the rat's out the bag

PhD/MA student in #history etc looking to gain experience with a major UK #heritage institution? The National Archives’ student placement schemes are now open and accepting expressions of interest on our website (including one with yours truly..!) www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/professional...

I'm super happy to say my latest article on Caribbean sinew populations has been published with the International Review of Social History. It is available (open access!) here: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Want to learn more about the spectacular find on the Danish cargo ship Anne-Marie? Sign up for an exciting roundtable with researchers from the Faroe Islands here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf... #skystorians #19thcentury #earlymodern #maritimehistory

For much more on Ireland during the imperial crisis and American War of Independence see the @virtualtreasury.bsky.social's Age of Revolutions Portal (virtualtreasury.ie/portals/age-...). The browse feature underneath the main search bar to the right shows all repositories and documents.

Delighted to see that Gijs Dreijer's second book has just been published Open Access! This is a major contribution to our understanding of how Dutch entrepreneurs engaged in the Scramble for Africa, exploiting the opportunities offered by other European colonial powers 🗃️

On 16 April, we co-host 'History and Archives in Practice, 2026' with @ihr.bsky.social, The National Archives, and University of Sheffield Library. For #HAP26 our theme is: ‘Shaping Societies, Improving Lives: the Impact of Archives and Historical Research’ bit.ly/4tvKUnX. Booking now #Skystorians

Cover reveal for Richard Frohock's fab new 🏴‍☠️ book! Piracy Mythmaking in the Eighteenth Century Criminality, Human Nature, & Civil Government from @routledgehistory.bsky.social will be published 21/5/26! www.routledge.com/Piracy-Mythm...

The Utah Historical Society just produced a new, excellent map of "The Peoples of North America in 1776." Great resource for anyone teaching, writing, presenting about Native peoples as part of their 250th work. america250.utah.gov/power-of-pla...

🚨🐟 CFP - COLONIAL HINTER-SEAS: A Conference on Subaquatic Resources and Waterside Lives from the Early Modern to the Contemporary, 10-11 August 2026, virtual, Zoom & 19-21 August 2026, in-person, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. Details: www.colonialfisheries.com/colonial-hin... 🐟🚨

Dear history fans, what objects would you like to see in an exhibition on privateering & life at sea in the 18th century? Everyday objects, letters, navigational instruments, or something unexpected? It will also explore forced migration. I’d love to hear your thoughts #earlymodern #maritimehistory

Letters of marque! How delightfully early modern.

C 132/1/1 is a Chancery Inquisition Post Mortem for Richard Noel from 1236, making it The First Noel on The National Archives' online catalogue... discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C8...

‘so what illuminations are you going to put on this manuscript?’ ‘bear with me’ TNA, E 36/274

Over 20,000 item descriptions have been added to REQ 2 (Court of Requests proceedings) since March 2024. An absolute treasure trove for Tudor historians. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/r/C...

Come and work with me! The National Archives are looking for an Early Modern Parliamentary Records Specialist. More details available via the link. www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cg...

Winner of the RHS First Book Prize (2025): 'Royal Justice and the Making of the Tudor Commonwealth, 1485-1547', by Laura Flannigan (Cambridge University Press, 2024) bit.ly/4nwi4kj 1/2 #Skystorians

Looks like this would be the mastodon (Mammut americanum) found at Big Bone Lick in 1755. (I don’t have institutional access to read the whole chapter but there ya go) www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt...

The National Archives is full of old fossils. No, not the staff/visitors - I mean this report of mastodon remains found along the Ohio River, included as a brief annotation in this map of lands ceded in 1768 Fort Stanwix treaty. Either that or a REALLY big bison. #MastodonPosting CO 700/Virginia18

In Which the Aladdin's Cave of HCA Series Papers Lures @thiagokrause.bsky.social 🤣 @mooregraham.bsky.social @prizepapers.bsky.social I look forward to your report!

‼️🐠 Our short “History Matters” piece — “Colonialism, Governance, and Fisheries: Perspectives from Lake Malawi” just published OA in The Journal of African History! doi.org/10.1017/S002... A lengthier piece expanding on fisheries surveys & colonial development in L. Malawi coming soon in Isis… 🐠‼️

📣 Amazing PhD opportunity with Dr Hannah Young at the University of Greenwich: ‘De-colonising Maritime Greenwich: Confronting histories and legacies of empire, c. 1694-2025.’ Fully-funded!! Spread the word to prospective applicants! #PhD #postgraduate www.gre.ac.uk/__data/asset...

