Daniel Castillo Hidalgo is Associate Professor at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. He serves on the Spanish Economic History Association board and researches African seaport development, dock labour, and port communities, and co-edited several maritime economics volumes.César Ducruet is a geographer and Research Director for CNRS at Paris-Nanterre University and Principal Investigator of the MAGNETICS research project. He specialises in network analysis, ports, and shipping networks, having published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and edited three transport analysis books.