The Liverpool Economy during the War of American Independence, 1775–83

Much has been written about how the American War of Independence, a key imperial event, affected the British Isles. However, within this body of work there is limited reference to Liverpool, which was arguably becoming ‘the second city of empire’. This article attempts to fill this gap in the historiography, and addresses the economic impact of the war upon this key port town. It shows that there were four overall stages to Liverpool’s foreign commerce during this period—initially trade remained broadly steady, then there was a noticeable decline, the penultimate stage marked a sluggish improvement, and finally it was not until the post-war years that a sustained recovery took hold. That said, despite these overall trends, individual markets such as the trans-Atlantic slave trade often had their own dynamics. Although privateers (private ships of war) contributed towards the town’s eventual commercial recovery, this activity was by no means the only factor in explaining this rebound. Furthermore, the American war had an impact upon other sectors of the Liverpudlian economy, including shipbuilding and infrastructure projects. Combined, this evidence suggests that eighteenth-century warfare had positive and negative repercussions for the UK economy. As a result, we learn more about being ‘at home with the empire’.     

Decreasing CO2 partial pressure triggered Mg–Fe–Ca carbonate formation in ancient Martian crust preserved in the ALH84001 Meteorite

We retrace hydrogeochemical processes leading to the formation of Mg–Fe–Ca carbonate concretions (first distinct carbonate population, FDCP) in Martian meteorite ALH84001 by generic hydrogeochemical equilibrium and mass transfer modeling. Our simple conceptual models assume isochemical equilibration of orthopyroxenite minerals with pure water at varying water‐to‐rock ratios, temperatures and CO₂ partial pressures. Modeled scenarios include CO₂ partial pressures ranging from 10.1325 to 0.0001 MPa at water‐to‐rock ratios between 4380 and 43.8 mol mol^?1 and different temperatures (278, 303 and 348 K) and enable the precipitation of Mg–Fe–Ca solid solution carbonate. Modeled range and trend of carbonate compositional variation from magnesio‐siderite (core) to magnesite (rim), and the precipitation of amorphous SiO₂ and magnetite coupled to magnesite‐rich carbonate are similar to measured compositional variation. The results of this study suggest that the early Martian subsurface had been exposed to a dynamic gas pressure regime with decreasing CO₂ partial pressure at low temperatures (approximately 1.0133 to 0.0001 MPa at 278 K or 6 to 0.0001 MPa at 303 K). Moderate water‐to‐rock ratios of ca. 438 mol mol^?1 and isochemical weathering of orthopyroxenite are additional key prerequisites for the formation of secondary phase assemblages similar to ALH84001’s ‘FDCP’. Outbursts of water and CO_2(g) from confined ground water in fractured orthopyroxenite rocks below an unstable CO₂ hydrate‐containing cryosphere provide adequate environments on the early Martian surface.     

Obituary. Wolfgang Scharfe (1942–2003)

At the turn of the twentieth century, a popular mania developed around the idea that Mars was inhabited by intelligent beings. This obsession was originally based in the science of the time, but it outlasted astronomers' certainty regarding the red planet's conditions of habitability. Cartography was vital to the popular construction of Mars as an inhabited world and created a powerful landscape icon that differed significantly from the observations of astronomers. Acceptance of a Martian civilization began to wane only when cartography's status as an objective representational format was weakened by new photographic technology in the early 1900s. Although the processes and formats of cartography are rarely considered primary factors in the Mars mania, they were integral to the origin, development and expiration of the conceptualization of Mars as a world that was possibly inhabited.     

Non‐specific indicators of stress and their association with age at death in Medieval York: Using stature and vertebral neural canal size to examine the effects of stress occurring during different periods of development

Selective mortality can occur towards individuals who survive episodes of physiological stress, such as disease and malnutrition, during development. The skeletal elements affected depend on the timing of these stressful episodes. Studying multiple non‐specific indicators of stress can show which periods of development were affected and whether certain periods can be linked with selective mortality. To examine this method a preliminary study of 61 adult individuals from the Medieval population of Fishergate House, York was undertaken to examine small vertebral neural canal size and reduced adult stature. Previous studies have shown that selective mortality occurs towards individuals who display these non‐specific indicators of stress. Statistical analysis showed that small transverse neural canal diameter was significantly associated with early adult mortality for males and females and there was evidence of selective mortality towards females with reduced stature. This suggests that individuals who died in early adulthood experienced health insults during late childhood which stunted VNC growth but males in particular were not significantly affected by health insults after this age as they achieved a normal adult stature. Therefore it appears that health insults which occurred during late childhood had a greater influence on adult health in the Fishergate House population. This method could be expanded to provide more detailed information by using a greater variety of non‐specific indicators of stress which will allow more specific periods of development to be investigated. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flood-Damaged Canals and Human Response,A.D. 1000–1400, Phoenix,Arizona, USA

