British Identities through Pottery in Praxis

This article examines British action in the South Atlantic by applying the concept of praxis - or practical action - to the analysis of the materiality of social relations. This is achieved through the investigation of ships and the biography of their objects, identifying patterns of production and consumption. I concentrate on local scales looking at objects and the social relations they construct in Royal Navy ships and the different ways that identities are expressed and projected. I particularly focus on a case study: the pottery assemblage of sloop of war His Majesty’s Ship (HMS) Swift (1763-1770) located in Puerto Deseado (Santa Cruz Province, Argentina). By utilizing the concept of praxis, this article goes beyond a descriptive analysis of wrecks by exploring them and their cargoes as embodiments of 18th-century social relations. More importantly, it will challenge traditional maritime approaches providing a different perspective that emphasizes the richness, diversity and complexity of British action at the end of the 18th century.