La Ciotat in the Age of Steam (1836-1916): The Messageries Maritimes and the Making of an Industrial Maritime Society

by Kalliopi Vasilaki

Overview

La Ciotat, a small port-town in the French Mediterranean, underwent a profound metamorphosis during the nineteenth century. Once a small maritime community, it was transformed into the technical base and shipbuilding centre of the Compagnie des Messageries maritimes, France’s largest steam navigation company. This book charts the journey of a maritime society through its industrial grown and discovers its economic, demographic, labour, and social changes. Drawing on unpublished archival material, it explores how technological changes and the dominance of a single private shipping company reshaped the town’s identity and redefined its relationship with the sea.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789004733923
Publisher:	Brill Academic Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/25/2025
Series:	Brill's Studies in Maritime History , #19
Pages:	392
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 1.50(h) x 9.50(d)

About the Author

Kalliopi Vasilaki is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre of Maritime History, Institute for Mediterranean Studies (IMS/FORTH). She received her Ph.D. from the University of Crete in 2022 and holds a Master's degree from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris, 2012). Her research focuses on maritime societies in the Mediterranean during the nineteenth century. She has published several articles in English and French in international journals and edited volumes.