Asia before Europe : Economy and Civilisation of the Indian Ocean from the Rise of Islam to 1750

Rating:
Summary: Asia Before Europe
Review: K.N. Chadhuri is an economic historian whose "Asia Before Europe: Economy and Civisation of the Indian Ocean from the Rise of Islam to 1750" is a 434 page detailed study of the Indian Ocean trading network during the millenium preceding its fall under European hegemony. It further develops the thesis he first presented in his 1985 book, "Trade and Civilisation in the Indian Ocean from the Rise of Islam to 1750." In that earlier work he presents the argument that "Asia" is a word of European origin with little real meaning other than tthat it refers to the non-European part of the vast Eurasian landmass and that the Indian Ocean basin is the real unifier and transmitter of cultural exchange and integration. In this work he refers to Fernand Braudel's work on the Mediterranean basin economy and Chaudhuri extends that methodology to the Indian Ocean. Just as Braudel insisted that the Mediterranean economy extended to, influenced, and even included subsidiary areas as far north as the Baltic and as far south as the saharan Sahel; Chaudhuri includes the economies of East Africa (inadequately treated), the East Indies, Malaya (Malacca), and the subcontinent, but he does not stop there. He insists that the "isthmus" of the Middle East, South China and even the Silk Road and North China are as related to the Indian Ocean as the Braudel's Baltic was to the Mediterranean. He then discusses in some detail the societies, clothing, agriculture, nomadism, industry, and urban areas; devoting a full chapter to each. He discusses the uniqueness of each area and the exchanges with copious use of primary sources. All this is done to prove that the Indian Ocean economy was dependent upon the tacit cooperation of Dar al-Islam and the Hindu and Buddhist states; and that commerce was the driving force that made the local economies prosperous, expansive and efficiently developing. He posits that the European incursion stifled this exchange and Europe's disruption, ignorance and violent arrogance made the basin prone to conquest. He concludes that European hegemony resulted in the area's relative poverty.

Rating:
Summary: Asia Before Europe
Review: K.N. Chadhuri is an economic historian whose "Asia Before Europe: Economy and Civisation of the Indian Ocean from the Rise of Islam to 1750" is a 434 page detailed study of the Indian Ocean trading network during the millenium preceding its fall under European hegemony. It further develops the thesis he first presented in his 1985 book, "Trade and Civilisation in the Indian Ocean from the Rise of Islam to 1750." In that earlier work he presents the argument that "Asia" is a word of European origin with little real meaning other than tthat it refers to the non-European part of the vast Eurasian landmass and that the Indian Ocean basin is the real unifier and transmitter of cultural exchange and integration. In this work he refers to Fernand Braudel's work on the Mediterranean basin economy and Chaudhuri extends that methodology to the Indian Ocean. Just as Braudel insisted that the Mediterranean economy extended to, influenced, and even included subsidiary areas as far north as the Baltic and as far south as the saharan Sahel; Chaudhuri includes the economies of East Africa (inadequately treated), the East Indies, Malaya (Malacca), and the subcontinent, but he does not stop there. He insists that the "isthmus" of the Middle East, South China and even the Silk Road and North China are as related to the Indian Ocean as the Braudel's Baltic was to the Mediterranean. He then discusses in some detail the societies, clothing, agriculture, nomadism, industry, and urban areas; devoting a full chapter to each. He discusses the uniqueness of each area and the exchanges with copious use of primary sources. All this is done to prove that the Indian Ocean economy was dependent upon the tacit cooperation of Dar al-Islam and the Hindu and Buddhist states; and that commerce was the driving force that made the local economies prosperous, expansive and efficiently developing. He posits that the European incursion stifled this exchange and Europe's disruption, ignorance and violent arrogance made the basin prone to conquest. He concludes that European hegemony resulted in the area's relative poverty.