
Empires of the Weak
The Real Story of European Expansion and the Creation of the New World
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Narrated by:
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John Lee
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By:
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J. C. Sharman
What accounts for the rise of the state, the creation of the first global system, and the dominance of the West? The conventional answer asserts that superior technology, tactics, and institutions forged by Darwinian military competition gave Europeans a decisive advantage in war over other civilizations from 1500 onward. In contrast, Empires of the Weak argues that Europeans actually had no general military superiority in the early modern era. J. C. Sharman shows instead that European expansion is better explained by deference to strong Asian and African polities, disease in the Americas, and maritime supremacy earned by default because local land-oriented polities were largely indifferent to war and trade at sea.
Europeans were overawed by the mighty Eastern empires of the day, which pioneered key military innovations and were the greatest early modern conquerors. Against the view that the Europeans won for all time, Sharman contends that the imperialism of the late19th and early 20th centuries was a relatively transient and anomalous development in world politics that concluded with Western losses in various insurgencies. If the 21st century is to be dominated by non-Western powers like China, this represents a return to the norm for the modern era.
©2019 Princeton University Press (P)2019 TantorListeners also enjoyed...




















A reassessment of European and western world expansion
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I may have to get the physical book. This was interesting and worth a second going over.
An interesting revisionist take on colonialism and empire.
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a great read
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Excellent, and super clear
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For example, the author seems almost gleeful when recounting tales of Chilean tribes depopulating areas and consuming the hearts of colonists. Yet, in the very next sentence, he decries the actions of "genocidal conquistadors." This inconsistent approach undermines the credibility of the argument and creates confusion about the author's true stance.
Perhaps most critically, the book is simply dull. It reads like a piece of standard revisionist, third-worldist rhetoric, offering little in the way of fresh insight or engaging narrative. The writing fails to captivate, leaving the reader to slog through a repetitive and predictable account. Ultimately, this work adds little to the discourse it seeks to engage in, falling short both in terms of entertainment and scholarly contribution.
Dull Revisionism
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