Il predominio dell'Occidente: Tecnologia, ambiente, imperialismo

The Princeton Economic History of the Western World #31

by Daniel R. Headrick

Il mondo occidentale ha sempre cercato di conquistare e sottomettere altre società. Nel 1800 il 35 per cento del territorio del pianeta era sotto controllo occidentale; nel 1914 l’85 per cento. Ripercorrendo gli ultimi sei secoli di storia, il libro mostra come sia stata sì la superiorità di determinate tecnologie (dai velieri alle bombe «intelligenti») ad assicurare volta a volta il predominio occidentale, ma solo là dove l’ambiente era tale da consentirne un utilizzo vantaggioso: i velieri dominarono gli oceani e i mari ma non i fiumi cinesi, aerei e bombe non hanno piegato la resistenza vietnamita, né sono stati risolutivi in Iraq e in Afghanistan.

Genres: History, Economics, Nonfiction, World History, Politics, Military History, Sociology

408 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2009

About the author

A specialist in the history of international relations, technology, and the environment, Daniel R. Headrick is professor emeritus of social science and history at Roosevelt University.

Reviews

[Olethros]

-Unas pocas pinceladas en un cuadro amplísimo.-

Género. Ensayo.

Lo que nos cuenta. Retrato de imperialismos occidentales desde el siglo XV al XX construido sobre bases tecnológicas diferenciadoras y sobre algunas paradojas.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[urbanoo]

if i didn’t have to write a 15 page fucking essay on this maybe I would’ve enjoyed it more

[Diego]

Poder e Imperio ( su titulo en español) es un fantástico libro que narra la historia de la tecnología militar en los últimos 600 años y el rol que esta ha tenido en facilitar la obtención de riqueza de sus poseedores. El libro ilustra como la ventaja tecnológica combinada con factores medio ambientales es la gran hacedora de conquistas territoriales o fracasos al intentarlos.

Daniel Headrick hace un recuento emocionante y lleno de información útil que permite poner en contexto los hechos históricos y la tendencia del imperialismo y colonialismo de los tiempos de la conquista de América hasta las guerras modernas en Iraq y Afganistan.

[Dan]

This is the fourth Headrick book I've read, so I feel like I've already written a fair bit on Goodreads about him. It's something of an update to *The Tools of Empire*, which is one of those books that everyone cites when writing about imperialism.

I would strongly recommend this one ahead of Tools, because it really has engaged a bit more with the surrounding literature, particularly Philip Curtin's stuff. It also extends out the timeline and tries to come up with cross-cutting themes.

Headrick dedicates the book to his mentor, William McNeill, and that's appropriate. This is very much in McNeill's style.

[Cara Lynn]

Read for school

[Eddie Choo]

Technology not the only thing

This is an excellent primer into the ways technologies are jot universal in subjugating peoples. Ultimately, people are often defeated by other reasons and technology is just one of them.

[Mike Briggs]

A study of the rise of imperialism from around 1400.

[Wim Kamerbeek]

It was very interesting to read - basically - about the history of weapons.

[Marsha]

Makes more sense than "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Diamond.

[Melissa]

Headrick's is a paradigm altering book.