2+1 = Abu-Lughod

Abu-Lughod's last segment seems to outline the significance of Asia and the Pacific prior to European hegemony. What's fascinating about her analysis is the importance of Asian markets in our current age. In regards to India, international trade going through the Coromandel cost created its own merchant class, which would had its own significance in Indian social society for Abu-Lughod cites Kenneth Hall by saying that the merchant class "in some instances formed the nucleus of the development of new centers of political authority."

As in the aspect of location, India served as a hub between the Arab Western region of the world and the Chinese Eastern part of the world. Also, with its significant amounts of spices and silks, India was sought out to be an important partner in the world market as well as being perceived as being self-sufficient.

Significantly, Abu-Lughod points out the importance of the Srivijaya and the Strait of Malacca (Strait) being an important sea route of trade between the Arabs and the Chinese. As Abu-Lughod points out, the Srivijaya Empire itself is still contested to be an actual empire but through documents, it's concluded that they had an impact on the Straits which would be later ruled by the Malacca. One component is certain and that's the fact that during the twelfth century onwards, there were to be a gradual transition of dependency to the Chinese to that "comprador communities."

Abu-Lughod points a correlation between two modern port cities of Hong Kong and Singapore, being the two powerhouse economies in Asia and being relatively "free trade" zones for the rest of the world.

As for China, Abu-Lughod points some interesting features that makes China different then the other countries investigated in the book. In her analysis, she points out the evolution of maritime trade where it was non-existent before the fifth century to the ninth century where the influx of agricultural production created an expansion of long distance trade and inevitably leading up to the tenth century where southern cost saw a boom in urbanization, agricultural production, and an explosion of maritime trade, which similarly resembled that of Europe.

Being the two main commodities of China, silk and porcelain defined China's market and was one of the reasons for their economic explosion with foreign countries. Being significantly different from cotton and wool production, silk was more time consuming and needed a considerable amount of care from the farmers to feed the silk warms, refined skill in reeling the silk, a controlled temperature, and a "hushed environment" so the silk worms can sleep to produce more worms, thus the manufacturing of silk was a process that shouldn't be taken for granted. Similarly, the artistry of porcelain was done in a manner of extreme craftsmanship that provided its high value throughout the world.

One facet that Abu-Lughod points out is that of currency. Unlike the Middle East, government had full authority of the regulation of currency, this differing from that of merchant's authority over capital. This curtailed the wealth accumulation from that of the merchants to that in which provided a hefty revenue for the government.

Nevertheless, China saw its collapse of the global market in the fifteenth century due to either a "change in philosophy" or "internal corruption" amongst the Ming Dynasty. Adu-Lughod points out that the lesson learned in the Chinese matter was that when China was a unified country, systems of capital were exchanged more efficiently and brought upon much prosperity. However, it was due to internal strife and friction that lead to its demise.

Reflecting on today's society, China has a considerable influence on world markets. Also, world markets today are much more interdependent on each other. This scenario can lead to devastating outcomes because during the tenth to fifteenth century, global markets were not intertwined as they are today. Thus, if there were to be a collapse in one market, a domino effect would happen throughout all markets. Further, with the growth of urbanization, human populations are more susceptible to widespread contamination, killing off greater levels of people. Nevertheless, technological innovation may suppress such occurrences, it doesn't rule out that possibility.