Connected histories: Notes towards a reconfiguration of early modern Eurasia

Modern Asian Studies

Volumn 31, Issue 3, 1997, Pages 735-762

  Subrahmanyam, Sanjay ^a  

^a ÉCOLE DES HAUTES ÉTUDES EN SCIENCES SOCIALES   (France)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CULTURAL INTERACTION; EMPIRE SPREAD; HISTORICAL STUDY; IMPERIALISM; REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY;

ASIA; EUROPE;

EID: 0031452527     PISSN: 0026749X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/s0026749x00017133     Document Type: Review

References (62)

1. Tanaka Yuko, 'Le monde comme représentation symbolique: Le Japon de époque d'Edo et l'univers du mitate', Annales, Histoire, Sciences Sociales 50, 2 (1995), 281.
2. See Victor Lieberman, 'Secular Trends in Burmese Economic History, c. 1350-1830, and their Implications for State Formation', Modern Asian Studies 25, 1 (1991), 1-31.
3. Nevertheless, the present project by Lieberman represents, in my view at least, a considerable advance on his earlier conceptual framework of the 'administrative cycle'; for which see his Burmese Administrative Cycles: Anarchy and Conquest, c. 1580-1760 (Princeton, 1984).
4. Sanjay Subrahmanyam, The Making of Early Modern Asia (Boulder: Westview Press, forthcoming);
5. Subrahmanyam, The Early Modern World (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, forthcoming).
6. Cf. the relatively recent, important, work on Timur by Beatrice Forbes Manz, The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane (Cambridge, 1989).
7. See, in this context, the essays collected in Claudine Salmon (ed.), Récits de voyage des asiatiques: Genres, mentalités et conception de l'espace (Paris, 1996); and more particularly on (semi-fictional works for) Japan, Kosugi Keiko, Satake Akihiro and Jacqueline Pigeot, Voyages en d'autres mondes: Récits japonais du XVIe siècle (Paris, 1993).
8. See, in this context, the essays collected in Claudine Salmon (ed.), Récits de voyage des asiatiques: Genres, mentalités et conception de l'espace (Paris, 1996); and more particularly on (semi-fictional works for) Japan, Kosugi Keiko, Satake Akihiro and Jacqueline Pigeot, Voyages en d'autres mondes: Récits japonais du XVIe siècle (Paris, 1993).
9. The history of 'early anthropology' is obviously in need of revision, as are the implicit presuppositions of such pioneering but dated works as Margaret T. Hodgen, Early Anthropology in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century (Philadelphia, 1964). The important work of Anthony Pagden, The Fall of Natural Man: The American Indian and the Origins of Comparative Ethnology (Cambridge, 1982), adds depth to the analysis, but does not shift the perspective.
10. The history of 'early anthropology' is obviously in need of revision, as are the implicit presuppositions of such pioneering but dated works as Margaret T. Hodgen, Early Anthropology in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century (Philadelphia, 1964). The important work of Anthony Pagden, The Fall of Natural Man: The American Indian and the Origins of Comparative Ethnology (Cambridge, 1982), adds depth to the analysis, but does not shift the perspective.
11. For a sense of some of the complexities of this relationship through a careful case-study, see Joseph Fletcher, 'The Mongols: Ecological and Social Perspectives', Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 46, 1 (1986), 11-50.
12. Besides the oft-cited (and oft-criticized) works of Alfred Crosby (The Columbian Exchange, and Ecological Imperialism), see the recent and ambitious synthesis by Richard Grove, Green Imperialism (Cambridge/Delhi, 1994), which pays far greater attention to Asia than does Crosby.
13. Besides the oft-cited (and oft-criticized) works of Alfred Crosby (The Columbian Exchange, and Ecological Imperialism), see the recent and ambitious synthesis by Richard Grove, Green Imperialism (Cambridge/Delhi, 1994), which pays far greater attention to Asia than does Crosby.
14. Cf. Serge Gruzinski, Les Hommes-dieux du Mexique: Pouvoir indien et société coloniale, XVIe-XVIIe siècle (Paris, 1985); also the very widely cited work by the same author, La colonisation de l'imaginaire: Sociétés indigènes et occidentalisation dans le Mexique espagnol, XVIe-XVIIIe siècle (Paris, 1988).
15. Cf. Serge Gruzinski, Les Hommes-dieux du Mexique: Pouvoir indien et société coloniale, XVIe-XVIIe siècle (Paris, 1985); also the very widely cited work by the same author, La colonisation de l'imaginaire: Sociétés indigènes et occidentalisation dans le Mexique espagnol, XVIe-XVIIIe siècle (Paris, 1988).
