Abstract
Preparing food has always been a crucial element in the maritime industry as crews needed to be fed at regular intervals. Moreover, during the second half of the nineteenth century, the emergence of steamships challenged the traditional system of catering on board. The catering staff grew with the size and complexity of new vessels, not in the least due to the growth of passenger transport. However, cooks are often neglected as a professional group in maritime historiography, even though their work was essential for both crews and passengers. To uncover how maritime labour was subject to change when ships became more advanced and complex workplaces, there is a growing consensus among scholars to incorporate understudied labour groups. This essay aims to examine how developments in the maritime industry affected the profession of cook in terms of working methods and status, while analysing their profiles provides more insights into geographical backgrounds, ages and career prospects. In sum, this essay makes the intersection between changes in the maritime industry and its impact on maritime labour more explicit.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bäbler, Günter, Guide to the Crew of Titanic: The Structure of Working Aboard the Legendary Liner (Stroud: The History Press, 2017).
Baetens, Roland, ‘A Survey of Maritime Relations between Belgium and the United States of America (1830–1939)’, in Proceedings of the International Colloquium Industrial Revolutions and the Sea, ed. by Christian Koninckx (Brussels: Koninklijke Academie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schone Kunsten in België, 1991), 229–54.
Beelaert, Bram, ‘“Have You Been to the Doctor Yet?” Het Red Star Line-Hygiëne- en Controlestation voor Emigranten als Plek van Herinnering’, Brood en Rozen 3 (2010), 5‒23.
Beheer van het Zeewezen, Wet en Reglementen Betreffende den Arbeid op Zeeschepen (Brussels: Belgisch Staatsblad, 1926).
Blair, Thomas Stewart, Publique Hygiene (Boston: R.G. Badger, 1911).
Bolster, W. Jeffrey, Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997).
Bruijn, Jaap, ‘Zeevarenden’, in Maritieme Geschiedenis der Nederlanden: Achttiende eeuw en eerste helft negentiende eeuw, ca. 1680 tot 1850–1870, ed. by Frank Broeze, Jaap Bruijn and Femme Gaastra (Bussum: De Boer Maritiem, 1977), 146–90.
Burton, Valerie, ‘Counting Seafarers: The Published Records of the Registry of Merchant Seamen, 1849-1913’, Mariner’s Mirror 71 (1985), 305–20.
Cousin, Justine, Extra-European Seamen Employed by British Imperial Shipping Companies (1860‒1960) (PhD. Diss., Sorbonne University Paris, 2018).
De Raet, Lodewijk, Vlaanderen’s economische ontwikkeling (Antwerp: De Vos-Van Kleef, 1905).
Devos, Greta, ‘Belgische overheidssteun aan scheepvaartlijnen, 1867‒1914’, in Bijdragen tot de Internationale Maritieme Geschiedenis, ed. by Christian Koninckx (Brussels: Weteschappelijk Comité voor Maritieme Geschiedenis, 1988), 81‒98.
Devos, Greta and Guy Elewaut, CMB 100: Een eeuw maritiem ondernemerschap, 1895–1995 (Tielt: Lannoo, 1995).
Dixon, Conrad, ‘Seamen and the Law: An Examination of the Impact of Legislation on the British Merchant Seamen’s Lot, 1588‒1918’ (PhD Diss., University College of London, 1981).
Feys, Torsten, ‘Trans-Atlantic Migration at Full Steam Ahead: A Flourishing and Well-Oiled Multinational Enterprise’, in Red Star Line Antwerp, 1873‒1934, ed. by Bram Beelaert (Leuven: Davidsfonds, 2013), 32‒44.
Feys, Torsten, ‘Een brug tussen werelddelen en een wereld apart: Trans-Atlantische passagiersschepen als plaatsen van ontmoeting en segregatie’, in Allen zijn welkom: Ontmoetingsplaatsen in de Lage Landen rond 1900, ed. by Ben de Pater (Hilversum: Verloren, 2017), 117–33.
Fischer, Lewis, ‘Around the Rim: Seamen’s Wages in North Sea Ports, 1863–1900’, in The North Sea: Twelve Essays on Social History of Maritime Labour, ed. by Lewis Fischer, Harald Hamre and Poul Holm (Stavanger: Stavanger Maritime Museum, 1992), 59–78.
Fricke, Peter, ‘The Social Structure of Crews of British Dry Cargo Merchant Ships: A Study of the Organization and Environment of an Occupation’ (PhD Diss., University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, 1974).
Harley, Charles K., ‘The Shift from Sailing Ships to Steamships, 1850-1890: A Study in Technological Change and Its Diffusion’, in Essays on a Mature Economy: Britain after 1840, ed. by Donald N. McCloskey (London: Methuen, 1971), 215‒37.
Heaton, Paul, Lamport & Holt Line (Abergavenny: P.M. Heaton Publishing, 2004).
Hervy-Cousin, Charles, Pour Notre Marine et Pour Nos Marins (Brussels: Dewit, 1908).
