Introduction -- Africa in the making of an IOW global economy -- Indian Ocean Africa in the first great upswing in the Indian Ocean World global economy, 300 BCE to 300 CE -- Economic instability, ca. 300 to 900 CE -- The second great boom in the IOW global economy ca. 850 to 1250 and its impact...

This volume investigates the emergence and spread of maritime commerce and interconnectivity across the Indian Ocean World-the world’s first “global economy”-from a longue durée perspective. Spanning from antiquity to the nineteenth century, these essays move beyond the usual focus on...