Editing North Sea (section)

==History==
{{main|History of the North Sea}}

===Early history===
The North Sea has provided waterway access for commerce and conquest. Many areas have access to the North Sea because of its long coastline and the European rivers that empty it.<ref name="Britannica"/> There is little documentary evidence concerning the North Sea before the [[Roman conquest of Britain]] in 43 CE, however, archaeological evidence reveals the diffusion of cultures and technologies from across or along the North Sea to Great Britain and Scandinavia and reliance by some prehistoric cultures on fishing, whaling, and seaborne trade on the North Sea. The Romans established organised ports in Britain, which increased shipping and began sustained trade<ref name="Cuyvers" /> the diffusion of cultures and technologies from across or along the North Sea to Great Britain and Scandinavia and reliance by some prehistoric cultures on fishing, whaling, and seaborne trade on the North Sea. The Romans established organised ports in Britain, which increased shipping and began sustained trade<ref name="Cuyvers">{{cite book
|last=Cuyvers
|first=Luc
|title=The Strait of Dover
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WBX6rrR20zYC&pg=PA2
|year=1986
|publisher=BRILL
|isbn=9789024732524
|page=2
|access-date=17 February 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084138/https://books.google.com/books?id=WBX6rrR20zYC&pg=PA2
|url-status=live
}}</ref> and many Scandinavian tribes participated in raids and wars against the Romans and Roman coinage and manufacturing were important trade goods. When the Romans [[End of Roman rule in Britain|abandoned]] Britain in 410, the Germanic [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], [[Frisians]], [[Saxons]], and [[Jutes]] began the next great migration across the North Sea during the [[Migration Period]]. They made successive invasions of the island from what is now the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Green
|first=Dennis Howard
|others=Frank Siegmund
|title=The Continental Saxons from the Migration Period to the Tenth Century: An Ethnographic Perspective
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MThYNoTutLkC&pg=PA49
|year=2003
|publisher=Boydell Press
|isbn=9781843830269
|pages=48–50
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084206/https://books.google.com/books?id=MThYNoTutLkC&pg=PA49
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

The [[Viking Age]] began in 793 with the attack on [[Lindisfarne]]; for the next quarter-millennium, the Vikings ruled the North Sea. In their superior [[longship]]s, they raided, traded, and established colonies and outposts along the coasts of the sea. From the Middle Ages through the 15th century, the [[northern Europe]]an coastal ports exported domestic goods, dyes, linen, salt, metal goods and wine. The Scandinavian and Baltic areas shipped grain, fish, naval necessities, and timber. In turn, the North Sea countries imported high-grade cloths, spices, and fruits from the Mediterranean region.<ref name="BrtishIsles"/> Commerce during this era was mainly conducted by maritime trade due to underdeveloped roadways.<ref name="BrtishIsles">{{cite journal
|last = Smith
|first = H. D.
|s2cid = 153753702
|title = The British Isles and the Age of Exploration – A Maritime Perspective
|journal = GeoJournal
|volume = 26
|issue = 4
|pages = 483–487
| year = 1992
|doi = 10.1007/BF02665747|bibcode = 1992GeoJo..26..483S
}}
</ref>

In the 13th century the [[Hanseatic League]], though centred on the [[Baltic Sea]], started to control most of the trade through important members and outposts on the North Sea.<ref name="EuropeanNaval">{{cite book
|last1 = Lewis
|first1 = H. D.
|last2 = Ross
|first2 = Archibald
|last3 = Runyan
|first3 = Timothy J.
|title = European Naval and Maritime History, 300–1500
|page = 128
|publisher = Indiana University Press
|year = 1985
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OzIRDbARyWIC&pg=PA128
|isbn = 9780253320827
|access-date = 1 July 2020
|archive-date = 17 April 2023
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084139/https://books.google.com/books?id=OzIRDbARyWIC&pg=PA128
|url-status = live
}}</ref> The League lost its dominance in the 16th century, as neighbouring states took control of former [[Trade route#Hanseatic trade|Hanseatic]] cities and outposts. Their internal conflict prevented effective cooperation and defence.<ref name="Hansen">{{cite book
|last = Hansen
|first = Mogens Herman
|title = A Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures: An Investigation
|page = 305
|publisher = Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab
|year = 2000
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8qvY8pxVxcwC&pg=PA305
|isbn = 9788778761774
|access-date = 1 July 2020
|archive-date = 17 April 2023
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084129/https://books.google.com/books?id=8qvY8pxVxcwC&pg=PA305
|url-status = live
}}</ref> As the League lost control of its maritime cities, new [[trade route]]s emerged that provided Europe with Asian, American, and African goods.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Køppen
|first=Adolph Ludvig
|author2=Karl Spruner von Merz
|title=The World in the Middle Ages
|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4bujwAigzEgC
|publisher=D. Appleton and Company
|location=New York
|oclc=3621972
|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4bujwAigzEgC/page/n183 179]
|year= 1854
}}
</ref><ref name="Ripley">{{cite book
|last=Ripley
|first=George R
|author2=Charles Anderson Dana
|title=The New American Cyclopædia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AAoAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA539
|publisher=D. Appleton
|location=New York
|page=540
|year=1869
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084139/https://books.google.com/books?id=2AAoAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA539
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

