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The Worlds of the Indian Ocean - Mondes de l’océan Indien

(Eds) Phillipe Beaujard, The Worlds of the Indian Ocean : A global History, Cambridge & New York, Cambridge University Press (2 Volumes), 2019

Jacket illustration :
Vol. I - © The Trustees of the British Museum
Vol II - © Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Europe’s place in history is re-assessed in this first comprehensive history of the ancient world, centering on the Indian Ocean and its role in pre-modern globalization. Philippe Beaujard presents an ambitious and comprehensive global history of the Indian Ocean world, from the earliest state formations to 1500 CE. Supported by a wealth of empirical data, full-color maps, plates, and figures, he shows how Asia and Africa dominated the economic and cultural landscape and the flow of ideas in the pre-modern world. This led to a trans-regional division of labor and an Afro-Eurasian world economy. Beaujard questions the origins of capitalism and hints at how this world-system may evolve in the future. The result is a re-orienting of world history, taking the Indian Ocean, rather than Europe, as the point of departure.

 Volume I provides in-depth coverage of the period from the fourth millennium BCE to the sixth century CE.
 Volume II provides in-depth coverage of the period from the seventh century to the fifteenth century CE.


Philippe Beaujard
is an Emeritus Director of Research at theCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut des Mondes Africains, Paris.

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