{"title":"J. C. Sharman","description":"\u003cp\u003eJ. C. Sharman’s works delve into the complexities of global power and empire, blending rigorous historical analysis with thoughtful reflection on authority and influence. Readers can expect a nuanced exploration of imperial dynamics, supported by thorough research and clear, engaging prose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThese titles sit at the intersection of \u003cem\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Military\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eEducation \u0026amp; Reference\u003c\/em\u003e, making them ideal for those interested in the forces that have shaped modern states and global relations. Sharman offers fresh perspectives on the interplay between power structures and the societies they govern.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"empires-of-the-weak-by-j-c-sharman-9780691210070","title":"Empires of the Weak","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat accounts for the rise of the state, the creation of the first global system, and the dominance of the West? The conventional answer asserts that superior technology, tactics, and institutions forged by Darwinian military competition gave Europeans a decisive advantage in war over other civilisations from 1500 onward.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn contrast, \u003cem\u003eEmpires of the Weak\u003c\/em\u003e argues that Europeans actually had no general military superiority in the early modern era. J. C. Sharman shows instead that European expansion from the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries is better explained by deference to strong Asian and African polities, disease in the Americas, and maritime supremacy earned by default because local land-oriented polities were largely indifferent to war and trade at sea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEmpires of the Weak\u003c\/em\u003e demonstrates that the rise of the West was an exception in the prevailing world order.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46849050837228,"sku":"9780691210070","price":59.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2087843482434.jpg?v=1759012993"},{"product_id":"empires-of-the-weak-by-j-c-sharman-9780691182797","title":"Empires of the Weak","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow the rise of the West was a temporary exception to the predominant world order.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat accounts for the rise of the state, the creation of the first global system, and the dominance of the West? The conventional answer asserts that superior technology, tactics, and institutions forged by Darwinian military competition gave Europeans a decisive advantage in war over other civilisations from 1500 onward. In contrast, \u003cem\u003eEmpires of the Weak\u003c\/em\u003e argues that Europeans actually had no general military superiority in the early modern era.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJ. C. Sharman shows instead that European expansion from the late fifteenth to the late eighteenth centuries is better explained by deference to strong Asian and African polities, disease in the Americas, and maritime supremacy earned by default because local land-oriented polities were largely indifferent to war and trade at sea. Europeans were overawed by the mighty Eastern empires of the day, which pioneered key military innovations and were the greatest early modern conquerors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAgainst the view that the Europeans won for all time, Sharman contends that the imperialism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a relatively transient and anomalous development in world politics that concluded with Western losses in various insurgencies. If the twenty-first century is to be dominated by non-Western powers like China, this represents a return to the norm for the modern era.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBringing a revisionist perspective to the idea that Europe ruled the world due to military dominance, \u003cem\u003eEmpires of the Weak\u003c\/em\u003e demonstrates that the rise of the West was an exception in the prevailing world order.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46849050935532,"sku":"9780691182797","price":73.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1815113482434.jpg?v=1759013020"},{"product_id":"outsourcing-empire-by-professor-andrew-phillips-9780691206196","title":"Outsourcing Empire","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow chartered company-states spearheaded European expansion and helped create the world's first genuinely global order.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Spanish conquistadors to British colonialists, the prevailing story of European empire-building has focused on the rival ambitions of competing states. But as \u003ci\u003eOutsourcing Empire\u003c\/i\u003e shows, from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, company-states—not sovereign states—drove European expansion, building the world's first genuinely international system.