The authors of the article, using the recently created and accessible on-line database on the routes of French merchant ships of the XVII-XIX centuries, Navigocorpus, show that for a successful assessment of the intensity of maritime trade in a particular direction or through a particular port, one can not rely on any singular indicator (number of ships, total tonnage, amounts of fees paid, etc.), because there is noamong themanyone universal. A multifaceted and dynamic picture of the state of trade at one time or another can be the result of only an integrated approach involving simultaneous consideration of all factors in development. The above mentioned database just opens such opportunities.