The internal organization of overseas empires influenced the choice of ship technology & contributed to Portugal’s decline & the 17th century ascendancy of the Dutch, according to Claudia Rei in an exciting Social Science History paper. OA https://doi.org/10.1017/ssh.2024.7
The internal organization of empire contributed to the choice of ocean shipping technology, Portugal’s decline & ascendancy of the Dutch in the 17th century, according to Claudia Rei in an exciting new paper in Social Science History. Open access! https://doi.org/10.1017/ssh.2024.7
“He and his only son venture forth on the 7th Portuguese Armada to establish the worlds first trade empire. However the challenges that await them will test them to their core.”
According to Cario-Invernizzi the fact the Iberian kingsdoms were the first European realms to connect with the rest of the world on a grand scale, gave their diplomatic policies a unique character.
Diplomatic relations with Africa and Asia required constant negotiations, and even required tributes to be paid to guarantee the security of Europe’s presence in the area.
Distance was a significant factor in Iberian #diplomacy. Therefore, agents were sometimes sent to cover shorter distances. Moreover, diplomatic encounters in Eurasia did not take place between entire societies but rather between segments of societies or subcultures.
This fact suggests the existence of a cross-sectional diplomatic language between European and Asian societies. (4/n)