"Cross-cultural exchange has characterized the economic life of India since antiquity. Its long coastline has afforded convenient access to Asia and Africa, and trading partnerships formed in the exchange of commodities ranging from textiles to military technology and opium to indigo. In a...

Cover -- India in the World Economy -- New Approaches to Asian History 10 -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Figures and Tables -- Figures -- Tables -- Preface -- 1 Introduction: India and Global History -- Envisioning contacts -- Early trade -- Indo-European trade -- Empire and...

Historians explain the eighteenth-century origin of European colonialism in Asia either with the profile of the merchants or an argument about uneven power. This Element suggests that the environment was an important factor, too. With India (1600-1800) as the primary example, it says that the...