Scholarship surrounding the history of the North East is dominated by its industrial heritage, and more specifically, the global reputation it held for shipbuilding. Existing scholarship on Lord Armstrong’s shipbuilding business at Elswick, in particular, has been explored from a biographical, industrial, and military perspective.

Existing work has not made the link between shipbuilding at Elswick and colonialism. Despite such an established global reputation and market, historians have stopped short of researching what the ships were used for and involved in beyond their launch date.

This presentation aims to challenge the dominant narrative which has been created because of the copious literature on the subject. This dominant narrative emits what the ships went on to achieve and conquer. The project will create new perspectives which highlight the global ramifications it had at the time when European powers scrambled to own as much of the Earth’s surface as possible.

Furthermore, Newcastle as a city profited from the money and philanthropy which came from both Armstrong and the profits which were made from sales at his Elswick works. Therefore, this research will also challenge the idea that only those directly involved with colonising other countries, through the ships produced, were enriched by it.

Celina is an MA student in Public History at Newcastle University.