Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Geography, Technology, and War
  • Cited by 89
      • Show more authors
      • You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Select format
    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      June 2011
      April 1988
      ISBN:
      9780511562501
      9780521428927
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511562501
      Dimensions:
      Weight & Pages:
      Dimensions:
      (216 x 138 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.376kg, 264 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Area Studies, European History 1000-1450, Regional and World History: General Interest, European History after 1450, History, European Studies
      Series:
      Past and Present Publications
    You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Selected: Digital
    Add to cart View cart Buy from Cambridge.org
    Subjects:
    Area Studies, European History 1000-1450, Regional and World History: General Interest, European History after 1450, History, European Studies
    Series:
    Past and Present Publications
    Information

    Book description

    When maritime transport and communication depended on muscle and wind-power, the Mediterranean Sea functioned as a symbiotic force between the civilisations which surrounded it, at once the major dividing barrier and the major connecting element. In this study, the technological limitations of maritime traffic are considered in conjunction with the peculiar geographical conditions within which it operated, and which led to the establishment of major sea lanes on trunk routes along which traffic could move safely, efficiently, and economically. These trunk routes remained virtually unchanged from antiquity to the sixteenth century, and eventually constituted economic and strategic maritime frontiers between civilisations. At the same time, the technological limitations of the oared galley meant that coasts and islands along the trunk routes had also to be held, a necessity which favoured geographically the Christian West over the world of Byzantium and Islam.

    Reviews

    ‘… a useful and scholarly book which brings together an imposing mass of information about shipping in the medieval Mediterranean … this is a study which all interested in the medieval and early modern history of the Mediterranean will find of value.’

    Source: The Times Higher Education Supplement

    ‘… a serious study which has the merit of recording the gaps which must be filled concerning the seamen of the Middle Ages in order to give us a complete panorama …’

    Source: Mariner’s Mirror

    ‘ … a powerful example of the usefulness of making a careful study of technical and geographical influences in history.’

    Source: History

    ‘ … an excellent addition to both naval history and the history of technology …’

    Source: International History Review

    Refine List

    Actions for selected content:

    Select all | Deselect all
    • View selected items
    • Export citations
    • Download PDF (zip)
    • Save to Kindle
    • Save to Dropbox
    • Save to Google Drive

    Save Search

    You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

    Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
    Cancel
    ×

    Contents

    Contents

    Metrics

    Altmetric attention score

    Full text views

    Total number of HTML views: 0
    Total number of PDF views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    Book summary page views

    Total views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    * Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

    Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

    Accessibility standard: Unknown

    Why this information is here

    This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

    Accessibility Information

    Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.