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In Asian Waters: Oceanic Worlds from Yemen to Yokohama
A sweeping account of how the sea routes of Asia have transformed a vast expanse of the globe over the past five hundred years, powerfully shaping the modern world
In the centuries leading up to our own, the volume of traffic across Asian sea routes—an area stretching from East Africa and the Middle East to Japan—grew dramatically, eventually making them the busiest in the world. The result was a massive circulation of people, commodities, religion, culture, technology, and ideas. 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 seventeenth and nineteenth 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.
A novel account showing how Asian history can be seen as a whole when seen from the water, In Asian Waters presents a voyage into a past that is still alive in the present.
In the centuries leading up to our own, the volume of traffic across Asian sea routes—an area stretching from East Africa and the Middle East to Japan—grew dramatically, eventually making them the busiest in the world. The result was a massive circulation of people, commodities, religion, culture, technology, and ideas. 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 seventeenth and nineteenth 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.
A novel account showing how Asian history can be seen as a whole when seen from the water, In Asian Waters presents a voyage into a past that is still alive in the present.
493 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 19, 2022
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About the author
Eric Tagliacozzo
46 books3 followersEric Tagliacozzo is Professor of History at Cornell University, where he teaches Southeast Asian history. He is the director of Cornell's Comparative Muslim Societies Program, the director of Cornell Modern Indonesia Project, and the contributing editor of journal Indonesia. Tagliacozzo received his B.A. from Haverford College in 1989 and his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1999.
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July 11, 2025
One of the book’s central arguments is that for over two millennia, the seas of Asia have been sites of intense interaction—cultural, commercial, religious, and technological. These interactions created what Tagliacozzo calls “maritime geographies of culture, power, and trade,” shaping the histories of societies along the coasts and far into the interiors. He traces how ancient trade routes, such as those navigated by Admiral Zheng He, followed paths established long before, linking the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and East Asia in a dynamic network that predates modern globalization.
Tagliacozzo’s narrative is not just a story of connection, but also of rupture and transformation. He explores how technologies, goods, and port cities that once dominated the region’s maritime economy have faded or been transformed, and how European colonialism reconfigured Asian waters—turning, for example, the Indian Ocean into a “British lake” from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. The book also examines the spread of religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity across maritime routes, and how migration and environmental change have shaped societies from Yemen to Yokohama.
A notable feature of the book is its attention to the material and technological aspects of maritime history, from the development of navigation and lighthouses to the mapping of seas and the rise of new maritime powers. Tagliacozzo concludes by considering contemporary shifts, especially China’s growing influence over Asian maritime routes, and asks what the future might hold if China comes to “rule the waves” as Britain once did.
Stylistically, Tagliacozzo’s writing is clear and engaging, moving fluidly between broad historical sweeps and vivid case studies. He reconstructs the lived realities of sailors, traders, religious pilgrims, and smugglers, offering glimpses into everyday life and the grand currents of history. The book challenges the outdated image of Asia as a continent of isolated agrarian empires, instead making a compelling case for the sea as the birthplace of modernity and a driver of enduring change.
In Asian Waters is both a corrective to land-centric histories of Asia and a rich, multifaceted account of the region’s oceanic worlds. It invites readers to see Asia not as a collection of isolated territories, but as a vibrant, interconnected meta-region shaped by the ceaseless movement of people, ideas, and goods across its waters.
Tagliacozzo’s narrative is not just a story of connection, but also of rupture and transformation. He explores how technologies, goods, and port cities that once dominated the region’s maritime economy have faded or been transformed, and how European colonialism reconfigured Asian waters—turning, for example, the Indian Ocean into a “British lake” from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. The book also examines the spread of religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity across maritime routes, and how migration and environmental change have shaped societies from Yemen to Yokohama.
A notable feature of the book is its attention to the material and technological aspects of maritime history, from the development of navigation and lighthouses to the mapping of seas and the rise of new maritime powers. Tagliacozzo concludes by considering contemporary shifts, especially China’s growing influence over Asian maritime routes, and asks what the future might hold if China comes to “rule the waves” as Britain once did.
Stylistically, Tagliacozzo’s writing is clear and engaging, moving fluidly between broad historical sweeps and vivid case studies. He reconstructs the lived realities of sailors, traders, religious pilgrims, and smugglers, offering glimpses into everyday life and the grand currents of history. The book challenges the outdated image of Asia as a continent of isolated agrarian empires, instead making a compelling case for the sea as the birthplace of modernity and a driver of enduring change.
In Asian Waters is both a corrective to land-centric histories of Asia and a rich, multifaceted account of the region’s oceanic worlds. It invites readers to see Asia not as a collection of isolated territories, but as a vibrant, interconnected meta-region shaped by the ceaseless movement of people, ideas, and goods across its waters.
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