Abstract

"Techno-skepticism, conservatism, and community in maritime business, 1870-1930"

Morten Tinning, CBS (mti.bhl@cbs.dk)

Earlier research points to techno-skepticism, conservatism, and a backward-looking mentality, as the reason for resistance to the transition from sail to steam in traditional (often provincial) sail-based shipping communities, where steamship operations were perceived as to costly, and complex (Møller et al., 1998).
This paper will introduce and outline preliminary findings from a research project, that deploys a “cultural turn” lens and microhistory methodology (Decker et al., 2015; Hargadon & Wadhwani, 2022) to shed new light on the transition from sail to steam. Rather than viewing traditional shipping communities solely as conservative and skeptical, the research project zooms in on sailing ship communities as cohesive cultures and identities in which sailing, shipbuilding, crewing and shipping operations were interconnected elements of a culture, identity and community way of life.
The paper suggests that these communities saw steamships as a representation of a capitalism and new industrial business model, that could potentially disrupt the economic, social, and cultural cohesion of the community. Based on and inspired by earlier research (Tinning, 2022), the projects shift attention away from more conventional economic and quantitative historical analysis to foreground the role of cultural community, and context to answer the question: Why did many traditional provincial sailship centers fail to transition to steam?
The project investigates the economic and social threads that bound maritime communities together through identity, business, and ownership models, as well as other social and economic connections. Deploying a microhistory approach the project focuses on the traditional maritime communities of Svendborg, Troense, Thurø, and Marstal - in the late 19th century, the largest Danish maritime communities outside Copenhagen. It aims to utilize a broad and diverse range of sources, including navigators' logs, diaries, letters, ship manifests, and census data, to provide further context and potential reinterpretation of more traditional quantitative history.