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TheMaritime history of Europe represents the era of recorded human interaction with the sea in the northwestern region ofEurasia in areas that includeshipping andshipbuilding,shipwrecks,naval battles, andmilitary installations andlighthouses constructed to protect or aidnavigation and the development ofEurope. Europe is situated between several navigableseas and intersected by navigablerivers running into them in a way which greatly facilitated the influence of maritime traffic and commerce. Great battles have been fought in the seas off of Europe that changed the course of history forever, including theBattle of Salamis in theMediterranean, the Battle of Gravelines at the eastern end of the English Channel in the summer of 1588, in which the “Invincible”Spanish Armada was defeated, theBattle of Jutland inWorld War I, andWorld War II’sU-boat war.
Egyptian sources mention regular shipments of copper from the island ofCyprus, which arrived at the city ofByblos as early as 2600 BCE.[1] TheMinoans ofCrete are the earliest known European seafarers of theMediterranean Sea. Little is known of their ships, but they reportedly traded pottery as far west asSicily. According to the historianThucydides, by 1900 BCE. their KingMinos commanded a navy and conquered the islands of theAegean. TheMycenaeans would obtain maritime hegemony in the region around 1600 BCE and hold it until the attacks of theSea Peoples, which disrupted the maritime culture and the naval balance of power in theEastern Mediterranean during theLate Bronze Age collapse between 1200 and 900 BCE.[1][2][3]
During the following centuries the ancientGreek navies began to use ships with two banks of oars; and by the 6th century BCE, the three-bankedtrireme had been adopted by all sea-faringcity states. Alongside thePhoenicians, who from around 1200 BCE had settled in theLevant and Northern Africa, Greek trading fleets and navies dominated the Mediterranean until the ascent of Rome in the third and second centuries BCE.[4][5]
Greek ships, methods of engagement, movement and command under theAthenian generalThemistocles proved to be highly effective during theGreco-Persian Wars (499 to 449 BCE). Relatively small Greek forces successfully delayed the Persian fleet in aseries of naval engagements in 480 BCE. Naval conflict culminated in the straits between the port ofPiraeus andSalamis Island in theBattle of Salamis (September 480 BCE), when 371 Greektriremes andpentekonters defeated KingXerxes' Persian fleet of over 1,200 ships, which includedPhoenician,Egyptian,Cilician andCypriot contingents.[6][7] The city ofAthens, which had risen to naval supremacy among the Greek city states, was defeated in thePeloponnesian War and lost its fleet in theBattle of Aegospotami against thePeloponnesian League underLysander in 405 BCE.[8]
Around 325 B.C.Pytheas, a Greek geographer and explorer, undertook a voyage of exploration to northwestern Europe (modern-day Great Britain and Ireland) and beyond. In his accountOn The Ocean (Τὰ περὶ τοῦ Ὠκεανοῦ), which is only known through the writings ofStrabo andPliny the Elder, he introduces the idea of the land ofThule and describes Celtic and Germanic tribes, the Arctic, polar ice and themidnight sun.[9][10]
During theFirst Punic War (3rd century BCE) theadmiralty of theRoman Republic conceived new and progressive ways of fleet construction, development and composition in order to successfully engage theCarthaginian navy. Victories at theBattle of Mylae, theBattle of Cape Ecnomus, theBattle of Cape Hermaeum and theBattle of the Aegates encouraged the Romans to pursuenaval-based warfare and strategies in order to push the center of combat to the Carthaginian heartland in North Africa.[11][12]
By the end of theMacedonian Wars in the latter half of the 2nd century BC, Roman control over the Aegean Sea was undisputed, and full hegemony over the entire Mediterranean Sea, now referred to asMare Nostrum ("our sea") had been established.[13]
Romangalleys helped to build theRoman Empire. The empire's struggle withCarthage inspired them to build and to fight in war galleys, but the galleys did not have much cargo space, so "round ships" were constructed for trade, especially with Egypt. Many of these ships reached 200 feet (60 m) in length and were capable of carrying over a thousand tons of cargo. These ships used sail power alone to haul commodities in the Mediterranean. The volume of trade that the Roman merchant fleet carried was larger than any other until theIndustrial Revolution. We know quite a bit about these round ships, since Romans, like Egyptians and Greeks, left records in stone, sometimes even on asarcophagus.[14]
There were many shipwrecks of Roman vessels, which can be explained by the very large number of trading vessels during Roman times: the volume of sea trade in the Mediterranean was not equalled until the 19th century, and led to a large number of shipwrecks.
