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
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