INLAND WATERWAYS
People and merchandise traveled inland via lakes, rivers, and canals. A journey by boat across a large lake could be relatively fast; travel via rivers and canals was notoriously slow. Rivers, of course, had currents, which could work for or against the traveler. Most
Merchandise transported on rivers or canals was pulled along on a barge by a horse walking on a pathway beside the water. Going downstream, a moderately loaded barge unhindered by other traffic might have taken no longer than 24 hours to travel across one-third of France; this speed would be possible under optimal weather conditions, with the river clear of debris and not at low water. A trip upstream on the same river could take a week or more. Whereas people usually traveled on single boats or barges, products such as grain and textiles often were transported in a line of barges grouped together, which moved slowly indeed. In addition, some rivers and canals had tolls, decreasing the speed of travel when several vessels lined up to pay the toll. There were few inland canals in Europe before the 17 th century. Although Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is thought to have designed several locks for the Milan canals in 1487,
Exploration and Travel
The use of locks for moving vessels from one level of water to another was largely unknown during the Renaissance. Canals were very practical, however, in flat areas such as the Netherlands. Barges hauled by a horse did not travel much faster than three miles per hour in canals. Even if vessels could have moved faster, their wash would have eroded the dirt banks of the canal. Very few inland canals were constructed with stone or brick walls. Finally, rivers and canals were not always dependable means of transportation because in very dry seasons they simply did not contain enough water.
HARBORS
Several European rivers were deep enough, and ships were small enough, that oceangoing vessels could dock in riverine harbors such as Antwerp on the Scheldt River. Even where the rivers flowing by such harbors were shallow, new designs for dredging machines usually kept the traffic flowing. Several harbors were constructed or renovated in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries, notably the Tuscan port of Livorno. Located near Pisa, on the northwestern coast of the Italian Peninsula, the village of Livorno was selected by Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519-74) to replace Pisa when the latter city’s harbor began silting in at an alarming rate. Florentine artists and architects participated in an ambitious project to reclaim marshy land, construct a wharf, and dig a canal between Livorno and Pisa. The Florentine government encouraged settlers, including Jews, Moors, and Turks (not welcome in many areas of western Europe), successfully transforming the village of Livorno into a thriving port city by the end of the 16th century.
The largest inland harbor in western Europe, and one of the busiest, was Seville, located 55 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Seville dominated shipping in the western Mediterranean, just as Venice led in the east. After the establishment of the Casa de Contratacion (house of trade) in Seville in 1505, the city’s harbor had a monopoly on trade with Spain’s colonial possessions, including silver bullion. Impressive new buildings were erected for the pilots’ school and other organizations that served Spanish navigation and trade. Travelers entering the teeming port of Seville during the 16th century must have felt that they were at the nexus of European wealth and power.
World History
