Thalassocracy: Seaborne Empires from Ancient Greece to the Pacific

The word thalassocracy originates from Greek and is defined as rule of the sea; it most often refers to an island or a coastal entity dependent on trade to sustain its population. Scholars disagree as to whether the term should be confined to a particular historical era and location, such as the ancient Mediterranean world, or apply thalassocracy to places in the modern era. Differences of opinion also arise over whether to rule the sea means to dominate through military means, such as a navy, or through trade. Trading outposts are not the same as colonies, and so the definition of a thalassocracy becomes even more entangled.

GREEK THALASSOCRACIES. In his treatise about the Peloponnesian Wars, Thucydides (c. 460-404 BCE) wrote that Minos (the legendary king of Crete) was the first person to rule the Aegean Sea and the Cyclades. Thucydides credited Minos with colonizing the Greek islands, setting his sons up as rulers, and suppressing piracy in the Aegean. Archaeological evidence of Minoan civilization (3000-1100 BCE) can be found from Sicily to the Danube, confirming trade between these regions. Based on frescoes in Minoan ruins showing only trading ships, some scholars question whether Minoans were equipped to fight pirates. Others argue that piracy was not an issue during this era; therefore, Thucydides and Herodotus wrote from the context of a hegemonic Athens complete with a navy capable of going to war and not from knowledge of piracy in the Aegean.

Herodotus (c. 484-420 BCE) referred to Minos in The Histories (an account of the Greco-Persian wars, 492-449 BCE) but wrote that Polycrates (tyrant of Samos c. 540-522 BCE) was actually the first person to attempt to control the seas by conquering Ionia and the Greek islands. Herodotus also mentioned that the Phocaeans from Ionia (located on the western shore of present-day Turkey) traded, colonized, and built relationships with elites in the Aegean just off the Ionian coast. The Phocaeans also raided and harassed their neighbors to the point that the Etruscans and Carthaginians formed an alliance to suppress them, thus showing that Phocaean supremacy became a threat. Herodotus recounted the Phocaean escape by sea from one island to the next, with the Phocaeans finally settling on the tip of Italy.

Eusebius, a fourth-century writer and historian, listed several thalassocracies in the Chronicon. They include Rhodes, Samos, Naxos, Cyprus, Lesbos, Phoenicia, and Lydia (western Asia Minor)—but the latter two are not islands. Phoenicia (present-day Lebanon) was a coastal civilization hemmed in to the east by the mountains of Lebanon and had little land for farming, making them dependent on trade. Phoenicians engaged in longdistance trading, setting up first outposts and then colonies in Carthage, Cadiz, Leptis Magna (Libya), and Palermo.

BRITISH THALASSOCRACY. If the term “thalassocracy” cannot be confined to a particular era, then Great Britain can be included in the list of thalassocracies. It is an island nation and dependent on trade. The English colonized and built trading posts throughout the world and ensured the transport of goods both to and from its various colonies through maritime superiority. During the late 1800s, ships carrying California’s wheat sailed around Cape Horn to England, making up for the lack of wheat grown on the island. Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1870s) purchased Egypt’s shares in the Suez Canal, thus safeguarding England’s continued military presence in Egypt to secure passage for Britain’s vast shipping concerns. The Straits of Gibraltar remain a British territory to this day.

OCEANIA. When the definition of thalassocracy is broadened beyond the Mediterranean and considered in a global sense, then the Pacific Islands may also be deemed possible thalassocracies. Navigational skills of Pacific Islanders fostered extensive travel, colonization, and trade. Archaeological evidence such as Lapita pottery (dating back to 3,000 years BCE) confirms extensive trade networks throughout the Pacific. Chiefs from the island of Yap paid Palauan chiefs for the right to mine raay (large stone discs), ensuring commercial relationships. Tahitians joined other Pacific Islanders as crew members on sealing and whaling ships, sending their wages home to help support their families and retain their property. By doing so, Pacific Islanders mined resources unavailable on their own islands from other entities to ensure the continuity of their own culture. The Tu'i Dynasty on Tonga is thought to date to the tenth century CE, and in a similar manner as Minos, chiefs dominated other islands and assigned those islands to kinsmen to rule.

FURTHER READING: Burley, David V 1995. “Mata'uvave and 15th Century Ha'apai: Narrative Accounts and Historical Landscapes in the Interpretation of Classical Tongan History.” The Journal of Pacific History 30 (2): 154-72.

Denoon, Donald, ed. 1997. The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mahan, Alfred T. 2003. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783. Gretna, LA: Pelican Company

Starr, Chester G. 1955. “The Myth of the Minoan Thalassocracy.” Historia: Zeitschrift Fur Alte Geschichte 3 (3): 282-91.

Strasser, Robert B., ed. 1996. The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to The Peloponnesian War. New York: Free Press.

Strasser, Robert B. 2007. The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories. New York: Pantheon Books. Suan, Marlene. 2003. “The First Trading Empires: Prehistory to c. 1000 BC.” In The Mediterranean in History, edited by David Abulafia. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd.