Wolfson History Prize
6 appearances
-
Edition 112 (2020) Winner
David Abulafia
デイヴィッド・アブアフィア
Deividdo Abuafia
Aliases:
David Samuel Harvard Abulafia
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1949-12-12 （Twickenham）
- Nationality
- British
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Judaism
- Residence History
- Twickenham, England → Cambridge, England
Career
- Occupations
- Historian, Professor
- Active Years
- 1977-2024
- Affiliations
- Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, University of Cambridge, University of Gibraltar, College of Europe
- Memberships
- Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA), Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS), Member of the Academia Europaea
- Influenced By
- Fernand Braudel, Ernst Kantorowicz
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Paul's School, London | — | — | — | — | United Kingdom |
| King's College, Cambridge | — | History | PhD | — | United Kingdom |
St Paul's School, London
Country:
United Kingdom
King's College, Cambridge
History
Degree:
PhD
Country:
United Kingdom
Doctoral advisor: R. C. Smail
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | British Academy Medal | work on Mediterranean history | — | British Academy | Winner |
| 2020 | Wolfson History Prize | The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans | — | Wolfson Foundation | Winner |
| 2011 | Mountbatten Literary Award | The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean | — | Maritime Foundation | Winner |
| 2020 | Mountbatten Maritime Prize | The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans | — | Maritime Foundation | Winner |
| 2023 | Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) | services to scholarship | — | UK Government | 受章 |
| — | Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity | writing on Italian history, especially Sicilian history | — | President of Italy | 受章 |
British Academy Medal
2013
Work:
work on Mediterranean history
Organization:
British Academy
Result:
Winner
Wolfson History Prize
2020
Work:
The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans
Organization:
Wolfson Foundation
Result:
Winner
Mountbatten Literary Award
2011
Work:
The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean
Organization:
Maritime Foundation
Result:
Winner
Mountbatten Maritime Prize
2020
Work:
The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans
Organization:
Maritime Foundation
Result:
Winner
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
2023
Work:
services to scholarship
Organization:
UK Government
Result:
受章
Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity
Work:
writing on Italian history, especially Sicilian history
Organization:
President of Italy
Result:
受章
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean
2011 HistoryA human history of the Mediterranean from 22,000 BC to AD 2010.
MediterraneanTradeCultural exchangeAbrahamic faiths
Translations
- Translated into Dutch, French, Greek, Turkish, Spanish, German, Arabic, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Romanian, Portuguese and more
The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans
2019 HistoryApplies a human history approach to the world's oceans, emphasizing maritime trade.
OceansTradePolitical historyCultural history
Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor
1988 BiographyPortrait of Frederick II as a conservative medieval emperor, critiquing prior views.
Middle AgesEmperorItaly
The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus
2008 HistoryFirst encounters between Western Europeans and Atlantic native societies around 1492.
AtlanticEncountersColonization
Bibliography
- The Two Italies: Economic Relations between the Norman Kingdom of Sicily and the Northern Communes (1977)
- Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor (1988)
- A Mediterranean Emporium: The Catalan Kingdom of Majorca (1994)
- The Western Mediterranean Kingdoms, 1200–1500: The Struggle for Dominion (1997)
- The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus (2008)
- The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean (2011)
- The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans (2019)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Narrative style based on detailed archival researchCritical approach to long-term history à la Braudel
- Recurring Motifs
- Maritime tradeCross-cultural encountersInteractions of Abrahamic faithsEconomic history
Legacy
Leading authority on Mediterranean and oceanic history. Emeritus Professor of Mediterranean History at Cambridge, recipient of major awards including British Academy Medal and Wolfson Prize.
Academic Societies
- British Academy
In Popular Culture
- Chairman of Historians for Britain, advocating for Brexit.
Trivia
- Born into a Sephardic Jewish family.
- Married to Anna Brechta Sapir since 1979, with two daughters.