Espacios portuarios bajomedievales entre el estuario del Guadalquivir y el Estrecho de Gibraltar (ss. XIII-XVI)
ISSN: 0214-834X
Year of publication: 2023
Issue Title: De Gades a Tánger Med: la tradición del futuro en el Estrecho de Gibraltar
Issue: 21
Pages: 115-132
Type: Article
More publications in: Awraq: Estudios sobre el mundo árabe e islámico contemporáneo
Abstract
Port infrastructures in the late Middle Ages were quite precarious, with few exceptions. Stevedoring activities –loading and unloading freight– were generally limited to fragile wooden structures or directly to disembarkation on beaches and riverbanks by means of smaller vessels. These were usually unsuitable and dangerous places due to the constant sedimentation processes caused by bad seafaring habits. Throughout the fifteenth century, this situation posed a significant challenge for a number of coastal population centers in Atlantic Andalusia that were experiencing economic growth as a result of their mercantile activities. Thanks to written and archeological records preserved for some of these enclaves, we are able to gain insight into the state of their port infrastructures during the final centuries of the Middle Ages, as well as the measures taken to address these shortcomings.