People Power and Water Politics

Worthen, Hannah; McDonagh, Briony; Smith, Kate; Brookes, Ed; Hughes, Gill; Mottram, Stewart

Abstract

Opening paragraph:
In 1622, the town of Kingston-Upon-Hull submitted a petition to King Charles I. In it, urban governors outlined the watery hazards faced by the town, namely that it stood ‘upon the dangerous river of Humber, being a great and very forcible Arm of the Sea’. Like flooded communities in Britain today, they were concerned with questions of who would pay for flood defence and damage, asking the King to compensate them for the additional costs of living with the river. This petition is just one of many that document how water was managed in historic Hull, a port town on the edge of the stormy North Sea. It illuminates how citizens exerted influence and agency in order to protect their homes and livelihoods. Exploring the participatory nature of water politics in the past can be a powerful tool for empowering local action and engagement in flood risk today.

Citation

Worthen, H., McDonagh, B., Smith, K., Brookes, E., Hughes, G., & Mottram, S. (2024). People Power and Water Politics. London

• Online Publication Date: Jan 16, 2024
• Publication Date: Jan 16, 2024
• Deposit Date: Feb 20, 2024
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4553901
• Publisher URL: https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/environment-animals/people-power-and-water-politics/