James Alexander Williamson (1886 – 31 December 1964) was a prominent English writer on
maritime history and expert on the
John Cabot voyages. He also wrote many other books on explorers, exploration and discovery. James Williamson wrote of
James Cook:
the greatest explorer of his age and the greatest maritime explorer of his country in any age.
Early life and education
The son of James Ireland Williamson, he was educated at
Watford Grammar School and the
University of London, where he earned his
B.A. in 1906, his
M.A. in 1909 and was awarded a
Ph.D. in 1924 with a thesis on "The Caribbee Islands under the proprietary patents". He married Ruth Chappele.
The foundation and growth of the British Empire. London: Macmillan, 1916; 1953.
English colonies in Guiana and on the Amazon: 1604–1668. Oxford: Clarendon press, 1923.
Migration within the empire by
E. A. Belcher and James A. Williamson. London: W. Collins, 1924.
Europe overseas. London: Oxford University Press, 1925.
The Caribbee islands under the proprietary patents. London: Oxford University Press, 1926.
The Tercentenary of Barbados. Offprint from: Blackwood's Magazine. February 1927.
Sir John Hawkins: the time and the man. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1927.
Richard Hakluyt and the English voyages, by
George Bruner Parks; edited, with an introduction, by James A. Williamson. New York: American Geographical Society, 1928.
The Voyages of the Cabots and the English Discovery of North America under
Henry VII and
Henry VIII. London: Argonaut Press, 1929, reprinted 1971.
The Evolution of England: A Commentary on the Facts, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1931.
online
A short history of British expansion. New York: Macmillan, 1931–34; 1938; 1941; 1945; 1953, 1967.
online 2nd ed. 1931, vol 1 and 2 856pp
The observations of Sir Richard Hawkins: edited from the text of 1622 with introduction, notes and appendices, by James A. Williamson ... Illustrated with four maps. London: Argonaut, 1933.
The voyages of John and Sebastian Cabot . London: Published for the Historical Association by G. Bell, 1937.
The Age of Drake. London: Adam & Charles Black, 1938; 1946, 1960.
online
A voyage to New Holland by
William Dampier; edited, with introduction, notes and illustrative documents, by James A. Williamson. London: The Argonaut Press, 1939.