Foremost amongst the ancient Greek shipping and trading communities of the middle Greek period was the island of Rhodes. Firm believers in the freedom of the seas for all, the seafarers and merchants of Rhodes were already establishing the beginnings of maritime commercial practice in a way that is still recognisable today. One of their greatest contributions was the concept of providing for a common contribution to be made if goods were jettisoned to lighten the vessel for the common good-general average, of which, in Module 7.