Beatrice Nicolini, "Land and Maritime Empires in the Indian Ocean" (Educatt, 2017)

Land and Maritime Empires in the Indian Ocean (Educatt, 2017) reconceptualizes the history of the Indian Ocean through the themes of mobility, encounters, empires, and slavery. The book aims to reshape the historical understanding of Africa and Asia. It approaches Afro-Asiatic connections from different methodological perspectives. Nicolini and de Silva Jayasuriya have reread the Indian Ocean history's role away from traditional politics and international relations. They stated in the introduction: “We are both aware that the study of the history of the Indian Ocean can no longer be considered merely as hagiographic reconstructions, but must take into consideration a number of historical-political-institutional aspects. These include the presence of different cultural, social, and religious groups, together with the affirmation of the Omani Ibadites dominance between the mid-seventeenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. the fundamental influence of the Indian mercantile and other Asian communities; and the impact with the Swahili population of the Eastern African coast and the Sub-Saharan regions. All of these issues should also be considered in relation to links with Europe and with the newly United States of America."

Beatrice Nicolini is a professor of African History, Institutions, Religions, Conflicts, and Slavery in the Indian Ocean World, at the Catholic University, Milan, Italy. Her research focuses on the connections between South-Western Asia, the Persian/Arab Gulf, and East Africa. 

Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study (University of London) and an elected Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society (Great Britain & Ireland). Her research focuses on migration, commerce, and cultural exchange in the Indian Ocean world.

Ahmed Yaqoub AlMaazmi is a Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University. His research focuses on the intersection of law and the environment across the Western Indian Ocean. He can be reached by email at almaazmi@princeton.edu or on Twitter @Ahmed_Yaqoub. Listeners’ feedback, questions, and book suggestions are most welcome.

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