Resumen de Introduction: inland ports in the Anglo-Iberian Atlantic new approaches from economic, political, and social history
James Vladimir Torres Moreno, Leonardo Moreno Álvarez
Inland waterways had an expansive role in the economic performance of preindustrial and early industrial societies. The lower freight rates and lower biomass consumption characteristic of riverine trade allowed merchants to export bulky, low-value-to-weight commodities to distant nodes and successfully compete in global, competitive markets.
As a growing literature has shown, economies endowed with an extensive network of inland waterways were better positioned to benefit from regional specialization and Smithian growth.1 The increasing integration of markets in China, Europe, and other regions before the twentieth century was driven, among other things, by fundamental organizational and technological changes in river navigation, such as improvements in port facilities, canalization, customs simplification, and elimination of barriers to entry.2 The advent of steam navigation strengthened the productivity gains in river trade, making upriver navigation cost-effective and further connecting inland nodes to the expansive waves of global trade.3
