How Maritime Trade and the Indian Subcontinent Shaped the World (Hardback)
Ice Age to Mid-Eighth Century
Imprint: Pen & Sword Maritime
Pages: 408
ISBN: 9781526786623
Published: 9th December 2021
The Birth of Maritime Trade
History Hack Podcast with the Author
Shortlisted for Mountbatten Maritime History Award 2022
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World-wide maritime trade has been the essential driver of wealth-creation, economic progress and global human contact. Trade and exchange of ideas have been at the heart of economic, social, political, cultural and religious life and maritime international law. These claims are borne out by the history of maritime trade beginning in the Indian Ocean and connecting to Southeast Asia, Japan, the Americas, East Africa, the Middle East especially the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean and Europe. This development pre-dates the end of the Ice Age with world-wide flooding and stimulated the establishment of land-based civilisations in the above regions with particular effect on the Greek and Roman empires and even China's 'Celestial' empire. The Indian subcontinent was the original major player in maritime trade, linking oceans and regions. Global maritime trade declined with the fall of Mediterranean empires and the 'dark age' in Europe but revived with Indian Ocean and Asian maritime networks. Shipping and trade studies are hugely practical but can be technical, legalistic and even dull for non-specialists. But this history is a broadly-based and exciting account of human interaction at multiple levels, for general readers, specialists and practitioners. It is based on huge reading and rare sources and with an attractive writing style, and full of fascinating sidelights illuminating the historical narrative - and from an author with life-long experience in international shipping.
Contents:
1.Philosophy and Themes
2. The End of the Ice Age and the Shaping of the World
3. The Third Millennium BC and Trade Networks
4. Maritime Trade in the Mediterranean and European Bronze Age
5. Eastern Mediterranean Breakdown
6. Maritime Breakouts from the Eastern Mediterranean, Phoenicians, Greeks and Etruscans
7. Clash of the Titans
8. Roman Empire to Han Empire, tentative Globalisation
9. Decline, Fall and the Making of Dark Age Europe
10. New Foundations of Indian Ocean and Asian Maritime Trade Networks
Epilogue, Continuity and Change
‘A broadly-based and exciting account…for general readers, specialists and practitioners…with an attractive writing style and full of fascinating sidelights illuminating the historical narrative [from]…an author with life-long experience in international shipping.’
SAFETY4SEA
‘Well written and informative…While I can single out many other issues and topics the thing that impressed me the most was [the] attempt to put India on the map of world history.
Alfons van der Kraan
‘This book deserves to be widely read…fascinating and convincing…written with skill and enthusiasm…makes rather topics both interesting and coherent…both remarkable and more importantly enjoyable.
Emeritus Professor Malcolm Falkus
‘I am utterly astonished by it…clearly a most important work…the control of detail is remarkable…most enlightening.’
Dr Ronald Hyam
‘Remarkable and fascinating…History with a capital H…the author’s capacity to make effective use of archaeological and scientific data, alongside the economic, cultural and linguistic is impressive…a remarkable achievement well worth investigating…this reviewer will be looking forward to the appearance of the next two volumes…definitely recommended.’
Professor Geoffrey Till, The Naval Review
Shortlisted for Mountbatten Maritime History Award 2022
Mountbatten Maritime History Award
‘Remarkable and fascinating…History with a capital H…the author’s capacity to make effective use of archaeological and scientific data, alongside the economic, cultural and linguistic is impressive…a remarkable achievement well worth investigating…this reviewer will be looking forward to the appearance of the next two volumes…definitely recommended.’
Professor Geoffrey Till, The Naval Review
Read the Full Review Here
"Book of the Month" - September 2022!
Nautilus International
"An epic tome that sets out to put merchant history at the centre of world history…an interesting work, ambitious in scale but accessibly written and divided into manageable chunks…and will surely encourage readers to…his upcoming books covering later periods…"
Read the review here
Featured in
The Nautilus Telegraph - Sept/Oct 2022
‘Well written…very readable…the author has done a good job in tackling such a large subject, breaking it down into the relevant parts…vast amounts of information…the author is to be congratulated.’
Arrse
Read the full review here
'This book is immense in breadth and detail’.
Charles Winder. The Bugle
About Nick Collins
Nick Collins read history at Magdalene College Cambridge, was pressed to continue academic research and writing but chose to go into maritime trade with H Clarkson& Co, the largest company in the field with world-wide connections. He was director of of the main company and of subsidiary companies in Asia including the Far East and India, Dubai and the USA. So he has done business with many of the countries in the regions featured in the book and brings practical hands-on experience to academic research to produce a unique work.
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