An early modern blue Anthropocene, or the historical entanglements between humans and nonhumans

At the Conference "Beyond Modernity: Alternative Incursions into the Anthropocene" I presented the idea of a premodern Anthropocene, ranging from the late 15th century onwards, and marked by the European expansions and the so-called first
globalization. This was supported by the establishment of colonial territories, the development of imperial trading networks, and the exploitation of resources. Continued and large-scale extractions of sea resources, for instance, led to habitat degradation, long-term
impacts and drove populations and species to the brink of extinction. Known as the Columbian Exchange or a Wet Globalization, it was a moment of geographic, environmental,
and sociocultural disruption. Are part of this history the co-constructed narratives that must include the ocean as a corridor and a connector, as a place and a home, and as an entity, as
well as by the entangled relationships of humans and nonhumans.