The medieval development of the distinct region of north-east England explored through close examination of landscape, religion and history.

This study of England's north-eastern parts examines counties Durham and Northumberland as well as Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with its central theme the extent to which the county gentry and urban elites possessed a sense of regional identity. It concentrates on these elites' social, political, religious and cultural connections which extended beyond the purely administrative jurisdictions of the county or town. By concentrating on a series of seismic changes in the area - the demise of its great regional magnates, the rapid upsurge of the coal industry and the union of the crowns - it offers a distinctive chronological coverage, from the latter half of the sixteenth century through to the early seventeenth century. Old stereotypes of the north-eastern landed elites as isolated and backward are overturned while their response to state formation reveals their political sophistication. Traditional views of the religious conservatism of the north-eastern parts are reassessed to demonstrate its multi-faceted complexion. And contrasting cultural patterns are analysed, through ballad literature, the cult of St Cuthbert and increasing exposure to metropolitan 'civility' to reveal a series of sub-regions within the north-eastern reaches of the kingdom.

Is North East England really a coherent and self-conscious region? The essays collected here address this topical issue, from the middle ages to the present day.

A rich picture of the complexities of early industrial development in the north-east of England.

In the more than two hundred years since his death, Cook's reputation has been much discussed, opinion ranging from celebration of his achievement to more subjective assessments of the long-term implications of his voyages in those countries of the Pacific which he visited.
The thirteen essays in this book, grouped in four sections, continue the debate. 'The Years in England' cover Cook's Whitby background and the part played by the Royal Society in the Pacific ventures of the period. 'The Pacific Voyages' investigates the clash between the Endeavour's crew and the Aborigines on the banks of the Endeavour River, the process by which Cook and his crews became 'Polynesianised', Cook's visit to the Hawaiian Islands, and his call at Nootka Sound, both on his final voyage.
'Captain Cook and his Contemporaries' views other European explorers in the Pacific, and concludes with an analysis of Russian attitudes towards Cook. 'The Legacy of Captain Cook' compares Cook's death on Hawaii with the later killing of a missionary on Eromanga, examines fluctuations in Cook's reputation, and describes life on board the replica of the Endeavour.
GLYNDWR WILLIAMS is Emeritus Professor of History, Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London. His many books include an edition of Captain Cook's Voyages, 1768-79, from the official accounts derived from Cook's journals.

The ancient but isolated town of Whitby has made a huge contribution to the maritime history of Britain: Captain Cook learned sailing and navigation here; during the eighteenth century the town was a provider of an exceptionally large number of transport ships in wartime; and in the nineteenth century Whitby became a major whaling port. This book examines how it came to be such an important shipping centre.
Drawing on extensive maritime records, the author shows that it was commercial entrepreneurship which brought about the growth of Whitby's shipping industry, first in the export of local alum and carrying coal to London, then in northern European trades, alongside its very successful ship-building industry.
The book includes details from the financial accounts of voyages. These provide a fascinating insight into seafaring in the period with details of the hierarchical structure of crews, and of shipboard apprentices learning the trade. Overall, a very full picture emerges of every aspect of the shipping industry of this key port.

ROSALIN BARKER is an Honorary Fellow in the History Department at the University of Hull, and was formerly a tutor in adult education at the universities of Cambridge, Leeds and Hull and the Open University.

For hundreds of years the keelmen, the "keel lads o' coaly Tyne" celebrated in the north-east folk song "The Keel Row", ferried coal down-river to the estuary and cast it aboard ships bound for London or overseas. They were "the very sinews of the coal trade" on which the prosperity of the region depended.
This book charts the history of the keelmen from the early seventeenth century to the point where technological advances made them redundant in the course of the nineteenth century. It describes how the importance of their work placed them in a strong position in industrial disputes, especially since they could shut off the coal supply to London. It examines their numerous turbulent battles with rapacious employers and unsympathetic magistrates (often themselves involved in the coal trade), their struggles against poverty and eventually against redundancy, and their attempts to gain redress in Parliament and in the law courts. The book also describes the squalid conditions in Sandgate where, as recounted in the folk song, many keelmen and their families lived with a reputation for independence and savage roughness but exhibited impressive solidarity both as an early industrial labour organisation and as a tightly-knit, mutually supportive, and highly self-reliant community.
The book will be of interest to social and economic historians, labour historians, maritime historians and all interested in the history of the North East.

JOSEPH M. FEWSTER was, until his retirement in 1997, Senior Assistant Keeper in Durham University Library.

This book examines three different groups of women - in coal mining communities, in inshore fishing communities and in agricultural labour. It demonstrates how the work these groups undertook was fundamental in shaping their experiences as women in different ways and shows that women's experiences varied within class as well as between classes. The book illustrates how mining women, despite being restricted to domestic roles, created, through meticulous housekeeping, a power base in their homes and rendered their husbands dependent on them, while a minority took so active a role in politics that they were said to be 'the backbone of the Labour Party'; how fisher women, engaging in a household economy reminiscent of pre-modern times, exercised great influence on financial decision making through their roles in baiting lines and selling fish; and how some single female agricultural labourers exercised considerable autonomy whereas those who were tied in a family economy had little independence. Overall, the book makes a very significant contribution to women's history, to labour history and to economic and social history. "This is a tremendously useful and relevant book for historians of women as well as social and labor historians." - Professor Joan Scott, Institute of Advanced Studies, Princeton University. VALERIE HALL is Professor Emerita of History at William Peace University, North Carolina