Ralph Davis's The Rise of the English Shipping Industry in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries is certainly one of the most significant books in maritime history published in the twentieth century. It was and remains the only comprehensive study of English shipping during its period, but more so, when it was first published in 1962 it represented a watershed in two senses: it broke the mould of past studies and, more positively, it represented a new approach to the study of shipping both conceptually and in its use of source material. Through such features and its high scholarly quality it came as a revelation to all interested in shipping. Moreover, although it was a specialized study, because its findings were placed in a wider context and addressed issues of the day it caused historians to begin to view the maritime dimension and maritime history in a new and different light.

This new edition of Davis’ seminal study will make the book more readily available to a fresh generation of scholars. It is essential reading for all interested in the historiography of maritime studies and for everyone engaged in research into shipping. Whatever aspect, period or context - national or international - is being examined, his work is a model in approach and the use of data. He also poses questions that are widely applicable. The writers of this introduction believe wholeheartedly that our view of the maritime world and the type and form of research to which we aspire owes an incalculable debt to Ralph Davis.

Davis’ study remains so relevant and fresh that it is difficult to remember that it is now a half- century since it first appeared. Because of this passage of time, our original goal of inviting one of his contemporaries to write this introduction is sadly impossible. Davis died at the age of sixty-two in 1978. Almost all of those whom Ralph regarded as close colleagues - notably Robin Craig, Basil Greenhill, Rupert Jarvis and Geoffrey Scammell are no longer with us, and those few who remain are not in the best of health. We both had the privilege of meeting or knowing Davis. In Fischer's case, the association was very brief and confined to the few days during which Ralph graced the very first conference of the Atlantic Canada Shipping Project.