The western Mediterranean came under the control of the barbarians, after theirinvasion split the Empire in two, whileByzantium dominated the eastern half of the sea. The eastern empire lasted until 1453, such was the efficiency of the Byzantinenavy, with its fleets armed with Byzantine fire (orGreek fire), a mixture ofnaphthaoil andsaltpetre, fired through tubes in the bows of the ship. Enemy ships were often afraid to get too close to the Byzantine fleet, since the liquid fire gave the Byzantines a considerable advantage.[15]
Also called theVikings, the Norsemen raided towns and villages along the coasts of theBritish Isles,Scandinavia, as far south asCádiz,Spain and even attackedPisa,Italy in 860. They sailed up theSeine River inFrance, settled Normandy (which derives its name from the Norsemen), and settled Dublin after invadingIreland.Varangians were more concerned with trading than raiding, and sailed along Russian rivers and opened commercial routes to theCaspian Sea as well as theBlack Sea.
The Vikings were the bestnaval architects of their day, and the Vikinglongship was both large and versatile. A longship found atOseberg,Norway, was 76 feet 6 inches (23.32 m), more than 17 feet (5.18 m) wide, and had adraft of only 3 feet (0.91 m). The shallow draft enabled them to navigate far inland in shallow rivers. Later on during the Viking period some of the ships were reported to be over 100 feet (30 m) long.
"From the fury of the Norsemen, good Lord, deliver us" has entered apocryphal knowledge[clarification needed] as a common prayer among the people of western Europe during the period of the Norse raiders from the late 8th century to the 11th century. According to the websiteViking Answer Lady,[16]which in turn cites Magnus Magnusson'sVikings![17] as its reference,
No 9th century text has ever been discovered containing these words, although numerous medieval litanies and prayers contain general formulas for deliverance against unnamed enemies. The closest documentable phrase is a single sentence, taken from anantiphony for churches dedicated toSt. Vaast orSt. Medard:Summa pia gratia nostra conservando corpora et custodita, de gente fera Normannica nos libera, quae nostra vastat, Deus, regna, "O highest, pious grace, free us, O God, by preserving our bodies and those in our keeping from the cruel Norse people who ravage our realms.".
TheHanseatic League was a commercial and defensive alliance of the merchant guilds of towns and cities in northern and central Europe that established and maintained a trade monopoly over theBaltic Sea and most of Northern Europe between the 13th and 17th centuries. Although trading alliances in the region were forming as early as 1157, the town ofLübeck did not form an alliance withHamburg (which controlled access to salt routes fromLüneburg) until 1241.[18]
Trade was carried on chiefly by sea in order to escape tolls and political barriers, and at the end of the 15th century the Hanseatic League controlled some 60,000 tons of shipping. Although compasses were commonly being used in the Mediterranean during this period, the captains of Hanseatic vessels seemed slow to adopt the new technology, which put them in greater danger of wrecking. They also had to deal with pirates. During its zenith the alliance maintained trading posts andkontors (depots) in many cities from London and Edinburgh in the west to Novgorod in the east and Bergen in Norway.
The League's power declined after 1450 due to a number of factors, such as the15th-century crisis, the territorial lords' shifting policies towards greater commercial control, the silver crisis[clarification needed] and the disappearance of the greatherringshoals in the Baltic. During the late 16th century and early 17th century, the League fell apart, as it was unable to deal with its own internal struggles, the rise of Swedish, Dutch and English merchants, and the social and political changes that accompanied theReformation.Although a tight-fistedmonopoly, the League's need for more cargo space led to new designs inshipbuilding, and its free association of about 160 towns and villages was a historically unique economic alliance that showed the benefits of well-regulatedcommerce.[19][20]
Around 1300, Venice began to develop the great galley of commerce, the ‘’galea grossa’’. It grew to carry a crew of more than 200 and weighed as much as 250 tons. These galleys took passengers and goods toConstantinople (nowIstanbul), and toAlexandria inEgypt, and returned to Venice carrying luxury items. A sea route to the Indies discovered by Portugal signaled an end to the glory days of Venice's merchant galleys and spice trade, but the war galleys (or fighting galleys) lived on. The war galleys were mostly manned by prisoners of war or convicts, who were chained to benches, usually three to six per oar.
More than 3,000 Venetian merchant ships were in operation by the year 1450. The trading empire of the Republic of Venice lasted longer than any other in history, and even merchants vessels were required to carry weapons and passengers were expected to be armed and ready to fight. From the beginning of the 13th century until the end of the 18th century, the Republic ruled theAdriatic, the Aegean and theBlack Seas. The Republic of Genoa was Venice's main rival, and many wars were fought between them. In 1298 the Genoese destroyed the Venetian fleet atCurzola, but were themselves defeated in 1354 atSapienza in Greece.
