Journal of World History, vol. 22, no. 2 (2011)

ARTICLES

Pirates and Kings: Power on the Shores of Early Modern Madagascar and the Indian Ocean
Jane Hooper, 215

This article describes the ways elites in Madagascar benefited from interactions with European and American pirates during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Malagasy leaders expanded their knowledge of global patterns of exchange and used this knowledge to monopolize trade from the island. At the time, the identification and suppression of pirates became a conflict between trade systems in and around the island. The states formed by Malagasy elites challenged British and French influence in the southwestern Indian Ocean and came under attack during the nineteenth century, a period of expanding European power in the region. Continue reading “Journal of World History, vol. 22, no. 2 (2011)”

Journal of World History, vol. 22, no. 1 (2011)

ARTICLES

The Rise and Fall of Cowrie Shells: The Asian Story
Bin Yang, 1

This article sketches the rise and fall of the use of cowrie shells in eastern Eurasia from the archaeological period to the nineteenth century. Originating in the sea, especially in the region of the Maldive islands, cowrie shells migrated to various parts of Asia as precious goods in the prehistoric era and later became a commodity and currency. By focusing on their experiences in Chinese, Indian, and Southeast Asian societies, this article illustrates the significance of these shells in a cross-regional context, analyzes the transformation of their functions over the longue durée, and discusses some local and global issues, such as why cowrie shells failed to develop into a common currency in early China.

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Journal of World History, vol. 21, no. 4 (2010)

ARTICLES

A Chinese Farmer, Two African Boys, and a Warlord: Toward a Global Microhistory
Tonio Andrade, 573

This article urges world historians to experiment boldly with narrative history and microhistory as a corrective to the field’s heavy emphasis on models and structures. Global microhistory as the author conceives it focuses on human dramas that shed light on intercultural connections and global transformations, and the article offers an example of the genre: a story of a Chinese man, two African boys, two feuding Dutch merchants, and a Chinese warlord, characters thrown together by the great waves of international trade and cross-cultural interaction that swept the world in the seventeenth century. The author hopes that narrative approaches will draw more students and general readers into the field of global history and help make its insights and approaches resonate with a wider public.

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Journal of World History, vol. 21, no. 3 (2010): Cosmopolitanism in World History

SPECIAL ISSUE: COSMOPOLITANISM IN WORLD HISTORY

ARTICLES

Cosmopolitanism: Its Pasts and Practices
Glenda Sluga and Julia Horne, 369
Historians are returning to cosmopolitanism as a significant historical theme. This introductory essay briefly surveys some of the latest trends that mark this new interest, including its interdisciplinary influences and its focus on both cultural and political forms of cosmopolitanism.

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Journal of World History Turns 20, Debuts in JSTOR

JSTOR logoThe Journal of World History passes two milestones this year: starting its 20th year of publishing and making its debut in the JSTOR online archive.

Every published volume of the Journal of World History is now available online. Current volumes will continue to appear on Project MUSE (subscription required), which also contains archives going back to vol. 7 (1996). This month, vols. 1 (1990) through 16 (2005) made their digital debut in JSTOR (subscription required). The JSTOR moving wall is 3 years. In other words, newer volumes will be added to the JSTOR archive 3 years after they first appear in print.