Rivers, Ports and Coasts in European History

Module Leader: Dr Kathrin Zickermann

John Gillis argues that coastal waters have, historically, been ‘far more productive than the deep oceans’ while ‘the richest place of all were the temperate intertidal zones and estuaries’. Early cartography emphasised the size of these spaces while many of our global cities became located around estuaries. This module looks both to sea and inland to outline a river, port and coastal history that was created as much on adjacent coastlines and estuary edges, as upon the ocean. It begins with an exploration of ideas and concepts relating to rivers and ports, introduces major themes in coastal and maritime history in these locations and identifies how these relate to current issues in political, cultural, economic and environmental history. Subsequent weeks focus largely on late medieval and early modern Europe, covering rivers, estuaries, ports, coasts and marine transport networks from around the North Sea and Baltic. The last part of the module explores and interrogates how applicable these concepts and approaches might be via several case studies.

Indicative Content

Ideas and Concepts        

• Rivers and Ports in History
• Estuaries, Coasts and Maritime History
• Environmental Ethics

Late Medieval/Early Modern Europe

• Hanseatic/ German Ports and Maritime/Coastal Trade
• North Sea Fisheries and their Environmental Impact
• Salmon Export Project

Regional case studies

• The Elbe-Weser Region
• The Moray Firth
• The Firth of Forth