Presentation
he PortADa project focuses on the processing and study of data relating to the arrival of ships at the ports of Barcelona, Marseille, Havana, and Buenos Aires between 1850 and 1914 —a period marked by the main transformations associated with the transition from sail to steam— as port cities became central nodes in globalisation and the international division of labour.
In these ports, the arrival of ships was an economic, cultural, and political event, featuring prominently in the local press. The provisioning and unloading of these ships generated complex networks that enabled trade and traffic at local, regional, and riverine levels.
Objectives
A. To create a database containing approximately 1.6 million records on ship arrivals at the ports involved in the project, published in the local press from 1850 to 1914. This open-access database will be freely available for new research in the field of maritime history and for the general public interested in exploring its content.
B. To establish a team of digital humanists specialised in the application of computational methods to maritime and economic history. In the medium term, this team will be able to support other academic institutions interested in digital transitions and the development and use of their own research resources.
Methodology
PortADa focuses on processing large volumes of information on 19th-century navigation, drawn from a textual corpus suitable for analysis. This corpus is made up of ship arrival notices published in the press of the period —some dating from the late 18th century— offering diverse and abundant information for describing and analysing maritime and port traffic.
From a technological perspective, the project offers automated transcription and large-scale processing of digitised historical newspapers. The methods and software employed are designed to be replicable in other ports and time periods, contributing to the reconstruction of global maritime traffic over the broadest possible chronology. In some cases, digitisation will also serve to preserve and improve access to historical documents.
From a technological perspective, the project offers automated transcription and large-scale processing of digitised historical newspapers. The methods and software employed are designed to be replicable in other ports and time periods, contributing to the reconstruction of global maritime traffic over the broadest possible chronology. In some cases, digitisation will also serve to preserve and improve access to historical documents.
Impacts
This project will enhance the understanding of the evolution of maritime traffic at each port and its respective position in the international division of labour. It will allow for the study of international trade on a global scale and with a level of detail previously unattainable, thanks to the reconstruction of historical series of maritime traffic in these ports. It will also shed light on cabotage traffic —usually overlooked— and, with it, the connection of networks, circuits, and local and international commercial flows.
The arrival notices contain abundant and useful data for understanding technological changes in navigation and the evolution of ship types. This will improve the interpretation of the gradual transition to steam power, associating each vessel’s features with its routes and journey durations. Studying the names of captains and skippers of arriving vessels will enable deeper insights into social and labour history, reconstructing career paths and better understanding the social mobility of this professional group.
The arrival notices contain abundant and useful data for understanding technological changes in navigation and the evolution of ship types. This will improve the interpretation of the gradual transition to steam power, associating each vessel’s features with its routes and journey durations. Studying the names of captains and skippers of arriving vessels will enable deeper insights into social and labour history, reconstructing career paths and better understanding the social mobility of this professional group.
