Ronald Findlay (1935–2021)

Encyclopedic and all-encompassing history of global trade over the past 1000 years. Covers each of the major players rationally, and over an astonishing period of time, with very clear and concise data points.

The authors make several arguments - first, that military/political power is necessary to have economic power, and second, that there were three eras which defined the last millenium - the era after the Mongolian conquest, the discovery of the new world, and the Industrial Revolution. Provides valuable information about the ebb and flow of global economic forces, and very useful to anyone who hopes to understand them.… (mer)

This is one of the few works of true global history I have yet seen. Ronald Findlay looks at the global economy from 1000 AD to 2000 AD. He breaks the world into regions rather than states or nations, and then looks at how they interact with each other economically (which transmitted social and cultural values). Southwest Asia and North Africa were in the most contact with the rest of the world, which is hardly surprising given their locations.

The sea trade was briefly interrupted as the most important form of communication by the quick expansion of the Mongol empire. Even as the empire broke apart, the land trade relations it facilitated were of heightened importance. However, the Mongol fragmentation and the improvement in maritime technology soon returned sea trade to prominence.

The incorporation of the Americas to the global economy was the next major change, with new crops as well as new supplies of silver and gold making their way back to the Old World. The Industrial Revolution moved production to unprecedented levers, making the competition for markets a key component of international conflict. It forced some markets together while dividing them into larger imperial sets. WWI broke those sets and loosened globalization until the end of the twentieth century.

This is an interesting book but also sort of states the obvious. It does not offer many revelations, but is a nice summary of the currents of the world political economy.… (mer)