Africa and the Indian Ocean World from Early Times to Circa 1900

The history of Africa's relationship with the rest of the Indian Ocean world is one of exchange, influenced by environmental factors. Gwyn Campbell argues that human-environment interaction, rather than state formation or imperial expansion, was the central dynamic in the history of the Indian Ocean world. The monsoon system of winds and currents helped establish a sophisticated and durable global economy around 1,500 years before the European Voyages of Discovery.

Format: Hardback
Length: 316 pages
Publication date: 18 July 2019
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

The history of Africa's historical relationship with the rest of the Indian Ocean world is a captivating tapestry of exchange that encompassed a wide array of commodities, people, flora, fauna, ideas, technologies, and diseases. This profound connection with the broader Indian Ocean world, a vast macro-region stretching from Eastern Africa to the Middle East, South, and Southeast Asia, was also significantly shaped by environmental factors. In his insightful work, Gwyn Campbell argues that human-environment interaction, far more than the actions of great men, state formation, or imperial expansion, played the central role in shaping the history of the Indian Ocean world (IOW). The interplay between humans and their surroundings, particularly the intricate monsoon system of winds and currents, laid the foundation for the emergence of a sophisticated and resilient global economy around 1,500 years before the so-called European Voyages of Discovery. By emphasizing human-environment interaction as the driving force behind historical developments, Campbell boldly challenges Eurocentric paradigms and sets the stage for a fresh and transformative interpretation of IOW history.

Weight: 644g
Dimension: 231 x 160 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780521810357