Office: 1.42, 13 Woodland Road

Phone: +44 (0)117 928 8971

Email: evan.jones@bristol.ac.uk

I specialise in late medieval - early modern economic and social history, particularly in relation to Bristol. My research interests include:

• Bristol's fifteenth-sixteenth century exploration voyages. I have written or collaborated in the writing of several articles as part of my Cabot Project. I am currently writing a major book on this subject along with my chief collaborator, Margaret Condon.
• The illicit trade of early modern England. I have written a book and a number of articles on this subject.
• The trade and shipping of the Severn Sea, which includes my edited volume on the Newport Medieval Ship.
• Irish overseas trade and economic development in the sixteenth century. This research is connected to my former ESRC-funded project Ireland-Bristol Trade in the Sixteenth Century (2006-2008). This project has led to two books and a number of articles to date. I am currently writing an article based on this subject on the development of Anglo-Irish trade in the Tudor period, while also extending the research back in time by transcribing and publishing Bristol's late-fifteenth-century customs accounts.

Research supervision

I welcome proposals on the social or economic aspects of Bristol's medieval or early modern past. I would also be happy to supervise work on the maritime history of these periods. I have supervised or co-supervised eight research students to completion and am currently involved in supervising several others.

Completed theses:

• David Sivier, 'The development of Bridgwater in the medieval and early modern period' (PhD, 2013), co-supervisor with Mark Horton
• Alex Higgins, 'The establishment of the Port of Gloucester, 1576-84' (MPhil, 2013)
• Claire Tremlett, 'The rise of sartorial consumerism in late sixteenth and early seventeenth century England’ (MPhil, 2013)
• Richard Stone, 'The overseas trade of Bristol in the seventeenth century' (PhD, 2012)
• Chris Heal, 'The hatting industry of Bristol & South Gloucestershire, 1540-1900' (PhD, 2012), co-supervisor with Richard Sheldon
• Susan Flavin, 'Consumption and Material Culture in Sixteenth-Century Ireland' (PhD, 2011)
• Duncan Taylor, 'Sixteenth-century maritime trade of the smaller ports of the Bristol Channel' (PhD, 2010)
• David Jones, ‘John Whitson (c.1557-1629): ‘the best type of merchant’?’ (MPhil, 2006)

Teaching

Much of my teaching is in the field of economic and social history - broadly defined. Engaging undergraduate students in ambitious research and public engagement projects is a particular concern, which Bristol's BA programme facilitates. Examples of publishable work completed by my UG students can be found on my Smugglers' City website, on the Department website and in refereed journals, such as Early Theatre. 

• Early Modern World (Year 1, team taught)
• The Smugglers' City (Year 2, Special)
• Outlaws (Year 2, team taught)
• Explorations in Early Modern History (MA, team taught)
• Approaches to History (MA, team taught)

Selected publications

• Margaret M. Condon and Evan T. Jones, 'William Weston: early voyager to the New World', Historical Research (Nov, 2018)
• Evan T. Jones and Richard Stone (eds.), The World of the Newport Medieval Ship: trade, politics and shipping in the mid-fifteenth century (University of Wales Press, June 2018). Winner of the GT Clark Prize for the best scholarly work on medieval Welsh history, published 2017-22.
• Evan T. Jones, 'Bristol, Cabot and the New Found Land, 1496-1500' in P.E. Pope and S. Lewis-Simpson (eds.), Exploring Atlantic Transitions: Archaeologies of Permanence and Transience in New Found Lands (Boydell and Brewer, 2013).
• Inside the Illicit Economy: Reconstructing the Smugglers' Trade of Sixteenth Century Bristol (Ashgate, June 2012)
• 'Henry VII and the Bristol expeditions to North America: the Condon documents', Historical Research, 83 (August, 2010), 444-455. First published in 'Early View', August 2009.  Copies of this article are available for free from the journal.
• Susan Flavin & Evan T. Jones (eds.), Bristol’s Trade with Ireland and the Continent: The Evidence of the Exchequer Customs Accounts (Dublin, 2009), c.1,106 pp.
• 'Alwyn Ruddock: "John Cabot and the Discovery of America "', Historical Research, 81, (May, 2008), 224-254. Copies of this article are available for free from the journal. This article was first published online in April 2007.
• 'The Matthew of Bristol and the financiers of John Cabot's 1497 voyage to North America', English Historical Review, 121 (2006), 778-95. An Abstract, HTML version and PDF copy are all freely available from the journal.
• 'Illicit business: accounting for smuggling in mid-sixteenth century Bristol', Economic History Review, 54 (2001). Winner of the Economic History Society's "T.S. Ashton Prize" in 2001. It is available as an E-Print on ROSE.
• 'River navigation in medieval England', Journal of Historical Geography, 26 (2000).
• 'England's Icelandic fishery in the early modern period' in D. J. Starkey et al. (eds.), England's Sea Fisheries: The Commercial Sea Fisheries of England and Wales since 1300 (Chatham Press, 2000). An E-Print of this chapter is available on ROSE.

Electronic publications

I have published a number his annotated document transcriptions through the Bristol Repository of Scholarly Eprints (ROSE) and PURE for the use of both my students and other researchers. Examples include:

• Bristol 'particular' accounts / port books of the sixteenth century
• Late fifteenth-century customs accounts, accompanied by detailed textual introductions.
• A Book of Articles to prevent or detect frauds in the Customs, 1572
• Bristol’s petition against the establishment of the Port of Gloucester, 1582
• Survey of the Port of Bristol, 1565
• Survey of smuggling in Bristol, 15 May 1565
• The Journal of the Marigold, 1654 (e-version)

My unpublished thesis is also available online:

• 'The Bristol shipping industry in the sixteenth century' (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Edinburgh, 1998)