Understanding the Global Approach in Environmental

Studies:Richards and the “social

learning/social ecology” argument

Contextualizing Richard’s Ideas:• An attempt to see human history as

interconnected—links b/w far away places such as the Netherlands and S. Asia

• To trace the origins of the modern global economy and its environmental impact long term (contrast w/ theories of the industrial revolution post 1850s)

• Understand the social/cultural impact of environmental interaction—on political structures, human activity, ethics

VOC trading ports

Commodities of Trade• From S. Asia:

– Textiles, mainly cotton– Silk yarn and brocades– Rice for Dutch colonies in SE Asia– Dyes such as indigo– Saltpeter (for gunpowder)

• From Netherlands:– Bullion, primarily silver

• Circulation b/w other points of trade:– Silver from American mines, Japan– Slaves from Africa and also India (less well known)

Characteristics of Trade• Not just a two-way trade b/w European companies such

as VOC and India• Multiple stops—American colonies, Africa, South East

Asia, Japan, China• VOC and other companies compete with Asian, Middle

Eastern, and African traders in Indian Ocean trade• By 1500s enjoy slight advantage due to

– Willingness to use guns on ships– Joint stock structure protects merchants from risk– Acquire local partners and access local credit– Ships from Atlantic adapted to deep oceans, local ships adapted

to costal bars/reefs (exception Chinese Junks)

Role of the States in Trade• Varies greatly from place to place• S. Asia—Mughals have an open economy,

encourage private/market enterprise, fully monetized, no restrictions on foreigners

• China/Japan—Active large economies, but centrally regulated, limit travel and trade by foreign merchants

• Dutch—economy much more dependent on trade than in Asia, largest shipping fleet in the world—in part due to history of naval warfare

Early Modern as a term• Starting in the 1940s historians began to argue that the

loose use of “modern” and the stereotypes associated with it were ahistorical and vague

• What does “pre-modern” or “modern” really mean?• Larger continuity of certain factors helped create

modernity as we know it—– Large centralized states with complex bureaucracies– Extensive record keeping and rising literacy– New global economies based on extensive credit and monetary

networks– Similar patterns of political, social, economic consolidation in

multiple world regions

For Environmental History this is significant because:

• Large bureaucratic states create cultures that valorize economic expansion and agriculture extension to generate revenue

• Monetized economies are heavier users of resources

• Capital has its own logic of constant growth • Eventually leads to a non-state actors—

companies, associations, etc. creating greater demands for commodities and resources

Background for the Dutch Wars and the Golden Age

• The struggle for Dutch independence is related to the consolidation of Hapsburg territories and its inheritance by Spanish monarch

• Netherlands has a larger protestant population• Local resistance to Spanish crown grows, Dutch

rally under Prince William of Orange• Dutch seek help from Elizabeth of England,

Count Anjou from France, and other Protestant states.

Points to consider (Similar points for Mughals):

• How did the experience of war and resistance shape the Dutch state?

• What impact did this have on the Dutch Economy?

• In what ways did the scale and nature of Dutch economic/political activity impact the environment?

• What social behaviors did this encourage?

Mughal State in India

• Begins with Babur, a chieftain from the Ferghana Valley in Central Asia invading India

• Defeats local Indian Afghan, Turkish, Rajput aristocracy (both Hindu and Muslim)

• Establishes the Mughal Empire which will last till the 1720s.

Important Developments:• Greatest expansion and consolidation under

Akbar (ruled 1556-1605)• New centralized bureaucracy created• Hybridized Hindu-Persian-Turkish court creates

a common culture• Economy booms both in response to greater

peace, but also due to administrative reforms:– Expansion of agriculture– Extension of monetization and credit– Encouragement of trade– Flexibility in tax system

Comparison of Dutch/Mughal States

Dutch• 1.9 million people/42,000

sq km.• Northern, cooler climate,

impact of Little Ice Age• Decentralized state• Heavily dependent on

trade and manufacture, urbanized

• Mughal India• 100-150 million, 3.2

million sq km by 1700s• Warmer temp. climate

lesser impact of LIA• Highly centralized, but

with open economy• Largely agrarian, volume

of trade huge, but a tiny share of a much larger economy

Areas of settlement and agriculture

Rembrandt’s “Mughal” sketches