Man has been intrigued by the origin of pearls, sensitive to their beauty, and convinced of their medicinal value for at least 5 cent. A mixture of folklore and observation preceded the earliest scientific inquiries. Fishing and trade commenced in S. Asia, between India and Sri Lanka and around the Persian Gulf. In W. and Central Europe, Inner Asia and China, and N. Amer. Freshwater pearls were probably known and treasured before those of marine origin. A refined nomenclature points to a long familiarity with etymologically related words for 'pearl'. Pearls were prominent among the luxury products of world trade and were high among the objectives of expeditions to the eastern and western Tropics. Illustrations.
Pearls have enthralled global consumers since antiquity, and the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella explicitly charged Columbus with finding pearls, as well as gold and silver, when he sailed westward in 1492. American Baroque charts Spain's exploitation of Caribbean pearl fisheries to trace the genesis of its maritime empire. In the 1500s, licit and illicit trade in the jewel gave rise to global networks, connecting the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean to the pearl-producing regions of the Chesapeake and northern Europe. Pearls—a unique source of wealth because of their renewable, fungible, and portable nature—defied easy categorization. Their value was highly subjective and determined more by the individuals, free and enslaved, who produced, carried, traded, wore, and painted them than by imperial decrees and tax-related assessments. The irregular baroque pearl, often transformed by the imagination of a skilled artisan into a fantastical jewel, embodied this subjective appeal. Warsh blends environmental, social, and cultural history to construct microhistories of peoples' wide-ranging engagement with this deceptively simple jewel. Pearls facilitated imperial fantasy and personal ambition, adorned the wardrobes of monarchs and financed their wars, and played a crucial part in the survival strategies of diverse people of humble means. These stories, taken together, uncover early modern conceptions of wealth, from the hardscrabble shores of Caribbean islands to the lavish rooms of Mediterranean palaces.
Long before the rise of New World slavery, West Africans were adept swimmers, divers, canoe makers, and canoeists. They lived along riverbanks, near lakes, or close to the ocean. In those waterways, they became proficient in diverse maritime skills, while incorporating water and aquatics into spiritual understandings of the world. Transported to the Americas, slaves carried with them these West African skills and cultural values. Indeed, according to Kevin Dawson's examination of water culture in the African diaspora, the aquatic abilities of people of African descent often surpassed those of Europeans and their descendants from the age of discovery until well into the nineteenth century. As Dawson argues, histories of slavery have largely chronicled the fields of the New World, whether tobacco, sugar, indigo, rice, or cotton. However, most plantations were located near waterways to facilitate the transportation of goods to market, and large numbers of agricultural slaves had ready access to water in which to sustain their abilities and interests. Swimming and canoeing provided respite from the monotony of agricultural bondage and brief moments of bodily privacy. In some instances, enslaved laborers exchanged their aquatic expertise for unique privileges, including wages, opportunities to work free of direct white supervision, and even in rare circumstances, freedom. Dawson builds his analysis around a discussion of African traditions and the ways in which similar traditions—swimming, diving, boat making, even surfing—emerged within African diasporic communities. Undercurrents of Power not only chronicles the experiences of enslaved maritime workers, but also traverses the waters of the Atlantic repeatedly to trace and untangle cultural and social traditions.
This book reinterprets the Muslim architecture and urban planning of South India, looking beyond the Deccan to the regions of Tamil Nadu and Kerala - the historic coasts of Coromandel and Malabar. For the first time a detailed survey of the Muslim monuments of the historic ports and towns demonstrates a rich and diverse architectural tradition entirely independent from the better known architecture of North India and the Deccan sultanates. The book, extensively illustrated with photographs and architectural drawings, widens the horizons of our understanding of Muslim India and will no doubt pave new paths for future studies in the field.
This pioneering study captures the traditional social, economic and political systems of the Arab sheikhdoms of the Gulf. It represents a unique and in-depth insight into the complex and varied cultural patterns of the Arabs, Persians and the people of the East African Coast in the 1950s, before the advent of oil wealth radically altered the style of life and expectations of the people living in these sheikdoms. In a compelling narrative Lienhardt discusses the tribal structure, relations between men and women, the economics of pearl fishing, the growth of towns and the complex relationship between the ruling sheikhs and their subjects. His findings offer a key to the understanding of the political system and the transition from the tribal to the class system. Specialists on the Gulf and Middle East, social historians and anthropologists will find a wealth of new evidence and analysis in this invaluable and accessible combination of history and anthropology.
The Third Conference on the Law of the Sea marked a watershed in the emergence of African diplomatic and legal activities within the international system. Analysis of those states' participation therefore not only provides a template for the study of bloc activity at this level; it also adds the comprehensive analysis of African participation at UNCLOS III and, finally, it should also reveal the means by which states can more effectively impact global political and legislative processes. This study evaluates the extent to which the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) concept represents an attempt by African states to allot to international law the task of correcting inequities between nations, and the future implications of such linkage. It critically explores and analyzes the conceptual framework that initiated action by African states in UNCLOS III, and it examines their attempts to operationalize this framework by their substantive participation in the negotiations. Finally, the study explores the future implications of African activity in the international legal and political system. In this evaluative process the author suggests the need for greater insight in conceptualizing the role of African states as a bloc within the international system. Only in this manner can a better appreciation be had of the important role African states are playing as contributors in the formation of contemporary international law.
