Goods from the East, 1600–1800

Abstract

The imperative of the long-distance seaborne trade of Europeans, from the age of exploration, was to acquire the goods of the exotic East – the silks and porcelains and tea of China, the spices of the spice islands and the textiles of India. Goods from the East focuses on the trade in fine products: how they were made, marketed and distributed between Asia and Europe. This trade was conducted by East India Companies and many private traders, and the first Global Age that resulted deeply affected European consumption and manufacturing. This book provides a full comparative and connective study of Asia's trade with a range of European countries. Its themes relate closely to issues of fine manufacturing and luxury goods in the current age of globalization. Goods from the East brings together established scholars, such as Jan de Vries, Om Prakash and Josh Gommans, and a new generation of researchers, who together look into the connections between European consumer cultures and Asian trade.