Technology and the age of sail

Picture — The view from the rigging from the replica of the Götheborg

For some reflections on technology, skills, and the age of sail after my voyage on the Götheborg as part of the crew, take a look at this Twitter thread: “

I am further glad that there is an active interest in maritime history within our field of economic history. Please find a small collection of publications on maritime economic history:

• North, D. (1958). Ocean freight rates and economic development 1730-1913. The Journal of Economic History, 18(4), 537-555.
• Harley, C. K. (1971). The shift from sailing ships to steamships, 1850–1890: a study in technological change and its diffusion. In Essays on a mature economy: Britain after 1840 (pp. 215-237). Routledge.
• • Pascali, L. (2017). The wind of change: Maritime technology, trade, and economic development. American Economic Review, 107(9), 2821-2854.
• Kelly, M., & Ó Gráda, C. (2019). Speed under sail during the early industrial revolution (c. 1750–1830). The Economic History Review, 72(2), 459-480.
• Arteaga, F., Desierto, D., & Koyama, M. (2024). Shipwrecked by rents. Journal of Development Economics, 168, 103240.
• Miotto, M., & Pascali, L. (2025). Solving the longitude puzzle: A story of clocks, ships and cities. Journal of International Economics, 155, 104067.

Beyond that, in my humble opinion, these two classics cannot miss in such a list:

• Rodger, N. A. M. (1999). The safeguard of the sea: A naval history of Britain, 660–1649 (Vol. 1). W. W. Norton.
• Rodger, N. A. M. (2005). The command of the ocean: A naval history of Britain, 1649–1815 (Vol. 2). W. W. Norton.

The list is unauthorative and just intended as a simple help for anyone interested in maritime history. Should I have missed a (your) publication, please send me an email and I will be most happy to add it to the list.