ABSTRACT
This chapter points to the particular role of maritime inter-urban links and their long-term evolution. Maritime transport played a major role in the first globalization phase of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The chapter distinguishes three different periods of maritime. The first period, from thirteenth to eighteenth century, was characterized by weak inter-urban links but strong maritime transport, representing a key factor for urban development. The second period, from nineteenth to the first half of the twentieth century, was characterized by strong links between cities; these were technical and long-standing transportation infrastructures, with maritime transport being articulated with canals and railroads. This period in the relationship between maritime transport and city-systems began with the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century. The third and current period, from second half of the twentieth century and after, is characterized by a weak relationship between maritime transport and world cities.
