Faruk Tabak’s The Waning of the Mediterranean, 1550-1870 is a comprehensive study that analyzes the economic, ecological, and social transformations of the Mediterranean between the 16th and 19th centuries from a historical geography perspective.
Subject and Scope of the Book
The Waning of the Mediterranean, 1550-1870: A Geohistorical Approach examines the transformations experienced by the Mediterranean from the mid-16th century to the second half of the 19th century. The book analyzes how the shifting center of the global economic system toward the Atlantic led to the decline of the Mediterranean’s commercial and economic power while also comprehensively evaluating the region’s ecological and social changes.
The study explores the transformations in the Mediterranean after the late 16th century through three main dimensions: the decline of economic activities, changes in ecological conditions, and the transformation of political structures. Instead of attributing the Mediterranean’s decline solely to changes in trade routes, Tabak also examines the impact of climatic factors, particularly the Little Ice Age and diseases such as malaria.
The book assesses Mediterranean history from a Braudelian perspective, focusing on the transformation of economic actors in the region. It details the diminishing influence of Venice and Genoa, the changing economic structure of the Ottoman Empire, and the effects of European states’ new transoceanic trade networks on the Mediterranean. Additionally, it discusses shifts in agricultural production, the transformation of rural settlements, and the transition from large-scale farming to small-scale production.
Rather than treating the Mediterranean’s decline as a uniform collapse, Tabak’s study provides a comparative analysis of the region’s various dynamics. The book examines long-term processes such as ecological changes and the restructuring of economic networks, offering a comprehensive evaluation of the Mediterranean’s historical transformation.
Situated at the intersection of historical geography, economic history, and environmental history, the book presents a multidimensional approach to the transformations of the Mediterranean between the 16th and 19th centuries.