16. An exception is Geoffrey Parker, 'David or Goliath? Philip II and his World in 'he 1580s', in Richard L. Kagan and Geoffrey Parker (eds), Spain, Europe and the Atlantic World: Essays in Honour of John H. Elliott (Cambridge, 1995), 245-66.
17. In this context, see the useful essay by Cemal Kafadar, 'Self and Others: The Diary of a Dervish in Seventeenth Century Istanbul and First-person Narratives in Ottoman Literature', Studia Islamica 69 (1989), 121-50, which draws in turn on Natalie Zemon Davis, 'Boundaries and the Sense of Self in Sixteenth-Century France', in T. C. Heller, M. Sosna and D. E. Wellbery (eds), Reconstructing Individualism: Autonomy, Individuality and the Self in Western Thought (Stanford, 1986), 53-63.
18. In this context, see the useful essay by Cemal Kafadar, 'Self and Others: The Diary of a Dervish in Seventeenth Century Istanbul and First-person Narratives in Ottoman Literature', Studia Islamica 69 (1989), 121-50, which draws in turn on Natalie Zemon Davis, 'Boundaries and the Sense of Self in Sixteenth-Century France', in T. C. Heller, M. Sosna and D. E. Wellbery (eds), Reconstructing Individualism: Autonomy, Individuality and the Self in Western Thought (Stanford, 1986), 53-63.
19. This point was made forcefully by Frank Dikötter, 'Parallel Modernities: Normalization, Individuation and the Biologizing Process in China', presented to the seminar, 'The Eurasian context of the early modern history of mainland South East Asia, c. 1400-1800', at the Centre of South East Asian Studies, SOAS, 22-4 June 1995.
20. For selected papers of that conference, see P. J. Marshall, R. van Niel et al., The Ancien Régime in India and Indonesia (Leiden, 1988).
21. My own book, The Portuguese Empire in Asia, 1500-1700: A Political and Economic History (London, 1993), drew inspiration in part from Bayly's work. There are, of course, a number of points of divergence, both stylistic and substantive.
22. From a rather different perspective, this parallels observations made on the study of systems of medicine by Francis Zimmermann, Généalogie des médecines douces: De l'Inde à l'Occident (Paris, 1995).
23. For a discussion, see Muzaffar Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, 'L'Etat Moghol et sa fiscalité', Annales HSS 49, 1 (1994), 189-217.
24. For an earlier, more empirically substantiated, statement, see Sanjay Subrahmanyam, The Political Economy of Commerce: Southern India, 1500-1650 (Cambridge, 1990), ch. 4.
25. develop these themes at greater length in my paper, 'Persianisation and Mercantilism: Two Themes in Bay of Bengal History, 1400-1750', in Denys Lombard and Om Prakash (eds), Trade and Cultural Contacts in the Bay of Bengal, 1400-1800 (Delhi: Manohar, forthcoming).
26. H. Hosten (ed.), 'Mongoliecae Legationis Commentarius', in Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 3 (1914), 513-704; S. N. Banerjee and John S. Hoyland (tr.), The Commentary of Father Monserrale S.J. on his Journey to the Court of Akbar (London, 1922).
27. H. Hosten (ed.), 'Mongoliecae Legationis Commentarius', in Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 3 (1914), 513-704; S. N. Banerjee and John S. Hoyland (tr.), The Commentary of Father Monserrale S.J. on his Journey to the Court of Akbar (London, 1922).
28. Cited in Geoffrey Parker, Philip II, 3rd ed. (Chicago, 1995), xvi. The letter is dated December 1574.
29. For a further discussion, see Sanjay Subrahmanyam, 'A Note on the Kabul Kingdom under Muhammad Hakim Mirza (1554-1585)', La Transmission du savoir dans le monde musulman périphérique, Lettre d'information No. 14 (1994), 89-101.
30. In this context, we may note that the social, ideological and political ramifications of the important Mahdawi movement in sixteenth-century northern India will be discussed in the forthcoming work of Derryl Maclean, Waiting for the End of the World.
31. Abbas Hamdani, 'Columbus and the Recovery of Jerusalem', Journal of the American Oriental Society 99, 1 (1979), 39-48; also John L. Phelan, The Millennial Kingdom of the Franciscans in the New World (Berkeley, 1970).
32. Abbas Hamdani, 'Columbus and the Recovery of Jerusalem', Journal of the American Oriental Society 99, 1 (1979), 39-48; also John L. Phelan, The Millennial Kingdom of the Franciscans in the New World (Berkeley, 1970).
