The Indian Ocean in World History

Throughout history, the Indian Ocean has been a critical factor in defining the supremacy and power of a nation. It is well known their domination of the Indian Ocean played a major part in the success of the Portuguese kingdom at the start of the sixteenth century. In this innovative text, Milo Kearney shows how the trading and imperial expansionist possibilities offered by the Indian Ocean were exploited by the leading powers from the third millennium B.C. to the very recent past. The nations included range from the ancient Egyptians of the new Kingdom to the Han Chinese and, later, from the Moghul to the British Empire.

Milo Kearney is Professor of History at the University of Texas at Brownsville.