Editor Kevin Reilly makes a bold claim in the foreword to The World that Trade Created: Society, Culture, and the World Economy: “[T]he essays are fun to read.” Under ordinary circumstances, that would be a difficult position to take in the “dismal science” of economic history. When using essays by historians of the quality of Kenneth Pomeranz and Steven Topik, however, it does not seem a goal entirely unreachable. And certainly, Pomeranz and Topik, along with their other contributors, create an interesting and informative read through their collection of essays first published in World Trade Magazine. The stated goal of the collection, to demonstrate the “long-standing interconnectedness of the world,” is worthy one; but, more than this, there are several other underlying factors that run throughout and underpin much of the discussion. Among these are the limits placed on humankind by the ecological determinants of the planet and the importance of the individual on influencing trends of economic development. In addition, the role of culture, so often disregarded by economic historians of the past, takes center stage as Pomeranz and Topik explore the path that led the world to the globalization of today’s markets.
Pomeranz and Topik stress at various points in their essays the many ways in which ecology shaped economic development over the centuries. From the draining of the Yangtze and Mekong deltas to the deforestation of the Atlantic Forest, man has tried to harness the natural resources of the planet to further his own economic ends. Too often, man’s ability to overcome, or at least alter, the natural face of the planet has led to environmental disasters that the world is only now coming to understand. For example, the Chinese desire for sandalwood, coupled with a European need to balance trade relations with China, led to the devastation of complete islands in the Pacific on which sandalwood was harvested. Deforestation, the reduction in the diversity of plant and animal species, and pollution caused by manufacturing have all been driven, in some way or another, by economics. In fact, in their conclusion to the book, Pomeranz and Topik offer some dire predictions for the future should the role of ecology not be given more positive attention in the future.
Unlike so many economic histories written for a strictly academic audience, Pomeranz and Topik shine the spotlight of their focus on individual men who made a contribution, whether wittingly or not, on the development of a global economy. Certainly they show the contribution of Christopher Columbus as an example of the unwitting and almost accidental opening of the New World to economic opportunities. Apart from that, though, are the efforts of men like Stamford Raffles in opening the free port of Singapore and Claus Spreckels in the conquest of Hawaii for American sugar interests. These and many more examples through The World that Trade Created show the impact of human agency on the course of economic history. If Pomeranz and Topik take this just a bit too far, as in the case of deputizing the fictional Robinson Crusoe as an example of a world trader, they do so with the worthy intention of making their essays more engaging for the average reader.
In the title of the book, Pomeranz and Topik introduce “culture” as an area to be considered when discussing economic history. They follow this up by including the cultural factors that impacted various means of trade and commerce throughout the course of the essays. For example, they stress the kinship relationships that so often influenced the means by which trade was conducted. They include, at least in a small way, the role of gender in economic matters, using the example of the family and business roles for women in the early days of the Dutch East India Company. By acknowledging the role of culture in economic matters, Pomeranz and Topik eliminate one of the main post-modern criticisms of economic history—that it leaves out the actual human element. In works such as Janet Abu-Lughod’s Before European Hegemony and Andre Gunder Frank’s ReOrient, those two economic historians barely scratch the surface of the role of people and their culture in trade and commerce. Pomeranz and Topik, by including that important element in their analyses, provide readers with a more complete picture of the past.
The conclusion of The World that Trade Created is somewhat gloomy and rather detracts from the bit of humor with which Pomeranz and Topik tried to entertain their readers (an example on page 23 reads “Greece and Turkey, for example, never exported lard or fowl.”). While they often note that the future is “unpredictable,” the two authors still manage to foresee a world possibly coming to the point of some “ugly collision” reminiscent of an Immanuel Wallerstein or a Karl Marx. In spite of this, the essays in The World that Trade Created, with all their wonderful “why not” answers to some of economic history’s great questions, is worth reading by academic and popular audiences alike.
Pomeranz and Topik stress at various points in their essays the many ways in which ecology shaped economic development over the centuries. From the draining of the Yangtze and Mekong deltas to the deforestation of the Atlantic Forest, man has tried to harness the natural resources of the planet to further his own economic ends. Too often, man’s ability to overcome, or at least alter, the natural face of the planet has led to environmental disasters that the world is only now coming to understand. For example, the Chinese desire for sandalwood, coupled with a European need to balance trade relations with China, led to the devastation of complete islands in the Pacific on which sandalwood was harvested. Deforestation, the reduction in the diversity of plant and animal species, and pollution caused by manufacturing have all been driven, in some way or another, by economics. In fact, in their conclusion to the book, Pomeranz and Topik offer some dire predictions for the future should the role of ecology not be given more positive attention in the future.
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| Claus Spreckels |
In the title of the book, Pomeranz and Topik introduce “culture” as an area to be considered when discussing economic history. They follow this up by including the cultural factors that impacted various means of trade and commerce throughout the course of the essays. For example, they stress the kinship relationships that so often influenced the means by which trade was conducted. They include, at least in a small way, the role of gender in economic matters, using the example of the family and business roles for women in the early days of the Dutch East India Company. By acknowledging the role of culture in economic matters, Pomeranz and Topik eliminate one of the main post-modern criticisms of economic history—that it leaves out the actual human element. In works such as Janet Abu-Lughod’s Before European Hegemony and Andre Gunder Frank’s ReOrient, those two economic historians barely scratch the surface of the role of people and their culture in trade and commerce. Pomeranz and Topik, by including that important element in their analyses, provide readers with a more complete picture of the past.
The conclusion of The World that Trade Created is somewhat gloomy and rather detracts from the bit of humor with which Pomeranz and Topik tried to entertain their readers (an example on page 23 reads “Greece and Turkey, for example, never exported lard or fowl.”). While they often note that the future is “unpredictable,” the two authors still manage to foresee a world possibly coming to the point of some “ugly collision” reminiscent of an Immanuel Wallerstein or a Karl Marx. In spite of this, the essays in The World that Trade Created, with all their wonderful “why not” answers to some of economic history’s great questions, is worth reading by academic and popular audiences alike.
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