On September 28, Professor Gelina Harlaftis, one of the most renowned historians of Maritime and Business History will give a talk at OISE Nexus Lounge, 252 Bloor St W, Toronto at 4pm.
Sept 28, 4-5:30pm: A talk by Professor Gelina Harlaftis (University of Crete and Centre of Maritime History, Institute of Mediterranean Studies, FORTH) “Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean History, Late Eighteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries, After Twenty Years of Research”.
Co-Sponsored by the Centre for Learning, Social Economy and Work (CLSEW), York University HHF Chair in Modern Greek History and Hellenic Studies, and the Hellenic Canadian Academic Association of Ontario (HCAAO)
Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean History, Late Eighteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries, After Twenty Years of Research
By the beginning of the 20th century, the Black Sea was among the most important grain and oil export regions of the world, supplying a growing European and global demand for basic foodstuffs and raw materials.
This is a sea of new port cities from the last third of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century. They attracted hundreds of thousands of immigrants, mainly from central and southeastern Europe. This triggered a “commercial revolution” as the region became a “land of promise”, similar to what the United States became some decades later.
Communications and linkages through the sea were pivotal for port cities’ growth and prosperity, thousands of Greeks, Jews, Germans, Poles, Armenians, and Romanians (amongst others) moved there. Greek trading companies ranked among the leading trade and shipping groups in all Black Sea port cities, and became the base for the great leap forward of Greek-owned shipping in the 20th century.
The lecture will reveal the historical research in 20 Black Sea port cities carried out in the past two decades and the integration and importance of the Black Sea in the world economy then and in the present day.
Biographical note
Gelina Harlaftis, professor of the University of Crete, has graduated from the University of Athens and has completed her graduate studies in the Universities of Cambridge (M.Phil.) and Oxford (D.Phil.). She was Director of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies (IMS) of the Foundation of Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH) during 2017-2025, and Vice-President of FORTH (2025). She continues her research activities to the present day through the Centre of Maritime History of IMS-FORTH. Since 2022 she is a member of Academia Europaea. She has extensive experience in the coordination and implementation of large research projects and has established a large international research network with scholars from all continents. She has published 32 books in English, Canadian and Greek publishing houses and more than 80 articles in edited volumes and international peer-reviewed journals. Her last books are Onassis Business History, 1924-1975, Brill, Leiden 2023 and Ο εμπορικός και πολεμικός στόλος κατά την Ελληνική Επανάσταση (1821-1831 [Greek Shipping During the War of Independence: Naval and Merchant Ships 1821-1831], University of Crete Publications, Iraklio 2023 edited with Katerina Galani.
