Asia and the World Economy in Historical Perspective

Abstract

Abstract This chapter studies the political and economic evolution of trade and international relations of the counties and regions of Asia, both between themselves and the rest of the world, over the past millennium, paying particular attention to the geographic and cultural background; the underlying demographic and economic mechanism of the classical Malthus-Ricardo model; the Pax Mongolica and overland trade along the Silk Roads during the Middle Ages; the European intrusion at the turn of the fifteenth century and the impact of the discovery of the New World; the spread of European imperialism and the rise of nationalism and the achievement of independence. A final section discusses the comparative evolution of Europe and Asia and the question of why the Industrial Revolution did not first occur in Asia.