Smuggling: Seven Centuries of Contraband

(Hardback)

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Description

Smuggling conjures up images of romance and rebellion. Moving beyondthis popular conception, Smuggling: Seven Centuries of Contraband presentsthe bigger picture of this clandestine trade. It focuses on the involvementof powerful political, economic, scientific and cultural interests in smuggling,and how these have affected the history and politics of the world. This is in large part a story of globalization, but one told, for the first time, through smuggling.

Reviews

"One of the many joys of this splendidly discursive yet academically rigorous book is to find that Kipling got it right in A Smugglers Song."-- "Country Life"
"Harvey presents a vast worldwide view of illicit cross-border trade in goods, services, people, and even ideas from about the sixteenth century to the present, showing how smuggling is related to political interests, economic development, scientific advancement, and wars. Basing his book on considerable research, Harvey focuses alternately on different regions such as the Caribbean, where European countries undercut each other; then on individuals; next, competing monopolistic organizations such as the British and Dutch East Indies companies; followed by products such as salt, tobacco, silver, and drugs, as well as attempts to control smuggling. . . . This is a rich study. . . . Recommended."
-- "Choice"

Author Bio

Simon Harvey is Associate Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Trondheim, Norway.