Port(752 words)
Before the building of the railways in the 19th century dramatically cut the costs of transportation over longer distances by land, the import needs of major urban agglomerations could generally be met only using water transport (Traffic and transport; Inland navigation). Every town with direct access to a navigable waterway therefore had considerable potential for growth. By the late 16th century, London already had around 300,000 inhabitants, and by 1800 its population had reached 800,000.
In the 11th and 12th centuries, the great Italian ports of Venice and Ge…
Cite this page
Eckert, Andreas,
“Port”, in:
Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012.
Consulted online on 25 September 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_020559>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20210107
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