Abstract
Mediterranean Seafarers in Transition investigates the economic and social effects of the transition from sailing to steam shipping in the Mediterranean – with references also to the Black Sea – between the mid nineteenth century and the end of the First World War. This transition was part of the industrialization process that involved Western Europe and the United States in the same years. The novelty of this project is not so much in the principal topics of the research, which have been already widely covered by the historiography. The novelty is rather in the variety of sources used (qualitative and quantitative), in the decision to analyse both micro and macro case studies, and, finally, in the broad comparative approach between Greece, Spain, Italy and, to a lesser degree, France – countries with different histories, levels of economic and social development, and impact in the Mediterranean maritime transport sector. In these countries, the transition from sailing to steam took place with different methods and rhythms – often, however, with similar and therefore comparable consequences.
In the context of the maritime transport revolution, which exploded around the mid nineteenth century, the book focuses on three key themes: work, communities and shipping. In terms of work, the progressive development of steam navigation significantly transformed operations on board, which were assimilated to those carried out in the factory. The shift from craftsmanship to generic and repetitive tasks, imposed by the division of labour that involved manufacturers, was replicated in shipping. The deskilling and proletarianization of the workforce was the final effect of this phenomenon. The work of sailors gradually became concentrated in the interior of the ship, above all in the engine room, rather than on deck, as it had been for many centuries. Seamen’s general duties disappeared and were replaced by a new professional role as firemen. New hierarchies were imposed, meaning that masters and boatswains were forced to share the helm of the ship with the engineers. A new wage structure was created: the share system and daily salaries were replaced by monthly wages, which also covered the time spent onshore by crews. Salaries were higher overall on steamships than on sailing ships, but the differences between the wages of officials and those of the lower ranks were smaller, as was the gap between the salaries of unskilled and qualified sailors. At the same time, the chances of professional advancement also decreased.
The transition from sailing to steam was also reflected in the training of sailors, where school education, at specialized institutions, was combined with experience gained at sea and became increasingly important. In addition, the distinction between the social environments of the crews grew: all the officers of the steamships were middle class, whereas all the lower ranks came from the lower classes. This also had significant effects in the field of associations, where the traditional welfare organizations of sailors – for example, the Cassa invalidi della marina mercantile di Genova – and their families were joined by the first modern trade unions, which articulated social conflict through the extensive use of strikes.
The book underlines that the transition from sailing to steam modified the work not only on board ships, but also in the ports, above all with regard to the loading and unloading of goods. In the mid nineteenth century, under pressure from merchants and shipowners, Mediterranean Europe witnessed the removal of the corporations that, for centuries, had governed the recruitment and employment of dockers. The opening up of this labour market should have reduced transport costs and increased general efficiency. However, the following advent of steam navigation resulted in a partial reverse: reducing the time spent in ports became a strategic goal, which required the adoption of a system to ensure maximum speed in the recruitment of dockers. This led – as happened in Barcelona, for example – to the reappearance of labour intermediation organizations, which were to a large extent controlled by the workers themselves.
Onshore, the consequences of the transition from sailing to steam not only affected dock workers. The entire geography/hierarchy of ports, both major and minor, was redesigned. Maritime communities were also fully involved – in production facilities, in housing arrangements, and in the level and structure of the population. The cases of Barcelona, Camogli, Galaxidi and La Ciotat, analysed in the book, also show that the demographic impact of the transport revolution on maritime communities was far from homogeneous. In Barcelona (Barceloneta), Camogli and Galaxidi, the development of steam navigation resulted in the failure of the traditional shipyards for wooden ships and a consequent haemorrhaging of their residents. This loss was only compensated for in the Spanish town by immigrants employed in the new metalworking workshops associated with the construction of steamships. By contrast, in La Ciotat, there was an expansion of the community, which benefited from the decision taken by the Compagnie des messageries maritimes to open a large shipyard for steamers. Thanks to this decision, La Ciotat took on the characteristics of a company town.
The impact of the transition from sailing to steam was obviously profound in shipping, to which the third part of the book is dedicated. The ships, the lines, the quality of the services, and the administrative and financial management of the companies in European Mediterranean countries underwent significant changes. Freed from the variability of the wind, steamers ensured journey times that were finally predictable, as well as the possibility of lengthening the old routes and opening new ones, thus expanding the network of connections and markets. This globalization benefitted not only merchant traffic, but also passenger transport, as shown by the cases of the Hellenic Navigation Company and Austrian Lloyd. The book appropriately emphasizes that these companies owed much of their growth to state aid. Indeed, in Mediterranean Europe and beyond, governments and parliaments backed the development of steam navigation and the expansion of maritime transport networks in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with various kinds of subsidies and laws to protect national shipping and shipbuilding. In this way, some of the major shipping companies and shipyards became tools of commercial policy and, more importantly, contributed to the articulation of the fragile geopolitical balances that led to the First World War.
In conclusion, Mediterranean Seafarers in Transition represents a valuable research book and, at the same time, a broad synthesis of one of the developments that has had the greatest impact on world history in the modern period. On the one hand, it explores and offers insights into well-known topics, while, on the other, it opens up new possible paths of investigation. This is a book that should be engaged with by every scholar in the field.