Throughout the modern period, port-cities have been directly affected by war and its consequences. Because of their primary dependence on overseas trade and the increasing proliferation of naval and aerial conflict on an international scale, the impact of war on port-cities has been extensive, while post-war settlements have often affected their commercial viability by altering territorial alignment or by severing connections with their hinterlands. Was often disrupted port-city trading networks and patterns of population mobility; it had a disproportionate effect on the local economy of port-cities in terms of sectoral employment patterns and labour relations; and was accompanied increasingly in the twentieth century by the destruction of physical assets which created significant problems in relation to post-war reconstruction and planning.
No attempt has been made to analyse the impact of war on port-cities in a comparative and interdisciplinary context. This international workshop is designed to bring together a wide range of scholars, including maritime and military historians and colleagues with a research interest in business, cultural, labour and urban history, in order to construct a framework for examining the impact of war on port-cities and their long-run development. Proposals are invited on any aspect of research relating to port-cities at war, including the following themes:
- War and the disruption of trading networks.
- The impact of war on the relationship between port-cities and their hinterlands.
- War, population growth and migration patterns.
- The economic effects of war in relation to wealth distribution, real wages and labour relations.
- The shifting priorities of naval warfare and their impact of ports.
- The role of colonial ports.
- War, society and gender: the social impact of war.
- War damage, reconstruction and port-city development.
- The political consequences of war.
Proposals are invited for individual papers and panel sessions, focusing on the impact of war on Liverpool, British, European and international ports from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The workshop will be held between 25-27th November at the Merseyside Maritime Museum and will be hosted by the Centre for Port and Maritime History (the Universities of Liverpool, Liverpool Hope and Liverpool John Moores, together with the Merseyside Maritime Musuem). Contributions from new researchers and doctoral students would be particularly welcomed.
Applicants should submit a 400-word proposal and a brief cv (in Word, RRTF or PDF) by Tuesday 30th June. Participants whose papers have been accepted will be notified by Tuesday 14th July. Some limited financial support may be available to help with the travel or accommodation costs of graduate students: food and refreshments will be provided by the workshop organisers.