Read (subscription needed) in the February 2025 issue of the IJMH Kalliopi Vasilaki’s review of “Atlas de la navigation en France à la veille de la Révolution: Une effervescence portuaire” by Silvia Marzagalli
Based on several tens of thousands of historical records of ship departures and arrivals of all sizes, this book offers, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of the bustling activity along the French coastlines on the eve of the Revolution. Drawing on 90 previously unpublished maps and a rich collection of illustrations, it sheds new light on lesser-known aspects of navigation and challenges a number of commonly held assumptions.
As the pages unfold, the reader will discover the unique journey of a vessel, the extent of trade from a particular port or province, the flags under which this commerce was conducted, and the various types of navigation that defined maritime traffic in France at the end of a century marked by strong commercial growth in an increasingly interconnected world. From smuggling to fishing, from colonial and slave trade to salt expeditions, from voyages beyond the Cape of Good Hope to passenger transport in the Mediterranean, the text offers a clear and educational account of the extraordinary variety of activities that animated French ports, and of the wide diversity that characterized them—while also illustrating how the historian works, confronted with the gaps and uncertainties inherent in the sources.
Marzagalli Silvia – Atlas de la navigation en France à la veille de la Révolution
IMHA 