Wherever water and land meet, ports are born. They are junctions and meeting places. People from all over the world sail in and out. They trade goods, enter another world, make new impressions, come up with dreams and ideas. Antwerp owes a lot to its port on the Scheldt. The story begins in the Middle Ages, and it is a story of growth and expansion, continuing to the present day. Thanks to the port, the world has been sailing into Antwerp, and Antwerp has been sailing out into the world. The trade with the East Indies and the intense contacts with the Congo, Belgium's former colony, are two special episodes. Ports evolve along with the ships that moor there. Discoveries all over the world led to revolutions in shipping. The small local sailing boats of yore developed into the powerful sea giants of today, that sail to all corners of the world. But at the heart of this huge area of steel and concrete, the port still involves the work of people.