"The Tale of Tea is the saga of globalisation. Tea gave birth to paper money, the Opium Wars and Hong Kong, triggered the Anglo-Dutch wars and the American war of independence, shaped the economies and military history of Táng and Sòng China and moulded Chinese art and culture. Whilst black...

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...

"A revelatory vision of the world today, as it is seen by the rising powers of the East. "All roads used to lead to Rome. Now they lead to Beijing." So argues Peter Frankopan in this timely and visionary new book about the present and future of a world that is changing dramatically before our...

"Originating in the sea, especially in the waters surrounding the low-lying islands of the Maldives, Cypraea moneta (sometimes confused with Cypraea annulus) was transported to various parts of Afro-Eurasia in the prehistoric era, and in many cases, it was gradually transformed into a form of...