This began as an experiment in creating a historical network using agentic coding, specifically Claude Chat, Claude Code, and Claude Design in early 2026.

From fall 2026-spring 2027, the network was re-built systematically using a combination of human and agentic labor.

Principles for unique identifiers:

1. human readable
2. use underscores to separate words
3. use OED to determine canonical spacing of multi-word locations (e.g. coffee house vs. alehouse)
4. unknown locations are labeled by type, underscore unknown, underscore number (e.g. coffee_house_unknown_1)
5. specific people's homes, lodgings, offices, taverns, pubs, etc. should include that word in the label (e.g. sandwich_lodgings, mother_lams_pub)
6. when referring to a person, using the most specific/unique label we have for them (e.g. John Pepys not father)
7. when referring to a person with an honorific and no known first name, include the honorific (e.g. Dr. Hoares)
8. when referring to a person's home, include the honorific unless Pepys visits the family more generally (e.g. both Thomas and Elizabeth Stradwick so their location is stradwick_house)
9. when referring to a palace or other sprawling complex, use the most precise location possible within it (e.g. Westminster, Whitehall, Tower of London, etc.)
10. when referring to a semi-known location, it is acceptable to use higher-level labels (e.g. "city of London")
11. ships are a single location, despite the fact that the ship itself moves

Project Team: Jessica Otis Katherine Kania