ONLINE SEMINAR: 'Kings of Privateering: A History of the Spanish enterprise' with Vera Moya - German Maritime Museum & Prize Papers Project (23 FEB 2026, 1-2 pm CET)

 

(Source: Prize Papers Project)

Dr Vera Moya Sordo is a Mexican archaeologist and historian whose work dives into shipwrecks, life and fear aboard ships, and the hidden world of privateering. She has held positions at the University of Navarra, INAH-Mexico, and the Nautical Archaeology Society (UK), and is part of the international Red Imperial Contractor State Group, exploring how warfare and state-building were shaped by society itself.

What to expect: Contrary to the traditional historiographical view of Spanish privateers having limited or nonexistent agency, they were fundamental instruments of modern naval warfare and the deployment of monarchical power internationally. Among these "kings" of privateering, those who operated in the Caribbean throughout the 18th century exemplify a multifaceted agency, mobilizing resources for war, trade, smuggling, the slave trade, and other businesses, both regionally and beyond imperial geopolitical borders.

The online lecture series "Ships & Seafaring 1500–1800" is presented as a special collaboration between the German Maritime Museum, Leibniz Institute for Maritime History in Bremerhaven (Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum der Leibniz Association) and the Prize Papers Project (Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg / The National Archives, UK) and hosted together with Nele Popp.

Register here: https://lnkd.in/eKkz_8X6.

                     https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seafaring-15001800-tickets-1931080938069