In an interview with the “world”, the historian David Abulafia returns to the exploitation of the riches of the Mediterranean and the peculiarities of this singular sea.
Interview by
David Abulafia is a British historian, specialist in the Mediterranean, professor at Cambridge and author of the Great Sea. A history of the Mediterranean and the Mediterranean (Les Belles Lettres, August 2022, 744 pages, 35 euros). He returns to the singularity of this sea, meeting place for multiple cultures.
Wind turbines go in the direction of history in the Mediterranean?
No doubt, yes. There are still fairly large areas in the Mediterranean without much human navigation. There remains the aesthetic question, subject to various assessments around the Mediterranean, which could create turbulence. At the communist era, the cleaning of Albanian boats tanks carrying chemicals in the Adriatic had caused a scandal. And, for five years, oil exploration around Cyprus has given rise to strong tensions between Turkey, Greece, Israel and Egypt. Sometimes the exploitation of the sea has an explosive potential.
Since when is it used?
She has always been. Through fishing, as a food resource, or for corals in Sardinia and Sicily and as a means of traffic for trade. Nevertheless, its exploitation has worsened with the arrival of new technology: compressed air bottles have allowed the extraction of underwater wealth, for example.
Since the start of the industrial era, the sea has also been used as a trash can. On the bottom rests an incredible quantity of remains of the Second World War, and perhaps nuclear waste.
What were the most transported by sea?
Under the Romans, the trade of cereals, textiles and luxury products was flourishing. The control of wind and currents obviously played a crucial role in navigation, before the first motor boats appear. But the energy as such is only a recent subject.
How is the Mediterranean different from the oceans?
It represents only 0.8 % of the surface of the globe oceans, but it has been central to humanity for three millennia now. Its climate in summer makes it easy to circulate between Europe, Africa and Asia. The most important role that this sea has always been played is to allow different civilizations, both continental and insular (Sicily, Crest, Cyprus) to meet. On the oceans, there have always been gigantic areas free from all human presence. In the Mediterranean, it is the density that is striking.
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