Resumen de Maritime history: Contexts and perspectives
This short paper considers ‘maritime history’ as a sub-discipline of history. It examines its origins and defines maritime history as the study of humankind’s relationship with the sea. It reviews that relationship and stresses the economic dimension and the need for an understanding of the business of shipping. The relevance of maritime history is examined in the contexts of the world today and historiography. In the former, the paper views the maritime dimension as crucial. On the historiographical aspect the concept of globalisation is considered in terms of a process and an outcome. In both cases, an understanding of maritime history is seen as vital.
