Pacific Worlds

Matt Matsuda is Professor of History at Rutgers University where he teaches Modern European and Asia-Pacific comparative histories. His previous publications include Empire of Love: Histories of France and the Pacific (2003).

• Introduction: encircling the ocean; 1. Civilization without a center; 2. Trading rings and tidal empires; 3. Straits, sultans and treasure fleets; 4. Conquered colonies and Iberian ambitions; 5. Island encounters and the Spanish lake; 6. Sea changes and spice islands; 7. Samurai, priests and potentates; 8. Pirates and raiders of the eastern seas; 9. Asia, America, and the age of the galleon; 10. Navigators of Polynesia and paradise; 11. Gods and sky piercers; 12. Extremities of the Great Southern Continent; 13. The world that Canton made; 14. Flags, treaties, and gunboats; 15. Migrations, plantations, and the people trade; 16. Imperial destinies on foreign shores; 17. Traditions of engagement and ethnography; 18. War stories from the Pacific theater; 19. Prophets and rebels of decolonization; 20. Critical mass for the earth and ocean; 21. Specters of memory, agents of development; 22. Repairing legacies, claiming histories; Afterword: world heritage.

'Finally - a coherent portrayal of the immense Pacific. Matsuda narrates brilliantly the communities that traded and warred among islands, mainland, and currents; he illustrates beautifully the cultural exchanges and social struggles of this vast region. This book will ensure that the Pacific becomes central to discussion of global historical patterns.' Patrick Manning, University of Pittsburgh