Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Defining Jurisdictional Frameworks for Maritime and Coastal Activities: The Example of the Atlantic Ports of the Kingdom of France in the Second Half of the Middle Ages
- 2 Basque Stevedoring and Cargo Handling Infrastructures (14th–16th Centuries)
- 3 Port Structures and Cargo Handling in Asturias and Galicia (13th–16th Centuries)
- 4 Slave Trade and Northern Portuguese Seaport Operations in the Sixteenth Century
- 5 Transport and Shipping in the Portuguese Northern Border in the Sixteenth Century
- 6 Anchorages, Infrastructures and Stevedoring in Medieval Atlantic Andalusia
- 7 Ports and Port Labour in Tenerife during the Transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age
- Conclusions: The Port Phenomenon of Medieval Atlantic Europe
- Sources and Bibliography
- Index
Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2021
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Defining Jurisdictional Frameworks for Maritime and Coastal Activities: The Example of the Atlantic Ports of the Kingdom of France in the Second Half of the Middle Ages
- 2 Basque Stevedoring and Cargo Handling Infrastructures (14th–16th Centuries)
- 3 Port Structures and Cargo Handling in Asturias and Galicia (13th–16th Centuries)
- 4 Slave Trade and Northern Portuguese Seaport Operations in the Sixteenth Century
- 5 Transport and Shipping in the Portuguese Northern Border in the Sixteenth Century
- 6 Anchorages, Infrastructures and Stevedoring in Medieval Atlantic Andalusia
- 7 Ports and Port Labour in Tenerife during the Transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age
- Conclusions: The Port Phenomenon of Medieval Atlantic Europe
- Sources and Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The last decade has witnessed the growth in number, quality and scope of Maritime History studies centred on historical dynamics of port spaces from Antiquity to current times. This has occurred to such a degree that case studies and general studies on the economic, social, political and cultural aspects of port spaces have granted the discipline a separate identity. There are several excellent overviews of the subject, such as the publications of the GIS d’Histoire Maritime which provide an account of the current historiography on medieval maritime studies; or the work coordinated by Amélia Polónia and myself, centred on longue durée case studies; or the recent publications of Michel Balard and Christian Buchet, or that of Wim Blockmans, Mikhail Krom and Justina Wubs-Mrozewicz, who explore port realities and ‘their circumstances’, in the words of José Ortega y Gasset. This is what a port and its connections with the city and mercantile dynamics represent. Within this context, Atlantic History emerged as a subdiscipline which, albeit centred mainly on the modern age, delves into the exploration of the port realities of medieval times.
Thus, Maritime History, Atlantic History, and Port History gravitate towards the analysis of large port spaces associated with the new worlds. This leaves a narrow margin for the treatment of minor and/or peripheral ports. However, a growing interest in the smaller enclaves is surfacing. Those enclaves Michael N. Pearson defines as central to or protagonists of any analysis of the maritime landscape, being the point of contact between the land and the sea; Alain Cabantous, Maryanne Kowaleski, Gérard Le Bouëdec or Frédérique Laget identify them as originators of civilisation on the waterfront; André Vigarie, Amélia Aguiar Andrade, Michel Bochaca, or Jesús Solórzano Telechea define them as a koiné between the salty sea and the port town, the interface between the foreland and the hinterland. Here the territorialisation of port activities evolved hand in hand with local communities to create a form of coastline civilisation as well as a maritime boundary. The koiné is also identified and described in work by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, Josef Konvitz, Jan de Vries, Peter Rieterbergen and Michael N. Pearson as breathing life into Coastal History, which deals with the maritime dimension and the littoral society.
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- Ports in the Medieval European AtlanticShipping, Transport and Labour, pp. xi - xivPublisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2021