At Bolton School Richard Wilkinson and Alan Benson channelled my historical curiosity. At Magdalene College, Cambridge I was fortunate to have Ralph Bennett as Director of Studies and Ronald Hyam as Supervisor. My interpretation of the long period in this book depends on many specialist historians and archaeologists who depend on hundreds more. Norman Davies writes, 'No historical generalist could begin to function without reliance on the monographs and academic articles of people working at a completely different level of magnification."
Very elegantly put. I am indebted to many of them. My experience in maritime trade in London, Tokyo, Singapore and Dubai as bases to interact with shipowners, cargo owners and traders in almost every area of the world in countless commodities has influenced my outlook. I am indebted to many in the industry. Historians Alfons van der Kraan and Emeritus Professor Malcolm Falkus were introduced by John Pike who also introduced me to Lester Crook of Pen and Sword. Thanks to them. Malcolm and Alfons volunteered to read an early draft and were extraordinarily helpful with constructive criticism, followed by hours of fruitful discussions. I am very grateful for their time, interest and wise words. Graphic designer Sam Musgrave did a great job with the maps. Thanks are due to my late parents for my education. I am grateful for the encouragement of my sons. Any mistakes are my own.
Maritime trade is an underestimated driver of the world's story. It is the contention of this book that all great advances in knowledge have taken place in maritime influenced areas. In early world history, maritime trade routes favourably affected economies. But long-distance trade involved prolonged stops in distant lands, the establishment of merchant enclaves, whose members tried to understand markets and peoples. Monsoon winds in the Indian Ocean enabled great distances to be covered but also forced those trading in India and Southeast Asia to stay there for months until wind direction changed. So, ideas absorbed and transferred by early maritime traders were as consequential as the goods carried because unlike the last few hundred years no other groups were travelling so far and staying so long.
By pursuing the story of maritime interconnectivity, clear perspective and logical conclusions can be made, especially the severely underappreciated role of the Indian subcontinent, the most ancient of civilisations, the originator of all Indo-European languages, today spoken by almost three billion people. Stopping the narrative in the mid-8th century, an untypical watershed is the point at which from its heights and complexity in the first two centuries AD, built on Celt, Minoan, Etruscan, Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginian foundations, European maritime trade crashed in volume and virtually ceased. In the Indian Ocean and China Sea on the other hand long-distance trade continued to flourish between China and the Persian Gulf with Srivijaya and Indian ports crucially centrally placed in between. The start of an Indian Ocean 'golden age' contrasts with the European Dark Age.
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