Uncharted Maritime Worlds, c.1550‒c.1800: An Integrated Digital History of Seaborne Trade from European Archivescore
UMW · Horizon Europe grant · 2026-10-01–2031-09-30
EC contribution
Total cost
Beneficiaries
About the data
Source: CORDIS (official EU open data), Horizon Europe. Framework HORIZON · call ERC-2025-ADG · scheme HORIZON-ERC · topic ERC-2025-ADG. CORDIS record →
Objective
Uncharted Maritime Worlds transforms our understanding of early modern seaborne trade (16th–19th centuries) by uncovering the hidden transnational networks that connected Europe and shaped the modern world. It utilises AI to uncover the hidden European trade networks that crossed borders, and defied states. It overturns the old story of early modern seaborne trade (16th–19th centuries), revealing the hidden, transnational webs of exchange that shaped our world. Histories of European and global trade still rest on fragmented national narratives, constrained by the limits of surviving sources. They focus on state power, formal institutions, and empire-building as isolated, competitive ventures. This project reframes that picture, showing instead how overlapping commercial, political, and social networks spanned borders, often beyond the reach of state control. Combining historical research with computer science and geospatial analysis, it will harness cutting-edge AI to mine archives across Europe, building a vast, multilingual database containing millions of datapoints on ships, merchants, cargoes, and ports. Three interlinked strands will test new questions: 1. Trade Systems – reconstructing cross-border routes and hubs to test the relative power of centralised entrepôts against decentralised translocal networks.2. Power and Resistance – analysing state attempts to regulate trade through taxes, tariffs, and naval power, and the counter-strategies of smuggling and evasion.3. People Behind the Trade – tracing the migration, kinship, and trust networks—often involving women—that sustained maritime economies and reshaped identities.Beyond history, the findings will model resilience, integration, and governance in complex systems, reshaping debates in economics, politics, sociology, and climate studies. It asks a central question: were maritime networks mere trade routes—or the very currents that carried Europe, and the world, into modernity?
Beneficiaries (1)
| Organisation | Country | Role | EC contribution | SME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON | UK | coordinator | €2,864,816 |
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