Secrets of the Prize Papers: Echoes of Empire

The National Archives holds over 4,000 boxes of letters, papers, and artefacts from ships captured by the British between 1652 and 1815.

Join us for the conclusion of our three-part series diving deep into the fascinating Prize Papers collection. In this episode, Chloe Lee takes a step back from the ship logs and scrawled letters to uncover the grand tapestry of colonialism, empire building, and trade. With insights from experts Lucas Haasis and Annika Raapke-Öberg, we explore the intricate and often surprising history of the high seas.

Download the full episode transcript here.

For more information about the Prize Papers project, visit https://www.prizepapers.de/.

For more information about the records covered in this episode, look at our research guides to High Court of Admiralty. For help navigating our catalogue, you can watch our top-level tips on using Discovery.