Agenda
Opening Lecture CAPASIA project by Professor Tirthankar Roy
On 27 April 2023, Professor Tirthankar Roy (London School of Economics) will deliver the opening lecture of the CAPASIA (The Asian Origins of Global Capitalism) project. Professor Roy’s lecture will be titled: Land or sea? Alternative routes to colonialism in Asia and Africa. This project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation programme under the ERC grant agreement No 101054345.
The talk confronts an anomaly in the history of European colonialism in Asia and Africa, namely that prior to the eighteenth century, European power was negligible compared to interior states. Typically, historians of colonialism stress either the pursuit of political opportunism or the combatting of political threats to explain how European seaborne power became terrestrial. Drawing on examples from South and Southeast Asia, this talk instead asks whether the control of the sea sustained campaigns inland. Evidence suggests three locational advantages were prerequisites: a stable supply of food and water, relatively easy transportation access into the interior, and agglomeration prospects.
The event can be attended in person at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy or online via zoom. In either case, prior registration is required.. Please note times mentioned are CEST.