Before European Hegemony: The World System, A.D. 1250-1350.

• Author: Rose, Linda

Given the current avid interest in diversity and the revisionist tendencies of European historians, Janet Abu-Lughod's book, Before European Hegemony: The World System, A.D. 1250-1350, is timely indeed. In it, the author argues against the thesis of Emmanuel Wallerstein, which she describes as maintaining that the triumph of European hegemony in the sixteenth century was "inevitable." Professor Abu-Lughod argues that, on the contrary, there was no inevitability about the rise of Europe and that Europe merely built on the already-existing system that it found in a state of dissolution. If this argument is stated more insistently than absolutely necessary, it is still worth examining. The author looks at the evolution of the system that dominated a large part of the known world from northwest Europe to China around the year 1300 and attempts to explain why this system, which looked extremely strong at the time, did not succeed in sustaining itself for longer than a century. Abu-Lughod traces its rise and fall and, in looking at its three components--Europe, the Middle East and the Far East--analyzes its strengths and the weaknesses which led ultimately to its replacement.

It should be clear from this outline that the author has undertaken a complex and difficult task, one which demands a mastery of a number of cultures. As she points out in her introduction, the methodological problems of such an undertaking are enormous: the sources are very uneven in terms both of quality and quantity and are never equally good or reliable. The historian must tread with extreme care in evaluating and using them, for each culture wishes to portray itself in the best possible light, and what is omitted is often as important as what is included.

Abu-Lughod says that in order to understand what Wallerstein calls "the modern world system" which has lasted for the past five hundred years, we must look for its roots in the previous system. And because this earlier system contained no single hegemonic power, but rather a multiplicity of centers, it may suggest what a future world system might look like. The book tells a story of economic expansion and development, although Abu-Lughod is quick to say that she does not wish to discuss the origins of modern capitalism. She describes Europe as "an upstart peripheral to an ongoing operation" in the period under examination. She believes that the years 1250-1350 were "a critical turning point in world history" and that...