"Offering a fresh analysis of late imperial China, this cutting-edge book revisits the roles played by merchant networks, economic institutions, and business practices in the divergence between Europe and China during the trade revolution. Focusing on the operating modes of three major regional...

pt. 1. Two models of expansion without borders : the European Mediterraneans -- pt. 2. Early outlines of an Asian Mediterranean : the predominance of tributary trade -- pt. 3. The overlapping of Western and Asian trading networks -- pt. 4. The arena of re-globalisation : the second birth of the...