Description
Book SynopsisIn Globalization and the Colonial Origins of the Great Divergence Pim de Zwart examines the Dutch East India Company’s intercontinental trade and its effects on living standards in various regions on the edges of the Indian Ocean in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Contrary to conventional views, De Zwart finds significant evidence of the integration of global commodity markets, an important dimension of globalization, before the 1800s. The effects of this globalization, and the associated colonialism, were diverse and could vary between and within regions. As globalization and colonialism affected patterns of economic development across the globe they played a part in the rise of global economic inequality, known as the ‘Great Divergence’, in the early modern period.
Table of ContentsPreface ... vii List of Figures, Tables and Maps ... viii 1 Introduction ... 1 2 Early Modern Globalization ... 31 3 Prices and Consumption Patterns ... 78 4 Wages and the Standard of Living ... 118 5 Population, Households and Labour Markets ... 152 6 Conclusion ... 195 Appendices Appendix 1: Weights and Measures ... 207 Appendix 2: Coins and Silver Values ... 210 Appendix 3: Kcal and Protein ... 213 Appendix 4: Creating the Price Series ... 214 Appendix 5: An Alternative Method for Dealing with Gaps in the Price Data ... 232 Appendix 6: The Wage Data ... 235 Appendix 7: Estimating Population Trends for Ceylon ... 248 Appendix 8: Occupational Structure of Ceylon ... 254 Bibliography ... 257 Index ... 284
