Technological and Strategic Superiority: An Analysis

Sangaralingam Ramesh ()
Additional contact information
Sangaralingam Ramesh: University College London

Chapter 4 in The Political Economy of the Indigenous Peoples of the World, Volume I, 2026, pp 179-242 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter analyses the technological and strategic systems that enabled European dominance between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, arguing against deterministic narratives of inherent civilizational superiority. It details how maritime technologies (e.g., caravels and galleons), navigational instruments (astrolabe, magnetic compass), and knowledge of wind systems (trade winds, westerlies) made sustained oceanic projection possible. The chapter also examines military advantages—gunpowder weaponry, combined arms tactics, discipline, steel, and cavalry—and how asymmetries shaped conquests such as that of the Inca Empire. Beyond warfare, it highlights the agricultural transformations and demographic surpluses that underwrote imperial ventures, including crop rotation, livestock regimes, and the translocation of crops and animals that reshaped Indigenous ecologies and food systems. The chapter situates these advantages within broader institutional and logistical capacities, emphasizing that “superiority” was assembled through systems, not essence.

Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-24041-5_4

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783032240415

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-24041-5_4

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().