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The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans with David Abulafia OP

10 FEBRUARY 2021

7:00pm-8:00pm

Zoom Webinar

This talk looks at ways of understanding the history of our planet from the perspective of the 70% of its surface that is covered by water, especially the three great oceans, the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

There are many ways of writing maritime history, but the one chosen here emphasizes the role of human beings in creating and maintaining links across often vast tracts of the ocean, with the result that commercial, cultural and political bonds have been created that, as early as the 16th century, encircled the entire globe. Even before Columbus opened the route to the Americas, and da Gama opened the route to India, important pieces of this network were already in place.

About the Speaker – David Abulafia OP (1963-1967)

David Abulafia is an Old Pauline and has dedicated his latest book to those who taught him history, ancient, medieval and modern at St Paul’s.

He is now a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and Emeritus Professor of Mediterranean History at Cambridge University, and a Fellow of the British Academy. His books include FREDERICK II; THE DISCOVERY OF MANKIND; THE GREAT SEA: A HUMAN HISTORY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN, and now THE BOUNDLESS SEA: A HUMAN HISTORY OF THE OCEANS, which won the Wolfson Prize for History in 2020 and is published by Penguin Books.

Find out more about St Paul’s Talks and Masterclasses HERE.

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