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The Port of Southampton is a major passenger and cargo port located in the central part of the south coast of England. It has been an important port since the Roman occupation of Britain nearly two thousand years ago, and has a multifaceted history. From the Middle Ages to the end of the 20th century, it was a centre for naval shipbuilding and a departure point for soldiers going to war. The port also played a role in the development of hovercraft, flying boat services, seaplanes and the Spitfire fighter plane. Before the advent of jet travel, Southampton was Britain's gateway to the world. The port also played a minor role in the history of Britain's canals. ==History== There is evidence of settlement in the area now known as Southampton as far back as the Stone Age, but no evidence of boating or port activity. The Romans settled the site (known as Clausentum, now the Bitterne Manor area of Southampton) around 70 AD.〔(【引用サイトリンク】accessdate= 18 November 2010 )〕 They operated a busy port, serving the large towns of Winchester and Salisbury. The settlement was abandoned when the Romans left Britain in 407 AD. The ( Saxons ) founded a new town (known as Hamwick, later Hamtun) across the river Itchen from the Roman site around 700 AD. The population reached about 5,000, making it a large town.〔 The port traded with France, Greece and the Middle East, exporting wool and importing wines and fine pottery. Legend has it that while in Southampton (although Bosham, West Sussex makes a similar claim),〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bosham.org/chichester/about-bosham-king-canute-c-3_38.html )〕 Viking king Cnut the Great (also known as King Canute) sat on the shore on his throne and commanded the incoming tide to stop and not wet his robes. The tide ignored him. He was not trying to prove he was all-powerful, but was demonstrating to his courtiers that even he was not all-powerful; they should worship God instead. In 1016, Canute was crowned King of England in Southampton; although he had come as an invader, his twenty-year reign was peaceful and uneventful.〔(【引用サイトリンク】author=Jones, Martin BA )〕 The port's 200-ton (tonne) floating crane, HLV ''Canute'', was named after him.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 ABP Port of Southampton -Master Plan 2009 – 2030 )〕 The Saxon town began to decline during the 10th century (due to Viking raids and the silting of the river Itchen), but a mediaeval town also known as Hamtun grew up nearby.〔 A large number of Norman immigrants arrived after the conquest, and English and French quarters developed in the town.〔 The most important import and export were still wine and wool, respectively.〔 The port was also an important departure point for English armies on their way to France.〔 A shipbuilding industry began, constructing naval ships for the Hundred Years' War.〔 The most notable ship built during this era was HMS ''Grace Dieu'',〔(【引用サイトリンク】 National archives – Grace Dieu 1420 )〕 the flagship of King Henry V. She was built in 1418 by William Soper, a burgess of Southampton and clerk of the king's ships, in a dock built for the purpose near Watergate Quay. This quay, dating from 1411 on the site now occupied by Town Quay, was the centre of the town's port activities. She was more than two hundred feet (25.6m) long, with a displacement of around 2,750 tons (tonnes) (making her similar in size but different in appearance from HMS ''Victory''). She was destroyed by fire on the river Hamble in 1439. Trade with Genoa and Venice began and flourished, traders bringing luxuries (such as perfumes, spices and silk) and cargoes of alum and woad (used to dye wool) and returning with English wool and cloth.〔 Southampton became one of England's most important ports, after London and Bristol.〔 It came into use partly to eliminate confusion between this Hampton (in the kingdom of Wessex) and another Hamtun/Hampton (in the kingdom of Mercia); the latter became Northampton. In 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers (also known as Pilgrims or English Separatists) departed from Southampton for North America on the ''Mayflower'' and ''Speedwell''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Voyage of the Mayflower and the Speedwell )〕 The ''Speedwell'' had come from Holland to meet the ''Mayflower'' before crossing together. However, she was leaky and put into Dartmouth and Plymouth for repairs. There are reports that crew members who did not want to make the voyage sabotaged her.〔Usher R G 1984 ''The Pilgrims and their History'' Corner House Publishers ISBN 0-87928-082-4 p 67〕 She was deemed too unreliable to attempt the crossing; personnel and stores were transferred to the ''Mayflower'', who completed the passage alone. The 16th and 17th centuries were another period of decline for Southampton, as other ports (such as London) competed for business. The Italian trade dwindled, and the port was generally quiet until the second half of the 18th century.〔 There was a period during which Southampton was better known as a fashionable spa town and sea-bathing resort than as a port. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of the Port of Southampton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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