Freight News, Sea
Book review: Trade, not politics, is the real engine of growth
[ May 6, 2026 // Chris Lewis ]
Shipping – not politics – has been the primary driver of prosperity and human progress, argues Nick Collins in his latest book.
The Ascent of Maritime Trade 1700-2025, Enlightening the World traces the development of maritime trade from early human history and also puts Britain’s later rise as a maritime power within this longer historical continuum. From the 14th century onwards, successive British governments deliberately promoted maritime trade, elevating it to a mantra from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The author argues that this was part of a wider Maritime Enlightenment, comparable in significance to the Industrial Revolution and the anti slavery movement—a practical and humane enlightenment that succeeded.
Following 1945, global trade expanded at unprecedented speed, accelerated further by containerisation. Yet, Collins, who has worked in shipping since the 1970s, contends, Britain abandoned the very formula that had underpinned its historic success. His analysis points to deep institutional weaknesses and a failure of Britain’s political class dating back to the mid 19th century, culminating in post war indifference—and, at times, hostility—towards maritime trade.
The book is one of a series examining world history through the prism of maritime trade, offering readers a broader framework for understanding both historical developments and contemporary global events.
The author himself says: “Too often current events and our history are served up purely in political terms. The world works best when maritime trade allows products to be shipped where they are needed, promoting economic growth. Since 1945 it has lifted billions out of poverty.”
As the third volume in the series, the book stresses maritime trade as the underlying driver of world history—shaping wealth creation, technological innovation, art and literature.
Collins also demonstrates how failures to understand the importance of maritime trade shaped political outcomes and national trajectories—from the American War of Independence, driven in its immediate cause by illegal maritime trade and smuggling, to the unresolved tensions of US trade policy, European revolutions, and 20th century conflict.
The series also contrasts Britain’s declining engagement with maritime trade against the post 1945 rise of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China and the UAE, all of which directly encouraged shipping and trade as engines of growth.
RRP: £29.99 ISBN: 9781036138899 368 PAGES
HARDBACK PUBLISHED: APRIL 2026 PEN & SWORD MARITIME