Fall 2009

ANS 340P • European Expansion in Asia

Course Description

This course is about the age of discovery and the overall effects of East-West contacts in the early modern period. After a discussion of trade and cultural relations on the eve of the age of discovery, we will look at the expansion into South and Southeast Asia of the Portuguese, Dutch, British, and French from approximately 1400 to 1800, the period when European explorers, freebooters, merchants, missionaries, and administrators went to "the Indies" in search of adventure, riches, spices, souls, and power. We will examine the backgrounds to that expansion, the technology that made it possible, the cultures that the Europeans came into contact with, the scientific and cultural repercussions of expansion, and the trade between Europe and Asia, not only of goods, but also of ideas.

Grading Policy

Requirements for the course include the assigned readings, two map assignments, two book reports, a mid-term and a final. Percentages for the grade: 25% for each paper, 25% for each exam.

Texts

J. Abu-Lughod, Before European Hegemony J.H. Parry, The Age of Reconnaissance K.N. Chaudhuri, Trade & Civilization in the Indian Ocean Metcalf & Metcalf, A Concise History of India D.R. Sardesai, Southeast Asia: Past & Present Travel accounts for the book reports

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