Page 93 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol V

1870 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

and currents determined the general pattern of long-
Trading Patterns, distance trade routes throughout the Mediterranean, in

which the main current runs counterclockwise around the
Mediterranean entire sea basin.The Atlantic, which replenishes 71 per-
cent of annual water loss in the Mediterranean, propels
he Mediterranean Sea is a deep geological depres- the main current through the Strait of Gibraltar, which
Tsion that physically divides three continents, yet moves along the North African coast to the Nile Delta,
since the invention of seacraft it has actually served to fos- from where it is forced northwards along the Syria–
ter and sustain a whole range of transcontinental eco- Palestine littoral.The current continues along the south-
nomic and cultural exchanges. Indeed, the Mediterranean ern European coastline (including the Adriatic) back to
and its hinterlands are deemed by historians to form a Gibraltar. The prevailing winds through the sailing sea-
historical unit. Trade in particular has given the entire sons come from between northwest and northeast, which
region a coherence that allows us to speak of a Mediter- means that sailing ships had to negotiate winds and cur-
ranean “world.” Local and regional sea routes had been rents that often ran in opposite directions. Traffic along
the lifeblood of its islands and coastal settlements from the northern Mediterranean overcame potential difficul-
at least the third millennium BCE through to the begin- ties by sailing between the string of islands from Cyprus
ning of the twentieth century CE, while long-distance in the east to the Balearic Islands in the west. Long-
trade across the length and breadth of the basin has distance trade until the end of the Middle Ages more or
effected considerable and ongoing cross-cultural interac- less conformed to trunk routes that negotiated the sensi-
tion since the start of the first millennium BCE. tivities of the main currents and winds.
Despite the limited productive capacity of Mediter- Long-haul traffic appeared to favor the northern lit-
ranean agriculture, this region has probably been the toral. The North African coastline lacks natural harbors
most urbanized in world history. The role of trade has and is made treacherous by reefs and sandbanks, but it
been fundamental.The Mediterranean world was domi- was utilized heavily by some of the world’s most formi-
nated by port cities (e.g. Barcelona, Alexandria, Tyre) or dable seaborne powers, (e.g., Phoenicians, Carthaginians,
cities with ancillary ports (e.g. Florence-Livorno). Fifth- Arabs,Algerian corsairs). In contrast, the northern shore-
century Athens and imperial Rome were especially reliant line is blessed with deep waters and with ample options
on cereals imported from the Black Sea and North Africa, for safe anchorage. Ships of all sizes could find a dense
respectively, and when regular grain sources were threat- infrastructure of dockyards, deepwater anchorage, and
ened, the Mediterranean always provided swift access to other port facilities from Gibraltar through to the Levant.
alternative sources.
Prehistory
Environmental and Antiquity
Features Historians tend to focus on long-distance commercial
The Mediterranean has offered a relatively favorable envi- ventures when dealing with trading patterns, but it was
ronment for mariners. Compared to the Atlantic Ocean, the more localized activities that set the rhythms of
for example, the Mediterranean enjoys a much milder cli- Mediterranean economic life.The stir and bustle of even
mate year round, with lighter winds and less turbulent the largest ports, such as early modern Istanbul and
swells. Prior to the advent of mechanized shipping, Naples, were mainly attributable to the daily comings
seaborne traffic was conducted normally from March and goings of localized traffic. Such small-scale trade was
through to October, when conditions were milder, and mainly characterized by cabotage, the free movement
when clear skies and stars facilitated navigation. Winds and peddling of small cargo, often along ill-defined and