The Sea in World History : Exploration, Travel, and Trade [2 Volumes]

This two-volume set documents the essential role of the sea and maritime activity across history, from travel and food production to commerce and conquest. In all eras, water transport has served as the cheapest and most efficient means of moving cargo and people over any significant distance. Only relatively recently have railroads and aircraft provided an alternative. Most of the world's bulk goods continue to travel primarily by ship over water. Even today, 95 percent of the cargo that enters and leaves the United States does so by ship. Similarly, people around the world rely on the sea for food, and in recent years, the sea has become an important source of oil and other resources, with the longterm effects of our continuing efforts to extract resources from the sea further highlighting environmental concerns that range from pollution to the exhaustion of fish stocks. This chronologically organized two-volume reference addresses the history of the sea, beginning with ancient civilizations (4000 to 1000 BCE) and ending with the modern era (1945 to the present day). Each of the eight chapters is further broken down into sections that focus on specific nations or regions, offering detailed descriptions of that area of the world and shorter entries on specific topics, individuals, and events. The book spans maritime history, covering major seafaring peoples and nations; famous explorers, travelers, and commanders; events, battles, and wars; key technologies, including famous ships; important processes and ongoing events, such as piracy and the slave trade; and more. Readers will benefit from dozens of primary source documents—ranging from ancient Egyptian tales of seafaring to texts by renowned travelers like Marco Polo, Zheng He, and Ibn Battuta—that provide firsthand accounts from the age of discovery as well as accounts of battle from World War I and II and more modern accounts of the sea. Provides a broad survey of the importance of the oceans for all of human culture and civilization, including coverage of diverse cultures such as the Polynesians, Vikings, Minoans, and many others Describes the voyages of the great explorers and places them in a broad multinational and multicultural perspective Traces the human use of the sea over time, noting activities and historic events such as piracy, the slave trade, fishing, and whaling, as well as describing commerce in ancient and modern contexts This chronologically organized two-volume reference addresses the history of the sea, beginning with ancient civilizations (4000 to 1000 BCE) and ending with the modern era (1945 to the present day). Each of the eight chapters is further broken down into sections that focus on specific nations or regions, offering detailed descriptions of that area of the world and shorter entries on specific topics, individuals, and events.The book spans maritime history, covering major seafaring peoples and nations; famous explorers, travelers, and commanders; events, battles, and wars; key technologies, including famous ships; important processes and ongoing events, such as piracy and the slave trade; and more. Readers will benefit from dozens of primary source documents--ranging from ancient Egyptian tales of seafaring to texts by renowned travelers like Marco Polo, Zheng He, and Ibn Battuta--that provide firsthand accounts from the age of discovery as well as accounts of battle from World War I and II and more modern accounts of the sea. -- Features: Provides a broad survey of the importance of the oceans for all of human culture and civilization, including coverage of diverse cultures such as the Polynesians, Vikings, Minoans, and many others ; Describes the voyages of the great explorers and places them in a broad multinational and multicultural perspective ; Traces the human use of the sea over time, noting activities and historic events such as piracy, the slave trade, fishing, and whaling, as well as describing commerce in ancient and modern contexts Contents 6 Preface 18 Acknowledgments 20 Introduction 22 1 Early Civilizations, 4000 bce to 1000 bce 26 2 The Ancient World, 1000 bce to 300 ce 74 3 Exchange and Encounter, 300 ce to 1000 ce 148 4 Global Interactions, 1000 ce to 1500 ce 224 5 The First Global Age, 1450 ce to 1770 ce 302 6 A World of Revolutions, 1750 ce to 1900 ce 472 7 Crisis and Achievement, 1900 ce to 1945 ce 636 8 After World War II, 1945 ce to Present 720 Annotated Bibliography 850 About the Editor and Contributors 860 Index 868