The Political Economy of Merchant Empires: State Power and World Trade, 13501750 (Studies in Comparative Early Modern History)

The Political Economy of Merchant Empires focuses on why European concerns eventually achieved dominance in global trade in the period between 1450 and 1750, at the expense, especially in Asia, of well-organized and well-financed rivals. The volume is a companion to The Rise of Merchant Empires (1990), which dealt with changes in the growth and composition of long-distance trade during the same period. Introduction / James D. Tracy -- Institutions, Transaction Costs, And The Rise Of Merchant Empires / Douglass C. North -- Merchants And States / M.n. Pearson -- The Rise Of Merchant Empires, 1400-1700 : A European Counterpoint / Thomas A. Brady, Jr. -- Europe And The Wider World, 1500-1700 : The Military Balance / Geoffrey Parker -- The Pirate And The Emperor : Power And The Law On The Seas, 1450-1850 / Anne Pérotin-dumon -- Transport Costs And Long-range Trade, 1300-1800 : Was There A European Transport Revolution In The Early Modern Era? / Russell R. Menard -- Transaction Costs : A Note On Merchant Credit And The Organization Of Private Trade / Jacob M. Price -- Evolution Of Empire : The Portuguese In The Indian Ocean During The Sixteenth Century / Sanjay Subrahmanyam And Luís Filipe F.r. Thomaz -- Comparing The Tokagawa Shogunate With Hapsburg Spain : Two Silver-based Empires In A Global Setting / Dennis O. Flynn -- Colonies As Mercantile Investments : The Luso-brazilian Empire, 1500-1808 / José Jobson De Andrade Arruda -- Reflections On The Organizing Principle Of Premodern Trade / K.n. Chaudhuri. James D. Tracy, Editor. Essays Originally Prepared For A Conference On The Rise Of Merchant Empires, Organized By The Center For Early Modern History, Oct. 1987 -- T.p. Verso. First Published, 1991. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 443-483) And Index. The Political Economy of Merchant Empires focuses on why European concerns eventually achieved dominance in global trade in the period between 1450 and 1750, at the expense, especially in Asia, of well-organised and well-financed rivals. The volume is a companion to The Rise of Merchant Empires, also edited by James Tracy, which dealt with changes in the growth and composition of long-distance trade during the same period 'The Political Economy Of Merchant Empires' focuses on why European enterprises achieved dominance in global trade between 1450-1750, at the expense, especially in Asia, of well-organized and well-financed rivals. THE central purpose of this volume is to explore the role that merchant empires played in the evolution of Europe, from its position as a relatively backward part of the world to its preeminence in 1750.