1450年以来的世界贸易史 发表评论(0) 编辑词条

本书封面

编者：John J. McCusker

精装本: 893页

出版社: MacMillan Reference Books

出版日期：2005年12月 9日

语言：英语（截止目前该书没有中文版）

简介：本书读者对象应该是具有高中或大学教育水平的人。在这本百科全书里有400多个条目，这些条目按字母顺序排列，字数从200字到3000字不等，这些条目关注了1450年以来的所有和该项目有关的事情，从欧洲扩张的开始一直到今天。这个作品探讨了世界上的所有地区，涉及到人物、地理、发展、思想。

The History of World Trade since 1450 offers help in understanding the complex interactions between peoples over time as they sought to exchange goods and services to their own benefit. Economics activity has been described as “getting” and “spending.” All people have done this since humankind began. Individually, people cannot do as well for themselves as
they can collectively, either in getting or in spending. Trade broadens the return from such activities, widening the audience for what people have to offer as they try to get as much as they can to spend, and widening their range of choices as they seek the most when they spend. Geographical constraints limit what individuals are able to accomplish in selling the fruits of their labor and in maximizing their gains.

Over time some individuals began to occupy the middle ground between buyer and seller, offering to help individuals earn more and buy more, quantitatively and qualitatively. Traders charged fees to function as business brokers and bring together buyers and sellers, but diminished the competitive disadvantage suffered by anyone who initiated a transaction. With their help, trade grew from neighborly to local, to regional, to national, to international. With the growth of trade, peoples’ worlds grew and—ideally—the returns from their efforts and their standards of living grew, too.

The 500 years since the middle of the fifteenth century witnessed a spectacular expansion of world trade. These volumes are designed to offer the reader information about the changes in the world that caused and were caused by this expansion. Precipitated largely by European voyages of exploration and discovery that had as their primary purpose a search for better markets in which to sell and to buy, the growth of world trade has had numerous consequences, including the ending of the very empires that started and initially prospered from that expansion. It is a tale with many players, a story with many parts, all told
here.

The History of World Trade since 1450 is intended for general readers with a highschool or college-level education, but the editors and authors expect that many others also will find much here of use and interest. There are more than 400 entries in the encyclopedia, arranged in alphabetical order for easy reference. The entries vary in length from 200 to 3,000 words and concern everything that has to do with the subject in the period from 1450, the beginning of European expansion, to the present day. The entries explore all regions of the world. Thus they deal with persons and places, and developments and ideas that are global in their reach and global in their implications. The stories told are not alwayswonderful; the consequences of world trade have not always been good. The expansion of world trade across the Atlantic Ocean included the expansion of African slavery to the Western Hemisphere, for instance. But all is fodder for this discussion.

The entries have been written by experts, authorities in their respective fields; each contributor is identified by name. Like the topics they address, the authors are international. As much as possible, the authors and editors have used language that should be easily accessible to the public at large. The result is a set of entries reflecting immense and solid scholarship. A glossary of terms with which the reader might be unfamiliar appears at the end of volume 2, and each entry concludes with a short list of articles and books to guide readers to further sources of information. Cross-references at the end of each entry refer to
related topics. In addition, an outline of contents at the beginning of volume 1 groups the entries thematically.

The History of World Trade since 1450 contains historical images and contemporary photographs to illustrate the entries. Particularly for this topic, it is often difficult to visualize the subjects discussed. The editors have chosen the images carefully to provide further information and representation of the things included. There are sidebars that expand on an interesting aspect of a subject. At the end of the second volume, further material is included to assist the reader. In addition to the glossary, the concluding matter includes primary source documents and a comprehensive subject index. The primary documents may be of particular interest to those undertaking research in this field (for instance, extracts from United States Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton’s 1791 “Report on Manufactures”; and key passages from the famed “Navigation Acts” issued by the British Parliament during the reign of King Charles II). The editorial board and contributors have all benefited from the editorial assistance given by individuals at Macmillan Reference USA, in particular Hélène Potter and Mark Drouillard. Their dedication to the project and infinite capacity for work inspired everyone.We express our thanks to them and to the others
who contributed by suggesting authors, entries, and materials for the set. 

　　John J. McCusker

The force of the market has never, it seems, been greater; and yet trade has always been a defining factory in world history. In two alphabetically arranged volumes, the History of World Trade since 1450 takes as its starting point the year generally considered the beginning of the age of exploration. The more than 400 signed articles, ranging in length from 200 to 3,000 words and written by approximately 300 subject experts with college and university affiliations, offer postsecondary readers and researchers information about changes that both caused and were caused by exploration and expansion. Dealing with people and places as well as developments and ideas, the entries are unflinching in looking at trends that may have improved for some but were depressingly detrimental to others. The exploitation and decimation of the Native American tribes and the growth of African slavery are just two examples.

European colonization (both in the New World and in Africa), the Industrial Revolution, capitalism and the global economy, and commodities such as cotton and petroleum are all given judicious consideration. Articles are well organized, with appropriate divisions in longer entries. All have see also sections at the conclusion and appended bibliographies of selected works as well. Attractively boxed sidebars highlight areas of particular interest and add depth and detail to the coverage without disrupting the flow of the entries. Carefully selected black-and-white period reproductions, maps, and photographs enhance the coverage. Volume 1 contains a list of articles, a thematic outline listing articles under 16 headings from "Business Families" to "Shipping," a list of contributors, and selected metric conversions. Volume 2 concludes with a list of primary-source documents followed by the primary sources themselves. This section is divided into three groups: historical texts (e.g., an excerpt from Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations); speeches (Woodrow Wilson's "The Fourteen Points," for example); and agreements, treaties, and legislation (the Bretton Woods Agreement; a sample of a Native treaty). Closing the set are a glossary and a detailed index.

Although the encyclopedia is certainly extensive in coverage, the prose is, alas, consistently dry. Global History (Sharpe, 2004), edited by David W. Del Testa, though not focused strictly on trade, gives a livelier and more in-depth treatment of globalization. However, History of World Trade since 1450 does offer sound information in an easy-to- use format. As such, it is a reasonable addition for most college and university and large public libraries. Ann Welton

VOLUME 1
Preface ix
Introduction xi
List of Articles xv
Thematic Outline xxi
Contributors xxv
Selected Metric Conversions xxxv
HISTORY of WORLD TRADE since 1450
A–K 1
VOLUME 2
HISTORY of WORLD TRADE since 1450
L–Z 445
List of Primary Source Documents 831
Primary Source Documents 833
Glossary 863
Index 873