GlobalSeaRoutes: A Historical Geodatabase

Abstract

The forms of globalisation of the early modern age were achieved through the construction of a network of maritime connections which formed the backbone of continuous, stable and increasingly intensive trade, which fuelled the start of the globalisation of goods, consumption and, in time, markets. “GSR-Global Sea Routes. A historical geodatabase of European global navigation (1500-1900)” is finalized to building a relational geospatial database aimed at the study and georeferenced representation of the routes of merchant navigation of European nations on a global scale. Its chronological coverage 1500-1900 extends over the long period of time characterised by the transition from sailing to steam navigation, and by the opening of new maritime routes, especially after the inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869. Its purpose is a new understanding of: 1) the historical evolution of European commercial long-distance navigation in quantitative and comparative terms 2) the historical evolution, in terms of voyage timing, of world maritime interconnectedness fostered by European transoceanic merchant enterprises 1500-1900 3) the specifics of individual overseas merchant routes through their detailed digital georeferenced and chrono-dynamic cartographic reconstruction 4) the real daily circumstances of overseas navigation, as inferred from the analysis of the ship logbooks of the main European merchant fleets, treating them not just in cliometric terms, but also as narrative frameworks. GSR focuses on European long-distance navigation in the perspective to investigate a particular dimension of ‘global Europeanness’, an expression designating the European projection onto a global level through sea shipping. Positioning itself between global history, spatial history and digital history, GSR exploits first-hand sources making them “speak” both in descriptive terms and by way of cutting-edge GIS digital technologies for route construction and visualisation.