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCompany-states were hybrid ventures: pioneering multinational trading firms run for profit, with founding charters that granted them sovereign powers of war, peace, and rule. Those like the English and Dutch East India Companies carved out corporate empires in Asia, while other company-states pushed forward European expansion through North America, Africa, and the South Pacific. In this comparative exploration, Andrew Phillips and J. C. Sharman explain the rise and fall of company-states, why some succeeded while others failed, and their role as vanguards of capitalism and imperialism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn dealing with alien civilisations to the East and West, Europeans relied primarily on company-states to mediate geographic and cultural distances in trade and diplomacy. Emerging as improvised solutions to bridge the gap between European rulers' expansive geopolitical ambitions and their scarce means, company-states succeeded best where they could balance the twin imperatives of power and profit. Yet as European states strengthened from the late eighteenth century onward, and a sense of separate public and private spheres grew, the company-states lost their usefulness and legitimacy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBringing a fresh understanding to the ways cross-cultural relations were handled across the oceans, \u003ci\u003eOutsourcing Empire\u003c\/i\u003e examines the significance of company-states as key progenitors of the globalised world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46849656193260,"sku":"9780691206196","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2049103482434.jpg?v=1759058154"},{"product_id":"outsourcing-empire-by-professor-andrew-phillips-9780691207896","title":"Outsourcing Empire","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow chartered company-states spearheaded European expansion and helped create the world's first genuinely global order.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Spanish conquistadors to British colonialists, the prevailing story of European empire-building has focused on the rival ambitions of competing states. But as \u003cem\u003eOutsourcing Empire\u003c\/em\u003e shows, from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, company-states—not sovereign states—drove European expansion, building the world's first genuinely international system. Company-states were hybrid ventures: pioneering multinational trading firms run for profit, with founding charters that granted them sovereign powers of war, peace, and rule. Those like the English and Dutch East India Companies carved out corporate empires in Asia, while other company-states pushed forward European expansion through North America, Africa, and the South Pacific. In this comparative exploration, Andrew Phillips and J. C. Sharman explain the rise and fall of company-states, why some succeeded while others failed, and their role as vanguards of capitalism and imperialism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn dealing with alien civilisations to the East and West, Europeans relied primarily on company-states to mediate geographic and cultural distances in trade and diplomacy. Emerging as improvised solutions to bridge the gap between European rulers' expansive geopolitical ambitions and their scarce means, company-states succeeded best where they could balance the twin imperatives of power and profit. Yet as European states strengthened from the late eighteenth century onward, and a sense of separate public and private spheres grew, the company-states lost their usefulness and legitimacy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBringing a fresh understanding to the ways cross-cultural relations were handled across the oceans, \u003cem\u003eOutsourcing Empire\u003c\/em\u003e examines the significance of company-states as key progenitors of the globalised world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47487443730668,"sku":"9780691207896","price":44.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/759322590fbb66c0780687561477f4b7.jpg?v=1775776981"},{"product_id":"ties-that-bound-by-j-c-sharman-9780691278056","title":"Ties That Bound","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow slavery and the slave trade provided African rulers with a path to political power.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAcross history, slavery has been central to political power. By the nineteenth century, African rulers dominated the slave trade with the European and Islamic worlds. In \u003ci\u003eTies That Bound\u003c\/i\u003e, J. C. Sharman shows how these rulers were empowered by slavery, converting profits from the market for humans into political might. As demand for African captives grew, a new breed of African bandit slave traders-turned-kings leveraged the increasing returns to seize and hold power, paying off followers and buying weapons. Eventually, there were more enslaved Africans within Africa than in the Americas; African kingdoms were secured and administered by slave soldiers and slave officials. Engaging in the slave trade became vital for political survival; success for a few powerful leaders meant misery for millions across the continent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eArguing that slavery is fundamentally political and relational, Sharman examines the effects of Africa’s slavery-centered connections and linkages with the wider world. This route to power by enslaving others required engagement with other countries, sometimes in war, sometimes in trade, and sometimes in both. More than any other region, Africa’s experiences show how slavery as a foundation of power depended on ties between insiders and outsiders. Sharman describes how African rulers became locked into increasingly destructive competition with each other. As much of the continent was ravaged by warlords, the very factors that strengthened rulers individually weakened them collectively, and the resulting destruction paved the way for European conquest in the late nineteenth century’s 'Scramble for Africa'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67712374046956,"sku":"9780691278056","price":57.97,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691278056-ties-that-bound-1.jpg?v=1791855360"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/j-c-sharman.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}