Hoff, L. van ’t, Geneeskundige Gids voor den Scheepskapitein (Rotterdam: W.L & J. Brusse, 1905).
Kaukiainen, Yrjö, ‘Journey Costs, Terminal Costs and Ocean Tramp Freights: How the Price of Distance Declined from the 1870s to 2000’, International Journal of Maritime History 18 (2006), 17‒64.
Kennerley, Alston, ‘Stoking the Boilers: Firemen and Trimmers in British Merchant Ships, 1850-1950’, International Journal of Maritime History 20 (2008), 191‒220.
Loockx, Kristof, ‘From Sail to Steam: Two Generations of Seafarers and the Maritime Labour Market in Antwerp, 1850‒1900’ (PhD Diss., University of Antwerp and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2020).
Loockx, Kristof, ‘Migration Trajectories of Seafarers During the Transition from Sail to Steam: Change and Continuity in Antwerp, 1850‒1900’, International Journal of Maritime History 32 (2020), 616‒35.
Loockx, Kristof, ‘Jackie of All Trades: The Emergence of Stewardesses in the Belgian Fleet, 1870–1914’, Yearbook of Women's History 41 (2022), 51–65.
Mäenpää, Sari, ‘Galley News: Catering Personnel on British Passenger Liners, 1860‒1938’, International Journal of Maritime History 12 (2000), 243‒60.
Mäenpää, Sari, ‘From Pea Soup to Hors d’Oeuvres: The Status of the Cook on British Merchant Ships’, The Northern Mariner 11 (2001), 39‒55.
Mäenpää, Sari, 'New Maritime Labour? Catering Personnel on British Passenger Liners, 1860‒1938' (PhD Diss., University of Liverpool, 2002).
Mäenpää, Sari, ‘Comfort and Guidance for Female Passengers: The Origins of Women’s Employment on British Passenger Liners, 1850‒1914’, Journal of Maritime Research 6 (2004), 145‒64.
Raats, Stefaan, 'Beroepsprofiel van de zeeman op de Belgische koopvaardijvloot tussen 1895 en 1930' (Master thesis, University of Ghent, 1984).
Royen, Paul C. van, Jaap R. Bruijn and Jan Lucassen, eds., “Those Emblems of Hell"? European Sailors and the Maritime Labour Market, 1570–1870 (St. John’s, Newfoundland: International Maritime Economic History Association, 1997).
Sager, Eric W., Seafaring Labour: The Merchant Marine of Atlantic Canada, 1820‒1914 (Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 1989).
Segers, Yves, ‘Op zoek naar afzetmarkten: De uitbouw van de Belgische koopvaardijvloot, 1830‒1870’, in Orbis in Orbem: Liber Amicorum John Everaert, ed. by Jan Parmentier and Sander Spanoghe (Ghent: Akademia Press, 2001), 401‒29.
Stanley, Jo, ‘The Company of Women’, The Northern Mariner 9 (1999), 69‒86.
Steel, Frances, Oceania Under Steam: Sea Transport and the Cultures of Colonialism, c.1870–1914 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2011).
Van Bladel, Georges, Eléments de Droit Maritime Administratif Belge (Brussels: Vve Ferdinand Larcier, 1912).
Van Coolput, Luc and Flor Otterdyk, België op Zee: Verhalen rond schepen uit de 19e en 20ste Eeuw (Antwerp: Vrienden van het Nationaal Scheepvaartmuseum, 2013).
Veraghtert, Karel, ‘The Advance to the European Top, 1850–1913’, in Antwerp: A Port for All Seasons, ed. by Fernand Suykens, Gustaaf Asaert and Alex De Vos (Antwerp: Ortelius, 1986), 359–418.
Vervoort, Robert, ‘The Red Star Line Shipping Company: History and Ships’, in Red Star Line: Antwerp-America. Carrier of Hope, ed. by Robert Vervoort (Antwerp: Pandora, 2005), 7–80.
Willems, Bart, Inventaris van het archief van de Dienst Schepenbeheer Antwerpen en Rechtsvoorgangers, 1845‒2008 (Brussels: Rijksarchief in België, 2012).
Williams, David M. ‘The Quality, Skill and Supply of Maritime Labour: Causes of Concern in Britain, 1850–1914’, in The North Sea: Twelve Essays on Social History of Maritime Labour, ed. by Lewis R. Fischer, Harald Hamre and Poul Holm (Stavanger: Stavanger Maritime Museum, 1992), 41–58.
Witt, Jann Markus, ‘“During the Voyage Every Captain is Monarch of the Ship”: The Merchant Captain from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century’, International Journal of Maritime History 8 (2001), 165‒94.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Loockx, K. (2023). Feeding the Fleet: Cooks in the Belgian Merchant Marine, c.1850–1930. In: Davids, K., Schokkenbroek, J. (eds) The Transformation of Maritime Professions. Palgrave Studies in Economic History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27212-7_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27212-7_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-27211-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-27212-7
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)