Synopses & Reviews
For six hundred years, the nations of Europe and North America have periodically attempted to coerce, invade, or conquer other societies. They have relied on their superior technology to do so, yet these technologies have not always guaranteed success. Power over Peoples examines Western imperialism's complex relationship with technology, from the first Portuguese ships that ventured down the coast of Africa in the 1430s to America's conflicts in the Middle East today.
Why did the sailing vessels that gave the Portuguese a century-long advantage in the Indian Ocean fail to overcome Muslim galleys in the Red Sea? Why were the same weapons and methods that the Spanish used to conquer Mexico and Peru ineffective in Chile and Africa? Why didn't America's overwhelming air power assure success in Iraq and Afghanistan? In Power over Peoples, Daniel Headrick traces the evolution of Western technologies--from muskets and galleons to jet planes and smart bombs--and sheds light on the environmental and social factors that have brought victory in some cases and unforeseen defeat in others. He shows how superior technology translates into greater power over nature and sometimes even other peoples, yet how technological superiority is no guarantee of success in imperialist ventures--because the technology only delivers results in a specific environment, or because the society being attacked responds in unexpected ways.
Breathtaking in scope, Power over Peoples is a revealing history of technological innovation, its promise and limitations, and its central role in the rise and fall of empire.
Review
"Headrick destroys the simplistic notion that technological advances alone can explain the historic limits of Western global hegemony."--Choice
Review
"For professional historians--and especially for those dealing with the events of the early modern and modern world and with the progress of technical advances most of the latest book by Daniel R. Headrick might seem like a comforting walk through a very familiar landscape. The road's main twists come as no surprise, but it is good to see them yet again, surveyed with a macroscopic perspective that captures all important features and, here and there, highlights interesting details."--Vaclav Smil, American Historical Review
Review
"Daniel R. Headrick is right to think that insufficient attention has been paid to how technological change and environment shape imperialism, and his work is an excellent attempt to remedy that deficiency."--Peter Cain, The Historian
Review
"This is an interesting, clearly-written, and well-researched book. In an era of academic specialization, it is also attractive for its willingness to tackle one of the largest and oldest questions of world history. While technology is the theme, the author carefully frames and qualifies his argument so as to avoid the pitfalls of reductionism. While this book should find a place in courses on economic history, the history of technology, and the economics of imperialism, its accessibility should also make it attractive to the reading public."--Robert E. Prasch, Journal of Economic Issues
Review
Headrick destroys the simplistic notion that technological advances alone can explain the historic limits of Western global hegemony. Choice
Review
For professional historians--and especially for those dealing with the events of the early modern and modern world and with the progress of technical advances most of the latest book by Daniel R. Headrick might seem like a comforting walk through a very familiar landscape. The road's main twists come as no surprise, but it is good to see them yet again, surveyed with a macroscopic perspective that captures all important features and, here and there, highlights interesting details. Vaclav Smil
Review
Daniel R. Headrick is right to think that insufficient attention has been paid to how technological change and environment shape imperialism, and his work is an excellent attempt to remedy that deficiency. American Historical Review
Review
This is an interesting, clearly-written, and well-researched book. In an era of academic specialization, it is also attractive for its willingness to tackle one of the largest and oldest questions of world history. While technology is the theme, the author carefully frames and qualifies his argument so as to avoid the pitfalls of reductionism. While this book should find a place in courses on economic history, the history of technology, and the economics of imperialism, its accessibility should also make it attractive to the reading public. Peter Cain - The Historian
Review
"Headrick provides a magisterial and highly readable survey. . . . The work is perhaps most eye-opening in describing conflict in regions often left out of more sweeping accounts--colonial expansion in sub-Saharan west Africa or Algeria, or conflict in southern Latin America. . . . [T]his book will enable [historians] to understand the place of technology in broader narratives of change all the more effectively."--Paul Warde, Cultural and Social History
Review
"[T]his is a major contribution from an important academic built on decades of experience. I am a better scholar for having read it, and chances are that you will be too."--James Daschuk, Environmental History Journal
Synopsis
For six hundred years, the nations of Europe and North America have periodically attempted to coerce, invade, or conquer other societies. They have relied on their superior technology to do so, yet these technologies have not always guaranteed success.
