Framing Pattern and Shipwright Agency: Understanding the Uniformization of the French Navy in the Late 17th century

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "From the Bottom Up: Socioeconomic Archaeology of the French Maritime Empire" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Sunk in 1692 at the Battle of La Hougue during the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), the wrecks of Saint-Philippe, Magnifique, Merveilleux, Foudroyant, and Ambitieux constituted what is considered to be the first navy of France. These ships were built by master shipwrights who were already seasoned craftsmen when the navy’s regulations were first imposed. As a result, the wrecks of La Hougue display different construction features reflecting their individual shipyards and shipwrights.

This paper is a comparative study of the different framing patterns present in French shipyards in the late 17th century and early 18th century. It will also explore the comparison with other European traditions and how shipwrights’ agency played a part in the technical discussions between the ancient tradition and the engineering ways that were reinforced within shipyards.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• From the Bottom Up: Socioeconomic Archaeology of the French Maritime Empire   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 614