33. Cf. Vitorino Magalhães Godinho, Mito e mercadoria, utopia e prática de navegar, séculos XIII-XVIII (Lisbon, 1990); and in contrast, the important new interpretation in Luís Filipe F. R. Thomaz, De Ceuta a Timor (Lisbon, 1994).
34. Cf. Vitorino Magalhães Godinho, Mito e mercadoria, utopia e prática de navegar, séculos XIII-XVIII (Lisbon, 1990); and in contrast, the important new interpretation in Luís Filipe F. R. Thomaz, De Ceuta a Timor (Lisbon, 1994).
35. See the important paper by Cernai Kafadar, 'Les troubles monétaires de la fin du XVIe siècle et la prise de conscience ottomane du déclin', Annales ESC 46, 2 (1991), 381-400.
36. See, for example, Richard L. Kagan, Lucrecia's Dreams: Politics and Prophecy in Sixteenth-Century Spain (Berkeley, 1990); and earlier, Donald Weinstein, Savonarola and Florence: Prophecy and Patriotism in the Renaissance (Princeton, 1970).
37. See, for example, Richard L. Kagan, Lucrecia's Dreams: Politics and Prophecy in Sixteenth-Century Spain (Berkeley, 1990); and earlier, Donald Weinstein, Savonarola and Florence: Prophecy and Patriotism in the Renaissance (Princeton, 1970).
38. For the best discussion to date of early sixteenth-century Iran, see Jean Aubin, 'L'avènement des Safavides réconsideré', Moyen Orient et Océan Indien 5 (1988), 1-130. My discussion of Shah Isma'il draws liberally on this extensive, and very well-documented, essay. But, see also several of the essays in Jean Calmard (ed.), Études safavides (Paris-Teheran, 1993).
39. For the best discussion to date of early sixteenth-century Iran, see Jean Aubin, 'L'avènement des Safavides réconsideré', Moyen Orient et Océan Indien 5 (1988), 1-130. My discussion of Shah Isma'il draws liberally on this extensive, and very well-documented, essay. But, see also several of the essays in Jean Calmard (ed.), Études safavides (Paris-Teheran, 1993).
40. Cf. V. Minorsky, 'The Poetry of Shah Ismâ'îl I', Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 10, 4 (1942), 10063-53a; for other verses, see also Tourkhan Gandjei, Il Canzoniere di Shâh Iamâ'îl' (Naples, 1959).
41. Cf. V. Minorsky, 'The Poetry of Shah Ismâ'îl I', Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 10, 4 (1942), 10063-53a; for other verses, see also Tourkhan Gandjei, Il Canzoniere di Shâh Iamâ'îl' (Naples, 1959).
42. For a brief overview of this reign, and an attempt to rehabilitate the reputation of this ruler, see Michel M. Mazzaoui, 'The Religious Policy of Shah Isma'il II', in M. M. Mazzaoui and Vera B. Moreen (eds), Intellectual Studies on Islam: Essays Written in Honour of Martin B. Dickson (Salt Lake City, 1990), 49-56.
43. R-M. Savory, 'A Curious Episode in Safavid History', in C. E. Bosworth (ed.), Iran and Islam: In Memory of the Late Vladimir Minorsky (Edinburgh, 1971), 461-73.
44. Indeed, my discussion here draws largely on Kathryn Babayan, 'The Waning of the Qizilbâsh: The Temporal and the Spiritual in Seventeenth-Century Iran' (Princeton University, Ph.D. dissertation, 1993).
45. Babayan, 'The Waning of the Qizilbâsh', 48-64.
46. The Sikandar Nâmah-i-Bahri by Nizâmî, 2 vols, eds A. Sprenger, Agha Muhammad Shustari and Moulawi Ali Agha Ahmad Ali (Calcutta, 1852-69).
47. The Dârâb Nâma in question is by Abu Tahir ibn Hasan Musa al-Tarsusi, British Museum, London, MSS. Or. 4615; two paintings representing the swallowing of hah Ardashir by a dragon, and the island of Nigar are reproduced in Stuart Cary Welch, Imperial Mughal Painting (London, 1978), 48-51.
48. Cf. in this context, Lucette Valensi, Venise et la Sublime Porte: La naissance du despote (Paris, 1987), 59-70.
49. have closely followed the summary in Mohammad Wahid Mirza, The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau (Delhi, 1935), 200-1; but, see also Peter Gaeffke, 'Alexander and the Bengali Sufis', in Alan W. Entwistle and Françoise Mallison (eds), Studies in South Asian Devotional Literature, Research Papers, 1988-1991 (New Delhi, 1994), 275-84, basing himself on the text in Ahmad Sharif (ed.),Alâûl viracita Sikandarnâma (Dhaka, 1977).
50. have closely followed the summary in Mohammad Wahid Mirza, The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau (Delhi, 1935), 200-1; but, see also Peter Gaeffke, 'Alexander and the Bengali Sufis', in Alan W. Entwistle and Françoise Mallison (eds), Studies in South Asian Devotional Literature, Research Papers, 1988-1991 (New Delhi, 1994), 275-84, basing himself on the text in Ahmad Sharif (ed.),Alâûl viracita Sikandarnâma (Dhaka, 1977).