===Age of sail===
[[File:Willem van de Velde (II) - De verovering van het Engelse admiraalschip de 'Royal Prince'.jpg|thumb|Painting of the [[Four Days' Battle]] of 1666 by [[Willem van de Velde the Younger]]]]
The 17th century [[Dutch Golden Age]] saw Dutch maritime power at its zenith.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Cook
|first=Harold John
|title=Matters of Exchange: Commerce, Medicine, and Science in the Dutch Golden Age
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=haiG4P79gysC&pg=PA7
|page=7
|year=2007
|publisher=Yale University Press
|isbn=978-0-300-11796-7
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084129/https://books.google.com/books?id=haiG4P79gysC&pg=PA7
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name="PowerPlenty">{{cite book
|last=Findlay
|first=Ronald
|author2=Kevin H. O'Rourke
|title=Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium
|url=https://archive.org/details/powerplentytrade00rona
|url-access=registration
|publisher=Princeton University Press
|isbn=9780691118543
|page=[https://archive.org/details/powerplentytrade00rona/page/187 187] and 238
|year= 2007
}}
</ref> Important overseas colonies, a vast merchant marine, a large fishing fleet,<ref name="BrtishIsles"/> powerful navy, and sophisticated financial markets made the Dutch the ascendant power in the North Sea, to be challenged by an ambitious England. This rivalry led to the first three [[Anglo-Dutch Wars]] between 1652 and 1673, which ended with Dutch victories.<ref name="PowerPlenty"/> After the [[Glorious Revolution]] in 1688, the Dutch prince [[William III of England|William]] ascended to the English throne. With unified leadership, commercial, military, and political power began to shift from Amsterdam to London.<ref name="MacDonald">{{cite book
|last=MacDonald
|first=Scott
|others=Albert L. Gastmann
|title=A History of Credit and Power in the Western World
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5wlngm9J29kC&pg=PA134
|publisher=Transaction Publishers
|isbn=978-0-7658-0833-2
|pages=122–127, 134
|year=2004
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084129/https://books.google.com/books?id=5wlngm9J29kC&pg=PA134
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
The British did not face a challenge to their dominance of the North Sea until the 20th century.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Sondhaus
|first=Lawrence
|title=Naval Warfare, 1815–1914
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TKXn0IQBKCcC&pg=PA183
|year=2001
|publisher=Routledge
|location=New York
|isbn=978-0-415-21478-0
|page=183
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084141/https://books.google.com/books?id=TKXn0IQBKCcC&pg=PA183
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

===Modern era===
[[File:Bluecher sinkend.jpg|thumb|German cruiser [[SMS Blücher|SMS ''Blücher'']] sinks in the [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|Battle of Dogger Bank]] on 25 January 1915.]]
Tensions in the North Sea were again heightened in 1904 by the [[Dogger Bank incident]]. During the [[Russo-Japanese War]], several ships of the Russian Baltic Fleet, which was on its way to the Far East, mistook British fishing boats for Japanese ships and fired on them, and then upon each other, near the Dogger Bank, nearly causing Britain to enter the war on the side of Japan.