Francis Drake fans (?) rejoice, because this book is for you! New review of M-C Velázquez’s ‘Cultural Representations of Piracy’ (2023) in IJMH. The book does great stuff with both English and Spanish sources, arguing that cultural ideas of piracy stabilised by the end of the 16th-C.

New MA Scholarship in Maritime History @ueahistory.bsky.social starting in 2025, funded by the generosity of @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social alumni Dominic Christian. ⚓⚓⚓ For details and eligibility see: lnkd.in/dVgNZqYX Apply by 2/5/2025.

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP): The Hidden Gender of Collections: Women and the Curation of Scientific Heritage phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/2233... #skystorians 🗃️

enjoying this devious polar bear today, in John Seller’s Atlas Maritimus (1698) [TNA, FO 925/4111]

This looks to be a fantastic #CoastalHistory talk for anyone near London!

Catalogue descriptions for the indictments, etc, in KB 9 have had an upgrade. We've tidied up dates and descriptions, which has hopefully made everything a bit clearer. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/r/C...

PASSAGE is recruiting for two fixed-term posts to join me working on 18thC records of enslavement 1) Collections Researcher (Transatlantic Slavery) shorturl.at/aZwqn 2) Project Cataloguer (Transatlantic Slavery) shorturl.at/6aSpz If you have questions, please let me know & please circulate widely!

A catalogue search tip for #InternationalWomensDay, add "SFP" to your Discovery search to find Single Female Plaintiffs in pre-modern court records. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_q...

this pigeon is also going to The National Archives today

I'm very pleased to share news of a new project I am leading at The National Archives. PASSAGE combines archival research on the transatlantic trade of enslaved people with an international programme that centres the research of West African & Caribbean scholars. Read more here: shorturl.at/XLyC8

Many thanks Claire and Rohan - it was a true pleasure to have the opportunity to discuss the work with you both! (And to reiterate my own thanks to Richard and @thegozfather.bsky.social, as well as all other supervisors, friends, & faculty, for their support!)

This week! Come hear me chat about d'Eon's many interactions with the English Law Courts this Friday 14 February.

Very kind words - thank you, Dave!

Chevaliere d’Eon or Chevalier d’Eon? An #18thcentury legal dispute between two French spies unravelled into a public battle about identity. 🔓 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟳 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 buff.ly/3ZJSeyg

Together with Sarah Lentz from the @unibremen.bsky.social, I am organising an exciting workshop at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg from 7 to 9 July on Transient Communities and Spaces of Mobility, 1500-1900. The CfP for the event is now open. www.hsozkult.de/event/id/eve... #earlymodern #history 🗃️

Hey, you! Tired of trekking all the way to the mill? Introducing ‘Mill in a Boat’ - the mill that comes to you! Mill in a Boat’s patented floating technology means you can #grind whatever the water level. Mill in a Boat: for bakers who rise to the occasion! MPI 1/386

* NEW PUBLICATION * The official publication date is January 6, however, the Open Access version is already available. library.oapen.org/handle/20.50... @amsterdamupress.bsky.social @jessicadenoudsten.bsky.social @camilladekoning.bsky.social @fatahblack.bsky.social @ilsejosepha.bsky.social

When I teach sailing, the kids always tell me the boats I draw on the whiteboard ‘don’t look like boats’ - so it’s nice to know that Admiralty officers in 1779 shared my artistic vision. This map shows a proposed fleet formation for defending the entrance to New York at Sandy Hook. [MPI 1/100]

superannuated forgot to tag @mooregraham.bsky.social who published a splendid blog on the HCA papers for @globalmarhist.bsky.social @lhaasis.bsky.social to which one can find a link here 🙃

Many thanks to @globalmarhist.bsky.social and to @canadianerrant.bsky.social for patience and attention to this endeavo(u)r: includes intro to new work on Guinea Co (1649 failure at Santa Cruz/St Croix @erikagaffney.bsky.social )

Enjoying these alligators today, adorning maps of colonial America - with a Bonus Beaver [TNA, CO 700/AmericaNorthAndSouth35, 42]

This is the good stuff. www.newberry.org/calendar/eme...

(reposting w/ slight CFP change!) Just Announced! The next #ConnectedPast in 2025 will take place in Coimbra Portugal! You have until March 15 to submit your abstracts! Share widely amongst your networks! @fionacoward.bsky.social #networks #archaeology more details: www.connectedpast.net