Trade and Civilisation in the Indian Ocean: An Economic History from the Rise of Islam to 1750

by Kirti Narayan Chaudhuri

Before the age of Industrial Revolution, the great Asian civilisations - whether located in the Middle East, India, South-East Asia, or the Far East - constituted areas not only of high culture but also of advanced economic development. They were the First World of human societies. This 1985 book examines one of the driving forces of that historical period: the long chain of oceanic trade which stretched from the South China Sea to the eastern Mediterranean. It also looks at the natural complement of the seaborne commerce, its counterpart in the caravan trade. Its main achievement is to show how socially determined demand derived from cultural habits and interpretations operated through the medium of market forces and relative prices. It points out the unique and limiting features of Asian commercial capitalism, and shows how the contribution of Asian merchants was valued universally, in reality if not legally and formally. Professor Chaudhuri's book, based on more than twenty years' research and reflection on pre-modern trade and civilisations, was a landmark in the analysis and interpretation of Asia's historical position and development.

Genres: History, Economics, Nonfiction, Asia, India, International Relations, World History

284 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 1985

About the author

Kirti Narayan Chaudhuri is Emeritus Professor of the History of the European Expansion, European University Institute, Florence, and Director, Centre for Comparative Studies in Provence

Reviews

[AC]

Somewhat turgid, and unappealing... a bit pretentious... He argues (against Ricardo's view that trade has always to be explained in terms of price differential -- on the supply/production side) that, in the period and area under discussion, exchange "was shaped by the social and political systems of different civilizations and their attitudes towards one another...[that is, that] the influence of demand factors was overwhelmingly important." (222).

[Jacob Heartstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative, though at times a bit complicatedly put. Also, as it was written in the 80s some aspects of the history it tells are at this point rather outdated and have been better researched since.

Still, a nice, though admittedly a bit disjointed, non-fiction about the history of trade and maritime economy in the Indian Ocean before 1750.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really know what I think of Chaudhuri's work. To make matters worse, this is my second time though this book (I think), and I still don't know. Maybe time number three will make everything clear to me.
It is all very interesting, to be sure. Chaudhuri informs the reader of all sorts of interesting information about the greater Indian Ocean world. You may have noticed from the title, though, that this covers about a thousand years, and I still am not sure that this was an appropriate length of time. I didn't really understand why he carried his narrative all the way up to 1750, for one thing - I think taking it to about 1550, just in time for the Europeans to arrive and begin to make their presence known, would have been enough. And really, "the rise of Islam" shouldn't necessarily be the starting point, either. This makes it seem like Chaudhuri is structuring his book around Islamic trade alone, and this isn't what he is doing. There is a complicated argument here about capitalism, too - how the medieval Indian Ocean trade contained capitalism in a way, but not modern capitalism, but capitalism none the less, and then the Europeans brought a different KIND of capitalism, and this was the main change the Europeans brought...I don't know. I mean, I agree, but I still don't really know what I am agreeing to.
I feel similar to how I felt after reading Braudel (which is to be expected, since Chaudhuri set out to write the same kind of book and repeatedly mentions Braudel). I have a lot of information floating around in my head about the Indian Ocean world after reading this book, but it has not yet assembled itself into coherent form.

[Andre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew very little of the Indian ocean trade beforehand and found this book to be enlightening if a bit dry. It seems to convey a good sense of its history on a subject that seems to be short of books on it.

[Sukrit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to the Indian Ocean trade and how it evolved in the pre-Raj era. It had a lot of carefully researched detail on the mechanics of the trade, how it was executed, how it interacted wtih people and institutions, etc. However, there was not a lot of "big picture" connections: I didn't really get a scale for how Indian Ocean trade compared in scope to trade networks elsewhere in the world or in time. It also didn't address the roots of big meta-questions such as why Europe was able to take over the Indian Ocean trade (yes they were willing to use coercive military power on the high seas to force monopolies, but why were they willing to and the previous Indian Ocean traders not? etc, etc). Great book for a professional historian, but less compelling for a casual reader with an interest in history like me.

[(unknown) · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's all about the spices.

[Hana]

From the Smithsonian:
http://www.asia.si.edu/Shipwrecked/em...