The Seafarers' Urban World: A Critical Review

This paper addresses some of the outstanding issues relating to our perception of the seafarer’s urban world. It reassesses the stereotypical image of Jack ashore, particularly in relation to drink and crime, as well as the perception and experience of the urban environment; locates seafarers within their family, kin and communal networks; explores the linkages between maritime and shore-based employment; and analyzes the extent and significance of welfare support in mediating the experience of the urban world. It also places the analysis of the seafarer’s shore-based experiences within a wider conceptual and methodological framework rather than accepting at face value the normative accounts found in the work of some maritime historians and which continue to mould and structure popular opinion.