Risk "Culture" in Populations Using the Sea and Coast of Western France (11th-16th Centuries)

Abstract

Among populations using the sea and its coastlines, danger was not perceived as a sterilising and inhibiting notion but rather a datum which had to be factored in, evaluated and surpassed, something man had to make allowance for in order to do business and prosper. This inclination for daring and adventure to be found in a secular culture of maritime risks, partly gave rise to technological and economic innovation and authorised the crossing of geographical, conceptual and theological thresholds at the dawn of the modern era. Voluntary exposure to risk meets a need for liberty, innovation and progress. Viewed in the context of the 12th-16th centuries, this behaviour broke with certain conservative tendencies to favour the status quo sometimes characteristic of populations and authorities of the land. We are therefore right to consider that these medieval experiments with risk management were key sources for the expansion and transformation of Europe initiated during the modern era.