Author: Eric Tagliacozzo

In this book, Eric Tagliacozzo chronicles how the seas and oceans of Asia have shaped the history of the largest continent for the past half millennium, leaving an indelible mark on the modern world in the process.

Paying special attention to migration, trade, the environment, and cities, In Asian Waters examines the long history of contact between China and East Africa, the spread of Hinduism and Buddhism across the Bay of Bengal, and the intertwined histories of Islam and Christianity in the Philippines.

The book illustrates how India became central to the spice trade, how the Indian Ocean became a “British lake” between the 17th and 19th centuries, and how lighthouses and sea mapping played important roles in imperialism.

The volume ends by asking what may happen if China comes to rule the waves of Asia, as Britain once did.