Cross-Cultural Trade in World History

If you are interested in history from an economic viewpoint, like Braudel, and wonder about life before the Europeans conquered the world, this is a good place to start. The author deliberately modeled his book on Braudel's The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, Vol. 1. He focuses on the points of interaction in the Indian Ocean from the rise of Islam to the start of the Industrial Age (about 700-1750). There are lots of maps and illustrations, as well as a glossary for the many non-English terms. He gives a good explanation of the three blocks of trading (caused largely by the seasonality of the monsoon winds) and how they interacted and changed over time. A lot of the information is more anecdotal than statistical because that's the nature of the sources. The only problem with this book is that since it was written, more research has been done. If, like me, you have already read Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350, the only new aspects are how the Europeans (Portuguese, Dutch and English) fit themselves into the already existing networks. If you are a general reader or just getting interested in this area, this is a good introduction.

I first encountered this book as part of my grandmother's current reading shortly after its publication. I next saw it as part of the required reading for an upper division undergraduate history course. I mention these to note that this book will interest the casual reader of history or the serious student. While it is scholarly, it's subject takes the reader on such a world tour that it practically qualifies as a travelogue. Curtin's accessible presentation makes this is an exciting as well as an informative read. Curtin describes how the urge to exchange the goods uniquely available to specific areas has encouraged cultures to meet and exchange ideas as well as goods throughout the centuries. His examples of these exchanges, ranging from Greek city states and West African kingdoms, to Portuguese explorers in the interior of Brazil and Indonesian merchants so accustomed to sailing in search of commerce that they have no home on land, demonstrate the effects on individuals and societies of these meetings, and the accomodations neccesary between merchants to negotiate their differences and get the goods they desire. Along the way we see familiar historical characters in a new light, as with Curtin's discussion of the British trade with Russia and a reexamination of British-Indian trade from the Indian perspective, or his consideration of Spanish competition with the Dutch for South East Asian trade. Players one might not have considered emerge as major powers, as with Armenian trade, from their participation in the Silk Road between Ancient Rome and China, to their invaluable role as cross cultural ambassadors for most of Eurasia up to the nineteenth century. Curtin closes with a consideration of the birth of the modern global industrial economy.This is a valuable book for any serious student of history and an interseting read for the lay reader as well.