World Trade Since 1431: Geography, Technology, and Capitalism
本书追溯过去550年技术与经济的互动，认为掌握并推广新技术的国家崛起为世界强国，而固守旧技术的国家则落后，交通与通信技术的重大变革构成了世界经济转型的关键时刻。
Equipped with reliable maps and instruments for open-ocean navigation and highly seaworthy, three-masted, cannon-armed ships, Portugal dominated the Atlantic trade routes-until the diffusion of Portuguese technologies to wealthier polities made Holland the eventual successor, owing to its geographic position and its immense commercial fleet. It is precisely this interplay of technology and geography, argues Peter J. Hugill, that has guided the evolution of the modern global capitalistic system. Tracing the relationship between technology and economy over the past 550 years, Hugill finds that the nations that developed and marketed new technologies best were the nations that rose to world power, while those that held onto outdated technologies fell behind. Moreover, he argues, major changes in transportation and communication technologies actually constituted the moments of transformation from one world economy to another.