Study On Storm Surge Disaster And Response In Late Medieval England Coastal Areas

The coastal area is England’s important window to the outside world and the place where cities thrive.In the Middle Ages,the coastal area suffered frequent and severe ocean storm surges.Due to the higher population density and faster economic development in this area,the damage caused by storm surges is also more severe.In the face of disasters,the local government and the central government have established a basic disaster response mechanism.Manors are obliged to repair dams and drain water based on customary law,while the central government supervises and guides local governments to carry out maintenance work by setting up committees.The purpose of the thesis is to clarify the causes and effects of storm surge disasters in the Middle Ages and the formation,evolution,and implementation of a series of coping systems involved in disaster governance,and to explain the role of different people(groups)in medieval England in the construction and operation of disaster relief mechanisms and the system is to deepen and expand the research on the history of disasters in medieval England and provide a mirror for China’s current disaster prevention and mitigation.The full text is divided into three parts.The first part is an overview of storm surge disasters in coastal areas of England in the Middle Ages.First,by describing the natural environment such as landforms,hydrology,and climate in the coastal areas of England,it reflects the continuous change and reshaping of the coastal landscape with the development of time;Analyzed from two aspects of social factors,it shows that natural disasters are often the result of the interaction between natural disasters and man-made disasters and have dual attributes of nature and society.The second part discusses the damage caused by storm surge disasters in the coastal areas of England in the Middle Ages.First,an overview of the damage to the life and property of coastal people after the storm surge occurred,followed by an analysis of the impact of the storm surge on the coastal economy,especially fishery,agriculture,and coastal industry,In addition,because people at that time did not understand the truth of storm surge disasters,and their understanding was shrouded in Christian thought and devil theory,folk people prayed to God to stay away from disasters through beliefs,rituals,and amulets,and the king used storm surge disasters to the witch trials movement was launched.The third part is the social response to the storm surge disaster in the coastal areas of England in the Middle Ages,discussing it from three aspects: local response and central response.Local governments undertake maintenance obligations based on customary law and actively change land use patterns,playing the main role in the process of responding to storm surge disasters;the central government plays a role in supervising and guiding norms by establishing relevant committees combined with the coercive power of the king.