The Prize Papers Talks bring together renowned scholars, international early career researchers, master’s students and the interested public to discuss with us in a relaxed lunchtime setting.

The Prize Papers Project is dedicated to the study of the Prize Papers Collection, a vast and unique trove of records and objects confiscated by British privateers and naval vessels between 1652 and 1815, a period of time in which the seizure of ships was still a legitimate form of tactical warfare. The records are now held by The National Archives of the United Kingdom.

The aim of the German–British Prize Papers Project (www.prizepapers.de) is the complete digitization and sorting of the Prize Papers, including preservation of the collection’s material, initial and in-depth cataloguing, creation of research-oriented metadata and finally presentation of digital copies and metadata in an open access research database. We also pursue various research projects and cooperate with numerous international researchers and research institutions working on the Prize Papers and in other project-related areas.

The Prize Papers offer researchers a unique collection of sources. Since its discovery, the collection has already inspired numerous groundbreaking projects in various fields of study and many countries around the world.

This year, we will collaborate with the German Maritime Museum (German: Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum (DSM)) and focus on ships and seafaring between 1600 and 1800. 

In this online lecture series of the PRIZE PAPERS TALKS, we will hear ten lectures from some of the leading experts on and pioneers of working with the collection and discuss their most recent work with them.

The PRIZE PAPERS TALKS will take place between October 13th, 2025, and February 23, 2026, every other Monday, at 1–2 pm (CET).

The event is open to the public, with advance registration requested.

Links to the meeting rooms via the user-friendly platform Webex will be provided after registration. Please contact lucas.haasis@uni-oldenburg.de if you have any questions.

The PRIZE PAPERS TALKS are organised by Lucas Haasis (Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum (DSM)/ German Maritime Museum) and Nele Popp (Prize Papers).