History of the Ports

Abstract

This article explores port typography and historiography. It reviews the expansion of port history as a field over the last 50 years, with increasing focus on the Early Modern, Medieval and Classical periods. Concentration on leading players has been replaced by interest in a range of ports, and comparisons at a local and regional level, although regrettably usually not at international or global level, for reasons considered. The author takes issue with suggestions that port history sits uncomfortably at a nexus of local, national and international historiography, arguing that this is a strength, providing both basic coherence and wider perspective.