Power over Peoples examines Western imperialism's complex relationship with technology, from the first Portuguese ships that ventured down the coast of Africa in the 1430s to America's conflicts in the Middle East today.
Why did the sailing vessels that gave the Portuguese a century-long advantage in the Indian Ocean fail to overcome Muslim galleys in the Red Sea? Why were the same weapons and methods that the Spanish used to conquer Mexico and Peru ineffective in Chile and Africa? Why didn't America's overwhelming air power assure success in Iraq and Afghanistan? In Power over Peoples, Daniel Headrick traces the evolution of Western technologies--from muskets and galleons to jet planes and smart bombs--and sheds light on the environmental and social factors that have brought victory in some cases and unforeseen defeat in others. He shows how superior technology translates into greater power over nature and sometimes even other peoples, yet how technological superiority is no guarantee of success in imperialist ventures--because the technology only delivers results in a specific environment, or because the society being attacked responds in unexpected ways.
Breathtaking in scope, Power over Peoples is a revealing history of technological innovation, its promise and limitations, and its central role in the rise and fall of empire.
Synopsis
A major history of technology and Western conquest
For six hundred years, the nations of Europe and North America have periodically attempted to coerce, invade, or conquer other societies. They have relied on their superior technology to do so, yet these technologies have not always guaranteed success. Power over Peoples examines Western imperialism's complex relationship with technology, from the first Portuguese ships that ventured down the coast of Africa in the 1430s to America's conflicts in the Middle East today.
Why did the sailing vessels that gave the Portuguese a century-long advantage in the Indian Ocean fail to overcome Muslim galleys in the Red Sea? Why were the same weapons and methods that the Spanish used to conquer Mexico and Peru ineffective in Chile and Africa? Why didn't America's overwhelming air power assure success in Iraq and Afghanistan? In Power over Peoples, Daniel Headrick traces the evolution of Western technologies--from muskets and galleons to jet planes and smart bombs--and sheds light on the environmental and social factors that have brought victory in some cases and unforeseen defeat in others. He shows how superior technology translates into greater power over nature and sometimes even other peoples, yet how technological superiority is no guarantee of success in imperialist ventures--because the technology only delivers results in a specific environment, or because the society being attacked responds in unexpected ways.
Breathtaking in scope, Power over Peoples is a revealing history of technological innovation, its promise and limitations, and its central role in the rise and fall of empire.
Synopsis
"This is a major contribution to historical studies, as well as the study of technological change and economic history. Headrick asks a set of questions that are infrequently discussed, and analyzes them in an interesting way. This will be an important and widely cited book."--Stanley L. Engerman, University of Rochester
Synopsis
"This is a major contribution to historical studies, as well as the study of technological change and economic history. Headrick asks a set of questions that are infrequently discussed, and analyzes them in an interesting way. This will be an important and widely cited book."--Stanley L. Engerman, University of Rochester
Synopsis
For six hundred years, the nations of Europe and North America have periodically attempted to coerce, invade, or conquer other societies. They have relied on their superior technology to do so, yet these technologies have not always guaranteed success.
Power over Peoples examines Western imperialism's complex relationship with technology, from the first Portuguese ships that ventured down the coast of Africa in the 1430s to America's conflicts in the Middle East today.
Why did the sailing vessels that gave the Portuguese a century-long advantage in the Indian Ocean fail to overcome Muslim galleys in the Red Sea? Why were the same weapons and methods that the Spanish used to conquer Mexico and Peru ineffective in Chile and Africa? Why didn't America's overwhelming air power assure success in Iraq and Afghanistan? In Power over Peoples, Daniel Headrick traces the evolution of Western technologies--from muskets and galleons to jet planes and smart bombs--and sheds light on the environmental and social factors that have brought victory in some cases and unforeseen defeat in others. He shows how superior technology translates into greater power over nature and sometimes even other peoples, yet how technological superiority is no guarantee of success in imperialist ventures--because the technology only delivers results in a specific environment, or because the society being attacked responds in unexpected ways.
