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Introduction To see the world’s oceans as spaces of deep historical and cultural significance is a relatively new development in the field of history. The two historians edit- ing this volume turned to ocean and sea basins partially ­because ­these aquatic surfaces remain uncomfortable territory for historians. Even a cursory glance at history departments in the United States reveals the fact that historians con- tinue to center on continents (Asia, Eu­rope, Africa, ­etc.) and/or nation-­states (primarily U.S. or individual state histories). Occasionally specialists emerge who focus on the Atlantic and the Indian oceans (to a lesser extent the Pacific), but they remain the exception rather than the rule. ­ There is good reason for such historical emphases and categorizations. The relationship between the development of the nation-­state and larger historically contingent building blocks called continents is very much tied to the development of history as a disci- pline in the 19th ­century. Yet even a casual look at a map of the world illus- trates that our planet is largely waterlogged, with oceans covering a good 70 ­ percent of the Earth’s surface. One should not blame historians too much for this oversight. ­After all, ­ humans do not fare well on oceans: they cannot drink the ­ water, and when they venture too far from the land, they increasingly develop debilitating diseases, such as the vitamin C deficiency called scurvy. And yet they have crossed oceans and settled even the most remote places on Earth, including the islands of the vast Pacific. In short, oceans both divide and connect ­ peoples, and ­ these proposi- tions remain central to the current volume. One could further argue that oceans have lost much of their prominent role in the field of transportation. In truth, although airlines seemingly have taken away the lion’s share of passenger travel since the second half of the 20th ­ century, most of the transport of goods (close to 90 ­ percent) is still done via the maritime route. It should also be mentioned that the cruise ship industry witnessed a re­nais­sance in the late 20th ­ century, indicating that shipping ­people may not only be a transport of necessity, as it had been ­ until the 20th ­ century, but also an endeavor of leisure. The same can be said for international conflict where the South China Sea and the Arctic as a nexus for international shipping trade remains contested among the nations that border its waters.­ The recognition of the central role of seas and ocean basins in ­ human his- tory is part of what historians now call the “aquacentric” or “thalassocratic” (from