Global Relevance of the Legal History of the Early Modern Mediterranean

Abstract

This essay is the result of reflection elicited by three ERC-funded projects on the Early Modern Mediterranean. From their results, it emerged that the interconnectivity generated by the legal interactions in that time and place played a vital role in the shaping of the modern world. We need to recognise the importance of this legal history and reassess the neglected importance of Mediterranean developments within global history, thus giving it its proper place in our research agendas. This conclusion is discussed within the framework of recent historiographical developments across different sub-disciplines and national historiographies.   Image Caption: Gerard and Leonard Valck, Mare mediterraneum, Washington, Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, G5672 .M4 1695 .V3 TIL, 1695. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division (Public Domain) https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5672m.ct000433/