The scale of prehistoric canal construction in the North American Southwest peaked in a.d. 450–1450, during what has been named the Hohokam Millennium. Explanations for the eventual Hohokam “collapse” remain elusive. Environmental disturbances, such as floods, that were once manageable may have become unmanageable. Recent archaeological excavations of Hohokam canals in Phoenix identified stratigraphic evidence for three destructive floods that date to a.d. 1000–1400 within two large main canals in System 2, Hagenstad and Woodbury’s North. Woodbury’s North Canal was flood-damaged and abandoned sometime after a.d. 1300. Thereafter, no main canals of similar size were constructed to supply villages within System 2 and the area was depopulated. Our investigation provides the first stratigraphic evidence for a destructive flood during the late Classic period in the lower Salt River Valley and is compatible with the hypothesis of diminished resilience to environmental disturbance at the end of the Hohokam Millennium.     

Everyday life and water tourism mobilities: mundane aspects of canal travel

ABSTRACT

Tourism is frequently construed as unusual and extraordinary in contrast to the routines and predictability of work and home life. However, the tourism spaces are co-created through practices that are simultaneously mundane and unusual. Yet everyday touristic practices are seldom researched, especially regarding water tourism. The mundane strategies of creating the boatspace form an important part of the tourist experience of everyday life on canals of England. Movements of bodies in the space, gastronomic experiences, and hygiene practices studied here via ethnographic fieldwork (participant observation and semi-structured interviews with leisure boaters) become defining characteristics of the leisure boaters’ everyday. We show that spatial practices, temporal structures, and search for ontological security are essential elements of domesticating and co-creating the emergent boatspace, where physical and social space are negotiated between various actors.     

The Lock-Keepers of Hawley's Lock,Regent's Canal,Camden

In 2015–16 Compass Archaeology had the opportunity to carry out an archaeological investigation on a site adjacent to Hawley’s Lock on the Regent’s Canal, Camden. The fieldwork followed the recommendations of Historic England, which were made due to the apparent existence of a lock-keepers' cottage at Hawley’s Lock, represented principally on historic maps. The excavations unearthed the well-preserved remains of the cottage from which a floor plan was established. The history and evolution of the building suggested three stages of construction. The original cottage was built c.1820, contemporary with the construction of the first phase of the canal. It was extended to the west and north by 1850 and separated into two probable dwellings, with a third structure added to the west between 1850 and 1870. This third building was associated with the neighbouring sawmill and was the least well preserved of the three. The remains of the steam-pumping house at Kentish Town Lock were also encountered and are discussed herein.

This article attempts to place the lock-keepers' cottage within a social context and therefore considers the residents of the building and what their day-to-day lives might have looked like. This topic has been overlooked until now, with canal archaeology focused on engineering and industrial aspects of the waterway rather than the anthropology. An attempt has been made to rectify this throughout the project, and it is hoped that more attention might be paid in the future to the everyday people and workings of the canals of Britain.     

The Bajada Canals of the Safford Basin,Southeastern Arizona: Excellence in Prehistoric Engineering

A large network of exceptionally well-engineered prehistoric canals has been discovered near Safford, Arizona. Within an area of roughly 450 km², 12 distinct canal systems, comprised of 41 canals, have been identified originating in the bajada of the Pinaleño Mountains. Conveying water from runoff and springs, the longest canal is about 13?km, and the total length of all systems exceeds 125?km. While a few canals may date to ca. a.d. 1100, the vast majority date to between ca. a.d. 1250 and 1450 and appear to be constructed by migrants from northeastern Arizona. These features represent the second largest network of canal systems in the American Southwest, and, while smaller in size and total length than the canal systems of the Phoenix Basin, they exhibit engineering sophistication not found in those systems. These canals have expanded the knowledge of prehistoric water management engineering and agricultural intensification in the American Southwest.