wrecks of RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued Titanic’s survivors; Mary Celeste, the infamous "ghost ship" found sailing alone without a soul aboard, in the mid-Atlantic in 1872; Vrouw Maria, a perfectly preserved Dutch cargo ship of 1771, discovered on the bottom of the Baltic Ocean packed with cargo, including crates of long-lost Old Masters belonging to Empress Catherine the Great of Russia; the lost ships of the Mongol fleet of Kublai Khan that invaded Japan in 1274; and wreck of the USS Mississinewa, the first ship sunk by a Japanese "suicide submarine" in WWII. Stories and personalities of the past are interspersed with visits and voyages around the world - crossing the Atlantic, drifting in a powerless ship at the mercy of gales in the heart of the Pacific, and navigating through the fabled Northwest Passage. The undeniable thrill of being where history was made make "Adventures of a Sea Hunter" a highly entertaining, personal account of the exploration of the sea and the past that rests beneath the waves.
From the beginning of history to the present, a sweep of the world's oceans and seas and how they have shaped the course of civilization. From the author of the acclaimed The Great Sea, ("Magnificent . . . radiates scholarship and a sense of wonder and fun," Simon Sebag Montefiore; Book of the Year, The Economist), David Abulafia's new book guides readers along the world's greatest bodies of water to reveal their primary role in human history. The main protagonists are the three major oceans--the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian--which together comprise the majority of the earth's water and cover over half of its surface. Over time, as passage through them gradually extended and expanded, linking first islands and then continents, maritime networks developed, evolving from local exploration to lines of regional communication and commerce and eventually to major arteries. These waterways carried goods, plants, livestock, and of course people--free and enslaved--across vast expanses, transforming and ultimately linking irrevocably the economies and cultures of Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Far more than merely another history of exploration, The Boundless Sea shows how maritime networks gradually formed a continuum of interaction and interconnection. Working chronologically, Abulafia moves from the earliest forays of peoples taking hand-hewn canoes into uncharted waters, to the routes taken daily by supertankers in the thousands. History on the grandest scale and scope, written with passion and precision, this is a project few could have undertaken. Abulafia, whom The Atlantic calls "superb writer with a gift for lucid compression and an eye for the telling detail," proves again why he ranks as one of the world's greatest storytellers.
"This reference work begins with an introduction expressing the significance of beaches and shores. Each entry begins with a topographical description and contacts for the region, discusses topics such as mythical and tribal stories, artistry, religious meanings and pilgrimages, activism, conquests and the slave trade, piracy, human development, and tourism, concluding with a summary of coastal activities today"--Provided by publisher.
This two-volume set highlights the importance of Iberian shipbuilding in the centuries of the so-called first globalization (15th to 18th), in confluence with an unprecedented extension of ocean navigation and seafaring and a greater demand for natural resources (especially timber), mostly oak (Quercus spp.) and Pine (Pinus spp.). The chapters are framed in a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary line of research that integrates history, Geographic Information Sciences, underwater archaeology, dendrochronology and wood provenance techniques. This line of research was developed during the ForSEAdiscovery project, which had a great impact in the academic and scientific world and brought together experts from Europe and America. The volumes deliver a state-of-the-art review of the latest lines of research related to Iberian maritime history and archaeology and their developing interdisciplinary interaction with dendroarchaeology. This synthesis combines an analysis of historical sources, the systematic study of wreck-remains and material culture related to Iberian seafaring from the 15th to the 18th centuries, and the application of earth sciences, including dendrochronology. The set can be used as a manual or work guide for experts and students, and will also be an interesting read for non-experts interested in the subject. Volume 2 focuses on approaches to the study of shipwrecks including a synthesis of dendro-archaeological results, current interdisciplinary case studies and the specialist study of artillery and anchors.