51. have closely followed the summary in Mohammad Wahid Mirza, The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau (Delhi, 1935), 200-1; but, see also Peter Gaeffke, 'Alexander and the Bengali Sufis', in Alan W. Entwistle and Françoise Mallison (eds), Studies in South Asian Devotional Literature, Research Papers, 1988-1991 (New Delhi, 1994), 275-84, basing himself on the text in Ahmad Sharif (ed.),Alâûl viracita Sikandarnâma (Dhaka, 1977).
52. Denys Lombard, 'Les Lusiades comparées à deux autres "visions" de la fin du XVIe siècle: le Xi Yang Ji et le roman malais d'Alexandre', in Artur Teodoro de Matos and Luís Filipe F. Reis Thomaz (eds), As Relações entre a Índia Portuguesa, a Ásoa do Sueste e o Extremo Oriente (Macau-Lisbon, 1993), 173-86.
53. Cf. in this context, H. L. Seneviratne, Rituals of the Kandyan State (Cambridge, 1978), for an exploration of Buddhist rituals around the sacred tooth relic at Kandy, and its relations to state-building. Also, C. E. Godakumbara, 'Relations between Burma and Ceylon', Journal of the Burma Research Society 44, 2 (1966), 145-62, and most recently, Catherine Raymond, 'Étude des relations religieuses entre le Sri Lanka et l'Arakan du XIIe au XVIIIe siècle: Documentation historique et évidences archéologiques', Journal Asiatique 283, 2 (1995), 469-501.
54. Cf. in this context, H. L. Seneviratne, Rituals of the Kandyan State (Cambridge, 1978), for an exploration of Buddhist rituals around the sacred tooth relic at Kandy, and its relations to state-building. Also, C. E. Godakumbara, 'Relations between Burma and Ceylon', Journal of the Burma Research Society 44, 2 (1966), 145-62, and most recently, Catherine Raymond, 'Étude des relations religieuses entre le Sri Lanka et l'Arakan du XIIe au XVIIIe siècle: Documentation historique et évidences archéologiques', Journal Asiatique 283, 2 (1995), 469-501.
55. Cf. in this context, H. L. Seneviratne, Rituals of the Kandyan State (Cambridge, 1978), for an exploration of Buddhist rituals around the sacred tooth relic at Kandy, and its relations to state-building. Also, C. E. Godakumbara, 'Relations between Burma and Ceylon', Journal of the Burma Research Society 44, 2 (1966), 145-62, and most recently, Catherine Raymond, 'Étude des relations religieuses entre le Sri Lanka et l'Arakan du XIIe au XVIIIe siècle: Documentation historique et évidences archéologiques', Journal Asiatique 283, 2 (1995), 469-501.
56. Jack A. Goldstone, Revolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World (Berkeley, 1991).
57. Cf. Frank Perlin, Unbroken Landscape: Commodity, Category, Sign and Identity: Their Production, Strengths and Knowledge from 1500 (Aldershot, 1994).
58. For the most thought-provoking piece in the collection, see brief essay by Niels Steensgaard, 'The Seventeenth Century Crisis and the Unity of Eurasian History', Modern Asian Studies 24, 4 (1990), 683-97 . It is curious that what inspired this 'revisionist' wave in early modern Asian studies was the singularly inconclusive, and at times positively woolly-headed, debate on seventeenth-century Europe, for which see Geoffrey Parker and Lesley M. Smith (eds), The General Crisis of the Seventeenth Century (London, 1978).
59. For the most thought-provoking piece in the collection, see brief essay by Niels Steensgaard, 'The Seventeenth Century Crisis and the Unity of Eurasian History', Modern Asian Studies 24, 4 (1990), 683-97 . It is curious that what inspired this 'revisionist' wave in early modern Asian studies was the singularly inconclusive, and at times positively woolly-headed, debate on seventeenth-century Europe, for which see Geoffrey Parker and Lesley M. Smith (eds), The General Crisis of the Seventeenth Century (London, 1978).
60. For one detailed case-study, see Carla Rahn Phillips, Ciudad Real, 1500-1750: Growth, Crisis and Readjustment in the Spanish Economy (Cambridge, Mass., 1979), 71-5, passim. The 'bureaucratic elite' of the area is shown to have invested in land, taking advantage of distress sales by small landholders.
61. For an excellent (albeit uneven) collection of papers on these questions, see Stuart Schwartz (ed.), Implicit Understandings: Observing, Reporting, and Reflecting on the Encounters between Europeans and Other Peoples in the Early Modern Era (New York, 1994).
62. Cf. in this context, the pertinent comments in David Ludden, 'History Outside Civilization and the Mobility of South Asia', South Asia (n.s.) 17, 1 (1994), 1-23.