People have bartered and traded for goods and commodities for centuries. We delve into the history of global trade and the building of empires - from the countries, people and ships involved, to the legacies they left behind.

Art in focus: inside the ship’s cabin
Discover how a little-known painting changed the face of naval portraiture
Knotted histories: addressing Britain's colonial legacy through crochet
Meet Sarah Hawke, the artist behind a new crochet kanga on display at the National Maritime Museum
How can shipping be more environmentally friendly?
From Cutty Sark to cutting edge technology, could a new era of wind power help global trade go green?
How did the slave trade end in Britain?
The campaign to end slavery began in the late 18th century. Alongside the work of famous campaigners and formerly enslaved people living in London, one of the key events in the abolition movement was a rebellion on the island of Haiti
Interesting facts about tea
Tea might be known as England's national drink, but it has a long and eventful history across the world. Did you know these top ten tea facts?
29 Sep 2016
World Maritime Day - Shipping: indispensable to the world
Today is World Maritime Day and this year we're celebrating the critical link between shipping and global society. International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General, Kitack Lim, tells us more. 
23 Aug 2016
London and the slave trade, International Slavery Remembrance Day
On International Slavery Remembrance Day, we look at the role London played in the transatlantic slave trade.
08 Aug 2016
Containerisation from OCL to P&O Nedlloyd
If you wish to look up ‘transport by sea’ in any library or archives you will get passenger lists, cruise ships (most of which will all focus on the Titanic); and in the case of the Caird Library and Archives, a tea clipper called Cutty Sark.
Atlantic Worlds: Exploration and Cultural Encounters
Atlantic trading brought unprecedented cultural exchange and altered the world forever.
17 Aug 2015
Captain George Peacock (1805–83): Naval Officer, surveyor, inventor, entrepreneur and recipient of Royal Order of the Redeemer
George Peacock was a little-known yet indefatigable inventor and naval officer, born in 1805 at Navy House in Exmouth, Devon.