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TheAge of Exploration started with thePortuguese navigators, wherePrince Henry the Navigator started a maritime school in Portugal, eventually leading to new shipbuilding technologies including thecaravel, thecarrack and thegalleon. ThePortuguese Empire led thePortuguese Kingdom to explore and map more of the globe. After voyages down the west coast of Africa,Bartolomeu Dias rounded theCape of Good Hope. In a subsequent voyage,Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape and sailed across the open water of the Indian Ocean to reach the Indian subcontinent. It was the first time in history that humans had navigated from Europe around Africa to Asia. TheFra Mauro map suggests that ships from India had crossed theCape of Good Hope in 1420.[21] It led to the discovery ofBrazil and South America, and the firstcircumnavigation around the world, with the Portuguese noblemanFerdinand Magellan, sailing around the world, across the entire Pacific Ocean for the first time.[22]
At the beginning of the 16th century, sea clashes in the Indian Ocean as the decisiveBattle of Diu, in 1509, marked a turning point in history: the shift from the Mediterranean and from the relatively isolated seas, disputed in antiquity and in the Middle Ages, to the oceans and to the European hegemony on a global scale.
Christopher Columbus set sail inSanta Maria on what is probably history's most well known voyage of discovery on August 3, 1492. Leaving from the town ofPalos, in southern Spain, Columbus headed west. After a brief stop in theCanary Islands for provisions and repairs, he set out for Asia. He reached San Salvador first, it is believed, (easternmost of the Bahamas) in October, and then sailed pastCuba andHispaniola, still searching for Asia. He returned home in 1493 to a hero's welcome, and within six months had 1,500 men and 17 vessels at his command.
The year 1571 saw the last great battle between galleys, when more than 400Turkish andChristian vessels engaged each other on theGulf of Patras. TheBattle of Lepanto as it was called, saw some 38,000 men perish.Miguel de Cervantes, author ofDon Quixote, was wounded during the battle.In April 1587,Sir Francis Drake burned 37 Spanish ships in the harbor atCádiz, in southern Spain.
The publication ofJan Huygen van Linschoten's bookVoyages provided a significant turning point in Europe's maritime history. Before the publication of this book, knowledge of the sea route to the Far East had been well guarded by the Portuguese for over a century.Voyages was published in several languages, including English and German (published in 1598), Latin (1599), and French (1610). Widely read by Europeans, the original Dutch edition and the French translation had second editions published.
Once knowledge of the sea route was known to Europeans of other nations, more ships headed to East Asia. A Dutch fleet embarked on a voyage to India using Linschoten's charts in 1595. (The Dutch version of his book was published in 1596, but his sea charts had been published the previous year). The publication of the nautical maps enabled the Dutch and British East India companies to break the trade monopoly Portugal held with the East Indies.Protestant Europe was ushered into the age of exploration in large part thanks to his work.
From the sixth to the eighteenth centuries, the maritime history of Europe had a profound impact on the rest of the world. The broadside-cannoned full-rigged sixteenth-century sailing ship provided the continent with a weapon to dominate the world.
During this time period, Europeans made remarkable inroads in maritimeinnovations. These innovations enabled them to expand overseas and set up colonies, most notably during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
They developed newsail arrangements for ships, skeleton-based shipbuilding, the Western “galea” (at the end of the 11th century), sophisticated navigational instruments, and detailedcharts. After Isaac Newton published thePrincipia, navigation was transformed. Starting in 1670, the entire world was measured using essentially modern latitude instruments and the best available clocks. In 1730 the sextant was invented and navigators rapidly replaced theirastrolabes.
For several centuries, from about the time of theCrusades until the early 19th century, theBarbary pirates of northernAfrica preyed on ships in the western Mediterranean Sea. In 1816, the Royal Navy, with assistance from the Dutch, destroyed the Barbary fleet in the port ofAlgiers. The best-known pirate of this period may have been Barbarossa, the nickname ofKhair ad Din, anOttoman-Turkishadmiral andprivateer who was born on the island ofLesbos, (present-dayGreece), and lived from about 1475–1546.
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July 1779 saw the start of the Great Siege of Gibraltar, an attempt by France and Spain to recover control of stolen Gibraltar from the British. Thegarrison survived all attacks, including an assault on September 13, 1782, that included 48 ships and 450cannon. In October 1805, theBattle of Trafalgar took place, which involved 60 vessels, 27 British, and 33 French and Spanish. The British did not lose a single ship, and destroyed the enemy fleet, butAdmiral Lord Nelson died in the battle. It was the most significant naval battle of the beginning of the 19th century, and confirmed the British Navy's supremacy of the time.
The Pharos ofMeloria is often considered the first lighthouse in Europe since Roman times. Meloria, a rocky islet off the Tuscan coast in theTyrrhenian Sea, was the location of two medieval naval battles. TheTower of Hercules (Torre de Hércules), in northwestern Spain, is almost 1,900 years old. The ancient Roman lighthouse stands nearA Coruña,Galicia, and is 57 metres (185 ft) in height. It is the oldest working Roman lighthouse in the world.
According toSmithsonian, a lighthouse on theGironde River in France, Cardovan Tower, was the first lighthouse to use a Fresnel lens in 1822. The light reportedly could be seen from more than 20 miles (32 km) at sea.
There have been several large oil spills off the coasts of Europe since 1967. They include:
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