Maritime history of England

The Maritime history of England involves events including shipping, ports, navigation, and seamen, as well as marine sciences, exploration, trade, and maritime themes in the arts of England. Until the advent of air transport and the creation of the Channel Tunnel, marine transport was the only way of reaching the rest of Europe from England and for this reason, maritime trade and naval power have always had great importance. Prior to the Acts of Union in 1707, the maritime history of the British Isles was largely dominated by England.

Paleolithic and mesolithic hunter-gatherers may well have reached Great Britain by sea, at least partly. Separation of the island from Ireland was about 9000 BC while separation from the continent of Europe occurred around 6500 BC. English maritime history really starts with the Massaliote Periplus used by Phoenician traders in Iron Age Europe. This includes a description of the trade route to England around 600 BC. It is believed that this trade was in tin and other raw materials. A later periplus was that of Pytheas of Marsallia in "On the Ocean", written about 325 BC. It is clear that in the Iron Age trade between Gaul and Britain was routine and that fishermen travelled to Orkney, Shetland and Norway.

The first vessels used by Britons are presumed to have been rafts and dugout canoes, though the coracle, a small single passenger boat is known to have been used at least since the Roman invasion. Coracles are round or oval in shape, made of a wooden basket-like frame with a hide stretched over it then tarred to provide waterproofing. Being light, it can be carried over a shoulder. Coracles are capable of operating in mere inches of water due to the keel-less hull. The early peoples are believed to have used these boats for fishing and travel.

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