New Deep Territories
A Story of France's Exploration of the Seafloor
Published on 6. February 2026
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-0-226-84637-8 (ISBN)
Description
How France integrated the seafloor into its national territory through an interplay of science, technology, and geopolitical ambition during the Cold War.
Beneath the surface of the seas and oceans lies a territory as important for human societies as the exposed land and the airspace above them: the seafloor. Our daily life is inextricably linked to the seafloor and its resources, from global telecommunications infrastructure to offshore oil and gas extraction to strategic mineral mining.
By focusing on France, a country with an underwater territory seventeen times larger than its emerged lands, New Deep Territories explains how the seafloor emerged as a territory during the second half of the twentieth century. Beatriz Martinez-Rius traces the evolution of the country's seafloor exploration and the motivations that fueled it from the aftermath of World War I to the late 1970s. In the early 1960s, the seafloor, instead of colonial territories, came to be seen as a source of natural resources. The French government, corporations such as oil companies, and scientists all imagined future uses of the seafloor, and these ever-evolving aspirations drove the development of technologies, techniques, and scientific fields that built up the submerged territory. Government officers and industrial stakeholders massively invested in technoscientific development to prepare for a future reliant on seafloor resources, including oil, gas, and minerals, well before it was technologically possible, economically feasible, and legally acceptable to extract them. The future they envisioned did not arrive, but their investment resulted in an unprecedented understanding of the ocean's crust. Today, once again, national governments, international organizations, and private stakeholders are turning their attention to the seafloor.
Beneath the surface of the seas and oceans lies a territory as important for human societies as the exposed land and the airspace above them: the seafloor. Our daily life is inextricably linked to the seafloor and its resources, from global telecommunications infrastructure to offshore oil and gas extraction to strategic mineral mining.
By focusing on France, a country with an underwater territory seventeen times larger than its emerged lands, New Deep Territories explains how the seafloor emerged as a territory during the second half of the twentieth century. Beatriz Martinez-Rius traces the evolution of the country's seafloor exploration and the motivations that fueled it from the aftermath of World War I to the late 1970s. In the early 1960s, the seafloor, instead of colonial territories, came to be seen as a source of natural resources. The French government, corporations such as oil companies, and scientists all imagined future uses of the seafloor, and these ever-evolving aspirations drove the development of technologies, techniques, and scientific fields that built up the submerged territory. Government officers and industrial stakeholders massively invested in technoscientific development to prepare for a future reliant on seafloor resources, including oil, gas, and minerals, well before it was technologically possible, economically feasible, and legally acceptable to extract them. The future they envisioned did not arrive, but their investment resulted in an unprecedented understanding of the ocean's crust. Today, once again, national governments, international organizations, and private stakeholders are turning their attention to the seafloor.
Reviews / Votes
"Despite the book's compactness, it spares no detail. It provides a thorough analysis of the complex and understudied history of French marine sciences, while pointing to frameworks useful for other national contexts. Readers will undoubtedly leave the book with a commitment to expanding the geographical bounds of the history of marine sciences beyond the US for new, revealing historical narratives." * H-Oceans * "Engaging . . . Martinez-Rius takes us on a whirlwind tour of our attempts to establish jurisdiction over the oceans." * Engelsberg Ideas * "Martinez-Rius's careful examination of the history of French marine exploration is a must-read for anyone studying the intertwining of political, academic, and commercial interests in modern science. This book is an amazing contribution to both marine environmental history and the history of modern science more generally; a fantastic, well-argued, and superbly written addition to the existing literature." -- Samantha Muka, author of "Oceans under Glass: Tank Craft and the Sciences of the Sea" "An expertly researched history of French scientific ocean exploration, New Deep Territories inscribes the seafloor into our historical and mental picture of what constitutes territory on planet earth. Martinez-Rius reveals how the oceanic ambitions of France, which laid claim to the largest marine area of any nation, were shaped not only by the quest for subsea oil and resources, but also by a determination to revitalize French national identity and recover French grandeur on the international stage in the postcolonial world." -- Tyler Priest, author of "Offshore Oildom: America's Energy Expansion into the Ocean" "Less than six million years ago, the closure of the Strait of Gibraltar turned the Mediterranean into a desert. In this groundbreaking study, Martinez-Rius traces how scientists in the twentieth century explored the seafloor, uncovered the resources hidden within it, and reconstructed the drama of its formation. By linking the history of science, technology, environment, and power, the book reveals a crucial yet overlooked dimension of postcolonial land grabs: the seemingly paradoxical project of transforming the ocean into territory." -- Lino Camprubi, author of "Engineers and the Making of the Francoist Regime"More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
17 halftones, 5 tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
513 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-84637-8 (9780226846378)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Beatriz Martinez-Rius is a postdoctoral researcher at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.
Content
Foreword: Oceans in Depth
List of Acronyms
Introduction: A World's View from the Seafloor
1. Deep Blue Canyons: Geology from Land to Sea
2. Lagging Behind? Geopolitics and Geophysics Underwater
3. France's New Economic Frontier
4. Three-Dimensional Territories: Science and Industry in the North Atlantic
5. Alliances and Hidden Minerals in the Abyss
6. Stories Beneath Deep Salt: Drilling Across the Mediterranean
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
List of Acronyms
Introduction: A World's View from the Seafloor
1. Deep Blue Canyons: Geology from Land to Sea
2. Lagging Behind? Geopolitics and Geophysics Underwater
3. France's New Economic Frontier
4. Three-Dimensional Territories: Science and Industry in the North Atlantic
5. Alliances and Hidden Minerals in the Abyss
6. Stories Beneath Deep Salt: Drilling Across the Mediterranean
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index