Rubbish or Riches? Ship’s ballast, commodities, and global mobility at sea in the 19th century

This episode delves into the history of ship’s ballast, extra weight which ships carried whenever they travelled without cargo. Today, ballast had become a metaphor, but until the early 20th century, ballast was a very concrete and crucial resource, millions of tonnes of sand and stones which ships transported around the world. When stowed in their hold, this ballast stabilized ships and was an essential component of global mobility at sea.