Maritime communities and political allegiance in Dorset's ports before the English Civil War

Abstract

This article examines how maritime economic pressures shaped political allegiance in the Dorset port towns of Poole, Weymouth and Lyme Regis during the early seventeenth century. Drawing on borough records, maritime petitions, port books and parish material, it explores the interaction between maritime insecurity, religious change and civic governance in these communities. Dorset's ports were deeply entwined in overseas trade and vulnerable to piracy, declining commerce and the financial burdens of naval taxation, particularly ship money. Persistent maritime violence and the perceived failure of the Stuart government to secure coastal trade eroded confidence in royal authority among local elites and maritime workers alike. At the same time, the growing influence of Puritan networks within municipal corporations strengthened connections with parliamentary interests. The article argues that economic insecurity within the maritime economy contributed significantly to the emergence of parliamentary allegiance in Dorset's ports before the outbreak of civil war.