Project title

National Minorities on Elizabethan Ships: Involvement in the Shipboard Society

Research question

How were foreign nationals integrated into the culturally, socially, and professionally complex world of Elizabethan seafaring?

Project description

Pastushenko’s project examines foreigners, or “strangers”, on Elizabethan ships (1558–1604). In the 16th century, the notion of foreignness was fluid: even the term “foreigner” could refer to someone from another parish, town, or county. Foreign individuals were commonly described as “strangers”; for clarity, he employs “foreigner” in its modern sense.

This project explores their cultural profiles—including national and religious identities—the routes by which they joined crews, and the ways in which they integrated and adapted to shipboard life. Their acceptance often depended on professional skills and perceived social value. While many foreigners came from across Europe, some arrived from Africa and Asia. Although English crews were predominantly recruited nationally, and shipboard communities could be notably xenophobic, multinational crews did occasionally emerge on merchant, pirate–privateer, or exile vessels.

Because “strange” sailors were relatively rare, and national mythology tended to glorify Protestant sea dogs, historians have often overlooked them. This study seeks to redress that neglect, contributing to broader debates on migration, diversity, and multiculturalism.

 

Selected publications

  • Catholicism and Elizabethan Seafarers: Catholic Identities between England and Spain (Based on British and Spanish archival findings), British Academy Monographs series. The book is in its final stage of production.
  • Pastushenko A. “English Catholic Seamen on Spanish ships during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604),” article submitted to British Catholic History, Cambridge, United Kingdom. The article is in its final stage of production.
  • Pastushenko A. “Maritime network: priests, mariners, and their landing places in Elizabethan and Early Stuart England,” the article submitted to the Journal of Early Modern Christianity. De Gruyter, Germany. The article is in its final stage of production.
  • Pastushenko A. (2019): The Role of Religious and Economic Motives in the Sea War of English Privateers and Pirates against Spain (1540-1604) / Rol religioznykh I ekonomichnykh motivov v morskoy voyne angliiskikh kaperov I piratov protiv Ispanii (1540-1604). In Stratum Plus, № 6, 343-352.
  • Pastushenko A. (2020): World History guidelines to practical tasks for Bachelor’s (first) degree students of subject area “International Relations”. [electronic resource]. Kharkiv. S. Kuznets KhNUE. 32 pp.
  • Balycheva L., Dobrunova L., Matsutskyi V., Pastushenko A. (2019): Social and Economic History of Ukraine: from the ancient times to the middle of the 17th century: manual/ Sotsialna ta ekonomichna istoriya Ukrayiny: vid naydavnishykh chasiv do seredyny KHVII st. : navchalnyi posibnyk. Kharkiv. S. Kuznets KhNUE. 124 pp.