Over the past half millennium, from circa 1450 until the last third or so of the twentieth century, much of the worldâs history has been influenced in great part by one general dynamic and complex historical process known as European expansion. Defined as the opening up, unfolding, or increasing the extent, number, volume, or scope of the space, size, or participants belonging to a certain people or group, location, or geographical region, Europeâs expansion initially emerged and emanated physically, intellectually, and politically from southern Europeâspecifically from the Iberian peninsulaâduring the fifteenth century, expanding rapidly from that locus to include, first, all of Europeâs maritime and, later, most of its continental states and peoples. Most commonly associated with events described as the discovery of America and of a passage to the East Indies (Asia) by rounding the Cape of Good Hope (Africa) during the early modern and modern periods, European expansion and encounters with the rest of the world multiplied and morphed into several ancillary historical processes, including colonization, imperialism, capitalism, and globalization, encompassing themes, among others, relating to contacts and, to quote the EURO seriesâ original mission statement, âconnections and exchanges; peoples, ideas and products, especially through the medium of trading companies; the exchange of religions and traditions; the transfer of technologies; and the development of new forms of political, social and economic policy, as well as identity formation.â Because of its intrinsic importance, extensive research has been performed and much has been written about the entire period of European expansion.
With the first volume published in 2009, Brill launched the European Expansion and Indigenous Response book series at the initiative of well-known scholar and respected historian, Glenn J. Ames, who, prior to his untimely passing, was the founding editor and guided the first seven volumes of the series to publication. Being one of the early members of the seriesâ editorial board, I was then appointed as Series Editor. The seriesâ founding objectives are to focus on publications âthat understand and deal with the process of European expansion, interchange and connectivity in a global context in the early modern and modern periodâ and to âprovide a forum for a variety of types of scholarly work with a wider disciplinary approach that moves beyond the traditional isolated and nation bound historiographical emphases of this field, encouraging whenever possible non-European perspectives ⦠that seek to understand this indigenous transformative process and period in autonomous as well as inter-related cultural, economic, social, and ideological terms.â
Despite, or perhaps because of, these new directions and stimulating sources of existing and emerging lines of dispute regarding the history of European expansion, I and the editorial board of the series will continue with the original objectives and mission statement of the series and vigorously â⦠seek out studies that employ diverse forms of analysis from all scholarly disciplines, including anthropology, archaeology, art history, history (including the history of science), linguistics, literature, music, philosophy, and religious studies.â In addition, we shall seek to stimulate, locate, incorporate, and publish the most important and exciting scholarship in the field.
Towards that purpose, I am pleased to introduce volume 52 of Brillâs EURO series entitled: The Raw Cotton Trade: Brazil, Portugal, and Europe during the Industrial Revolution. Authored by Felipe Souza Melo, this study demonstrates prodigious research, judicious use of evidence, and originality in argumentation. The author employs âcommodity chain analysisâ to reconstruct late colonial and early modern Brazilâs process of growing and trading raw cotton during the Industrial Revolution. The arguments and points made throughout the manuscript are thoroughly documented from evidence gleaned from archives located mainly in Portugal but also in Brazil, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It makes a welcome contribution to our understanding of the role of cotton production during the Industrial Revolution. It shows that the cotton produced in Brazil and exported to Europe via Portugal played a key role in fostering the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and elsewhere. Introducing a
The Raw Cotton Trade does not dispute the conclusions of previous contributions or diminish the role of Great Britain as a significant player in the cotton industry. Rather, it âseeks to position Brazil, the Portuguese Empire, and the various merchant communities involved with them in a more prominent position.â It makes multiple historiographical interventions: e.g., contributions to Brazilian historiography in detailing the history (and differences) surrounding cotton production in Maranhão and Pernambuco/Northeastern Brazil; revision of Anglo-centric stories of the rise of âking cottonâ and the early industrial revolutions; meticulous reconstruction of the mechanics of commercial and distribution networks in early modern Europe (through comparative analysis of Portugal, France, England, Scotland, and Genoa). It makes the argument that without mercantile communities, a transnational perspective, and the economic policy of the Portuguese Empire, the story of one of the most critical cotton suppliers during the industrial revolution cannot be satisfactorily narrated. The EURO seriesâ readers should determine on their own and evaluate this perspective and argument. But they should thank this author for this manuscript.