The Baltic Sea Region


Book Description




The Baltic and the North Seas


Book Description

Exploring the themes of the human relationship with the marine environment and the ways in which the peoples of Northern Europe have experienced and exploited their seas, this book reveals how human perception of the northern seas has changed over time. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, from Denmark and Britain to Norway, Finland and Germany, The Baltic and the North Seas is an insightful and colourful history of the politics, economy and culture of this intriguing region.




The Baltic Sea Region, a Comprehensive Guide


Book Description

"The Baltic Sea Region, at the crossroads between East and West, North and South, has long been marked by cultural, ethnical and ideological borders. Overcoming a history of conflict and separation, since the end of the Cold War the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea established widely valued formats of regional cooperation based on shared challenges and opportunities. In comparison with larger regions, however, the Baltic Sea Area is still a blank spot on the global map. This volume's intention is to fill this spot with colour and facts. It provides students, young researchers and other interested parties with basic knowledge of the region. The volume offers a comprehensive introduction into its history, politics, economy and culture, taking into account the various countries' commonalities and differences. By introducing concepts of regionalism and region-building, as well as analysing the structures of regional cooperation the authors and editors demonstrate the Baltic Sea Area's model function as a European macro-region."--







The World of the Crusades [2 volumes]


Book Description

Unlike traditional references that recount political and military history, this encyclopedia includes entries on a wide range of aspects related to daily life during the medieval crusades. The medieval crusades were fundamental in shaping world history and provide background for the conflict that exists between the West and the Muslim world today. This two-volume set presents fundamental information about the medieval crusades as a movement and its ideological impact on both the crusaders and the peoples of the East. It takes a broad look at numerous topics related to crusading, with the goal of helping readers to better understand what inspired the crusaders, the hardships associated with crusading, and how crusading has influenced the development of cultures both in the East and the West. The first of the two thematically arranged volumes considers topics such as the arts, economics and work, food and drink, family and gender, and fashion and appearance. The second volume considers topics such as housing and community, politics and warfare, recreation and social customs, religion and beliefs, and science and technology. Within each topical section are alphabetically arranged reference entries, complete with cross-references and suggestions for further reading. Selections from primary source documents, each accompanied by an introductory headnote, give readers first-hand accounts of the crusades.




Maritime Transport and Migration


Book Description

This study explores the connection between global maritime and migration networks to better understand the acceleration of the transatlantic migration rate that took place in the latter half of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. It brings together the actions of migrants, government regulators, transatlantic shipping companies, and the agents who represented them to determine the motives and opportunities for transatlantic mass-migration. The study is comprised of an introductory chapter, seven essays by maritime scholars, and a conclusion. The subject is approached from three particular discussion points: the rate of development and the accessibility of transport networks for European migrants; the competition between shipping companies and the subsequent influence on migration; and the integration of labour markets in both Europe and America. It concludes by suggesting both maritime and migration historians should merge their respective fields by including the larger frameworks of each discipline to gain further understanding of their disciplines, and identifies the role of ports and shipping companies as crucial to any further study of mass migration.




The Fish Lands


Book Description

The late medieval German trade with the North Atlantic islands, in the margins of the Hanseatic trade network, has received only limited scholarly attention. Merchants from predominantly Hamburg and Bremen established direct trade relations with these islands in the late 15th century, and managed to control the international trade with Iceland, the Faroes and Shetland for much of the 16th century. However, the Hanseatic commercial infrastructure was absent in the North Atlantic, which forced these merchants to develop new trade strategies. Besides a critical re-evaluation of the economic and political conditions, this volume offers a comprehensive study of the organisation of the trade and the methods used to establish and maintain networks between islanders and German merchants. Moreover, it analyses the role and socio-economic position of the communities of merchants with the North Atlantic in their home towns. The book shows that the North Atlantic trade was anything but insignificant. It was a dynamic and integral part of the trade network of the northern German cities, and its study is highly relevant for the economic history of Northern Europe.




Urban Life in Nordic Countries


Book Description

Based on empirical studies, this book investigates the particular urban history of the North from the 17th century until today in a comparative, Northern perspective. Urban Life in Nordic Countries is the result of a conference on "Urbanity in the Periphery" held in Stockholm on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Institute of Urban History at Stockholm University, aimed at establishing the field of the urban history of the North and creating a network of urban historians of the North. With a broad range of contributions from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Estonia, the volume seeks to further discourse on the region within national and transnational lenses, and to highlight possibilities for new cooperation among researchers. Urban history is a transdisciplinary subject, engaging not only historians but also ethnologists, sociologists, urban planners, and cultural geographers, and this book targets all scholars whose work requires a historical understanding of the Northern town. European urban historians outside the region will also find this text valuable as one of the few studies to consider the urban history of the continent from a North-centered viewpoint.




Merchants and Trade Networks in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, 1550-1800


Book Description

This collective volume explores the ways merchants managed to connect different spaces all over the globe in the early modern period by organizing the movement of goods, capital, information and cultural objects between different commercial maritime systems in the Mediterranean and Atlantic basin. Merchants and Trade Networks in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, 1550-1800 consists of four thematic blocs: theoretical considerations, the social composition of networks, connected spaces, networks between formal and informal exchange, as well as possible failures of ties. This edited volume features eleven contributions who deal with theoretical concepts such as social network analysis, globalization, social capital and trust. In addition, several chapters analyze the coexistence of mono-cultural and transnational networks, deal with network failure and shifting network geographies, and assess the impact of kinship for building up international networks between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. This work evaluates the use of specific network types for building up connections across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Basin stretching out to Central Europe, the Northern Sea and the Pacific. This book is of interest to those who study history of economics and maritime economics, as well as historians and scholars from other disciplines working on maritime shipping, port studies, migration, foreign mercantile communities, trade policies and mercantilism.