During the [[First World War]], Great Britain's [[Grand Fleet]] and Germany's [[Kaiserliche Marine]] faced each other in the North Sea,<ref name="Halpern">{{cite book
|last=Halpern
|first=Paul G.
|title=A naval history of World War I
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6hwb6ovvYCcC
|publisher=Routledge
|location=Ontario
|isbn=978-1-85728-498-0
|pages=29, 180
|year=1994
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084134/https://books.google.com/books?id=6hwb6ovvYCcC
|url-status=live
}}</ref> which became the main [[Naval warfare of World War I#Theaters|theatre of the war]] for surface action.<ref name="Halpern"/> Britain's larger fleet and [[North Sea Mine Barrage]] were able to establish an effective blockade for most of the war, which restricted the [[Central Powers]]' access to many crucial resources.<ref name="Tucker">{{cite book
|last=Tucker
|first=Spencer
|title=World War I: Encyclopedia
|orig-year=2005
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B1cMtKQP3P8C&pg=RA2-PA836
|publisher=ABC-CLIO
|location=New York, US
|isbn=978-1-85109-420-2
|pages=836–838
|others=Priscilla Mary Roberts
|date=September 2005
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084141/https://books.google.com/books?id=B1cMtKQP3P8C&pg=RA2-PA836
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Major battles included the [[Battle of Heligoland Bight (1914)|Battle of Heligoland Bight]],<ref name="Osborne">{{cite book
|last=Osborne
|first=Eric W.
|title=The Battle of Heligoland Bight
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4IcGeprPmDkC
|publisher=Indiana University Press
|location=London
|isbn=978-0-253-34742-8
|page=Introduction
|year=2006
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084132/https://books.google.com/books?id=4IcGeprPmDkC
|url-status=live
}}</ref> the [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|Battle of the Dogger Bank]],<ref name="navies"/> and the [[Battle of Jutland]].<ref name="navies">{{cite book
|last=Sondhaus
|first=Lawrence
|title=Navies in Modern World History
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ka-1eQRnXMUC
|publisher=Reaktion Books
|location=London
|isbn=978-1-86189-202-7
|pages=190–193, 256
|year=2004
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084135/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ka-1eQRnXMUC
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
World War I also brought the first extensive use of [[submarine warfare]], and a number of submarine actions occurred in the North Sea.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Tucker
|first=Spencer
|author2=Priscilla Mary Roberts
|title=World War I: Encyclopedia
|orig-year=2005
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B1cMtKQP3P8C&q=World+War+I:+Encyclopedia
|publisher=ABC-CLIO
|location=London
|isbn=9781851094202
|pages=165, 203, 312
|date=September 2005
|access-date=2 October 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084131/https://books.google.com/books?id=B1cMtKQP3P8C&q=World+War+I:+Encyclopedia
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

The [[Second World War]] also saw action in the North Sea, though it was restricted more to aircraft reconnaissance and action by fighter/bomber aircraft, submarines and smaller vessels such as [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweepers]] and [[torpedo boat]]s.<ref name="Frank">{{cite book|last=Frank|first=Hans|title=German S-Boats in Action in the Second World War: In the Second World War|orig-year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lGDxkiWKa-IC&pg=PA12|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=9781591143093|pages=12–30|date=15 October 2007|access-date=1 July 2020|archive-date=17 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084135/https://books.google.com/books?id=lGDxkiWKa-IC&pg=PA12|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Atlantic, WW2, U-boats, convoys, OA, OB, SL, HX, HG, Halifax, RCN&nbsp;... |publisher=Naval-History.net |url=http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsStartEurope.htm |access-date=24 July 2007 |archive-date=13 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113180911/http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsStartEurope.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

After the war, hundreds of thousands of tons of chemical weapons were disposed of by being dumped in the North Sea.<ref name="Kaffka">{{cite book
|last=Kaffka
|first=Alexander V.
|title=Sea-dumped Chemical Weapons: Aspects, Problems, and Solutions
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGJ5qp7QrgMC&pg=PA49
|publisher=Springer
|location=New York, US
|isbn=978-0-7923-4090-4
|page=49
|year=1996
|others=North Atlantic Treaty Organization Scientific Affairs Division
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084132/https://books.google.com/books?id=TGJ5qp7QrgMC&pg=PA49
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

After the war, the North Sea lost much of its military significance because it is bordered only by [[NATO]] member-states. However, it gained significant economic importance in the 1960s as the states around the North Sea began full-scale exploitation of its [[North Sea oil|oil and gas resources]].<ref>It was, incidentally, the home of several [[Pirate Radio]] stations from 1960 to 1990. {{cite book
|last=Johnston
|first=Douglas M.
|title=Marine Policy and the Coastal Community
|orig-year=1976
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9I8OAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA2-PA195
|year=1976
|publisher=Taylor & Francis
|location=London
|isbn=978-0-85664-158-9
|page=49
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084137/https://books.google.com/books?id=9I8OAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA2-PA195
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The North Sea continues to be an active trade route.<ref>{{cite web
|title =Forth Ports PLC
|year =2008
|url =http://www.forthports.co.uk/ports/
|access-date =11 November 2007
|archive-date =22 October 2007
|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071022043115/http://www.forthports.co.uk/ports/
|url-status =live
}}</ref>