Overview
In 1431, the Portuguese navigator Velho set sail into the Atlantic, establishing a trade route to the Azores and marking the beginning of commerce with the West as we know it today. Equipped with reliable maps and instruments for open-ocean navigation and highly seaworthy, three-masted, cannon-armed ships, Portugal soon dominated the Atlantic trade routes - until the diffusion of Portuguese technologies to wealthier polities made Holland the eventual successor, owing to its geographic position and its immense commercial fleet. It is precisely this interplay of technology and geography, argues Peter J. Hugill, that has guided the evolution of the modern global capitalistic system. Tracing the relationship between technology and economy over the 550 years since 1431, Hugill finds that the nations that developed and marketed new technologies best were the nations that rose to world power, while those that held onto outdated technologies fell behind. Moreover, he argues, major changes in transportation and communication technologies actually constituted the moments of transformation from one world economy to another; the ramifications of technological change consistently influenced all aspects of the capitalist world system, including economic development, geopolitical strategy and world system hegemony. Finally, Hugill applies the same analysis to project the future of the transnational global system we have today.
Full Product Details
Author: Peter J. Hugill (Professor of Geography, Texas A&M University)
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Imprint: Johns Hopkins University Press
Edition: New edition
Dimensions:
Width: 17.50cm
, Height: 2.60cm
, Length: 25.40cm
Weight: 0.680kg
ISBN: 9780801851261
ISBN 10: 0801851262
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 26 April 1995
Recommended Age: From 17
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Reviews
A magnificent work, Braudelian in its conception, scope, and attention to detail...A delight. --'Progress in Human Geography.' A first-rate historical study in the genre of world history...Combines geography with the social sciences in skillful fashion. It is lucidly written and will appeal to the specialist and general reader. --'Virginia Quarterly Review' Hugill provides a refreshingly long historical sweep in arguing that transportation technologies have been the key to success in world trade...A wealth of historical and technicaldetail. --'Geonomics.'
Author Information
Peter Hugill is professor of geography at Texas A & M University.
