Layer 03 · Publication and database work
Routes that reshaped the world.
When European maritime expansion in the Indian Ocean accelerated during the seventeenth century, it reshaped global economic, political and social relations. Ships were not only vehicles of trade and mobility; they were instruments of colonial power.
They enabled the movement of goods, people, soldiers, knowledge and violence, and became central to expanding European dominance across Asian waters. Historic Shipping Networks makes these connections visible through research, publications and searchable data.
A shipping record can reveal a route, a cargo and the unequal systems that connected them.