Breathtaking in scope, Power over Peoples is a revealing history of technological innovation, its promise and limitations, and its central role in the rise and fall of empire.
Synopsis
"This is a major contribution to historical studies, as well as the study of technological change and economic history. Headrick asks a set of questions that are infrequently discussed, and analyzes them in an interesting way. This will be an important and widely cited book."--Stanley L. Engerman, University of Rochester
About the Author
Daniel R. Headrick is professor emeritus of social science and history at Roosevelt University. His books include "The Tools of Empire" and "The Earth and Its Peoples".
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction Imperialism and Technology 1
On Imperialism 1
On Technology 3
The Goal and Organization of This Book 6
Notes 9
Chapter 1: The Discovery of the Oceans, to 1779 11
Five Seafaring Traditions 11
The Portuguese and the Ocean 20
Navigation 27
The Spanish Voyages 32
Completing the Map of the Oceans 41
Conclusion 50
Notes 51
Chapter 2: Eastern Ocean Empires, 1497-1700 59
The Portuguese in the Indian Ocean 59
The Ottoman Challenge 68
The Limits of Portuguese Power 74
The Dutch and the English in the Indian Ocean 79
China, Japan, and the Europeans 84
Conclusion 87
Notes 89
Chapter 3: Horses, Diseases, and the Conquest of the Americas, 1492-1849 95
The First Encounter: The Caribbean 96
The Conquest of Mexico 101
Peru and Chile 112
Argentina and North America 118
Disease and Demography 123
Conclusion 131
Notes 132
Chapter 4: The Limits of the Old Imperialism: Africa and Asia to 1859 139
Sub-Saharan Africa to 1830 139
India to 1746 147
The Military Revolution 151
Plassey and After 154
Reaching the Limit: Afghanistan and the Punjab 158
Reaching the Limit: Algeria, 1830-1850 163
Russia and the Caucasus 167
Conclusion 169
Notes 170
Chapter 5: Steamboat Imperialism, 1807-1898 177
Steamboats in North America 179
Steamers in South Asia 186
Routes to India 188
The Euphrates Route 191
The Red Sea Route 194
Britain and China 197
The Nemesis 200
Steamboats on the Niger 206
Steamboats and the Scramble for Africa 212
Conclusion 216
Notes 217
Chapter 6: Health, Medicine, and the New Imperialism, 1830-1914 226
Medicine and Africa in the Early Nineteenth Century 226
The Discovery of Quinine Prophylaxis 229
Public Health at Mid-Century 234
From Empirical to Scientific Medicine 237
Science and Tropical Diseases 239
Health and Empire at the Turn of the Century 243
Conclusion 249
Notes 251
Chapter 7: Weapons and Colonial Wars, 1830-1914 257
The Gun Revolution 257
Guns in Africa 265
The Scramble for Africa 269
North America 276
Argentina and Chile 284
Ethiopia 289
Conclusion 291
Notes 292
Chapter 8: The Age of Air Control, 1911-1936 302
The Beginnings of Aviation 303
Early Colonial Air Campaigns 306
Great Britain in Iraq 311
Air Control in Action 314
Spain in the Rif 321
Italy in Africa 324
Conclusion 327
Notes 329
Chapter 9: The Decline of Air Control, 1946-2007 334
France in Indochina 335
France in Algeria 337
The United States in Vietnam 340
The Soviet Union in Afghanistan 349
U.S. Military Aviation after Vietnam 353
The Gulf War 357
The Iraq War 359
Conclusion 363
Notes 364
Conclusion Technology and Imperialism Redux 370
Notes 373
For Further Reading 375
Index 381