218 DESTINY DISRUPTED
- C.rrot an ... in • $p.>in C::) ll.u«•• n Zone of lnOuen.oe
- fw~ee G::rm~"Y C"EJ Brit"h Zone of Influence
- l'unu~ral • h•ly -Shoppon~Tra<kRoutc•
Western Imperialism: The Global Reach of Sea Power
the three great Islamic empires were rising toward their peak of power and
brilliance.
Let's be clear about one thing: the European penetration of the Muslim
world never amounted to a clash of civilizations (to use a term coined in
the 1990s). In this period of colonization, "European civilization" never
went to war with "Islamic civilization," and that's one key to understand-
ing all that followed. In fact, after 1500, western Europeans arrived in the
eastern Islamic world mainly as traders. What could be less threatening?
Trade is what people do instead of making war. Trade-why, it's practically
a synonym for peace!
Nor did the Europeans come in great numbers. The first European ex-
pedition to reach India by sea was led by Portuguese aristocrat Vasco da
Gama and consisted of four ships and a total crew of 171 men. They ar-
rived at Calicut on the west coast of India in 1498 and asked the local
Hindu ruler if they might set up a trading post along the coast there and
do a little buying, maybe a little selling. The ruler said sure. Why wouldn't
he? If these strangers wanted to buy cloth, or raw cotton, or sugar or what-