Secondary cities and urban networking in the Indian Ocean Realm, c. 1400-1800

"With the closure of the overland Silk Road in the fourteenth century following the collapse of the Mongol empire, the Indian Ocean provided the remaining vital link for wider cultural, political, and societal integrations prior to the Western colonial presence. Collectively, the studies in Secondary Cities and Urban Networking in the Indian Ocean Realm, c. 1400-1800 explore the history of non-metropolitan urban settings, from the Ottoman Empire and the African coastline at the mouth of the Red Sea in the west to China in the east." "Kenneth R. Hall has collected the research of international scholars, whose work addresses the representative history of small cities and urban networking in various parts of the Indian Ocean world in an era of change, and allows them the opportunity to compare approaches, methods, and sources in the hopes of discovering common features as well as notable differences."--Jacket.