The journey in this book

Abstract

The Struggle for Supremacy will take the reader on a vast journey throughout the Mediterranean Sea and beyond. In the Braudelian sense of the word, in contrast to a geographical map simply indicating ‘The Mediterranean Sea’, there is not one such sea, but many and with as many identities. Surrounded by many territories, life within this vast expanse of water was subject to all kinds of influences, while lives on those shores and islands touched by the same sea were equally effected. Raiding and trading took place across the divides of religions, cultures and distances, while no one was immune regarding slavery or reversal of fortune. The Sea was, and remains, unpredictable, winds and currents could come from any corner, either political or climatological. Continuous strife took place by land and on sea or land, resources and fortunes. Within the context of Braudel it could be said that peace in the Mediterranean was only optionally available when there was no money for war, while piracy and corsairing would fill in the gaps of the interbelli. Besides contrasts between one side and the other, there were also many aspectswhichunitedthepeopleslivingwithinthe region, such as food, languages or cultural values, forming a unity of contrasts.