'Empires of the Sea': A study of maritime history that’s all at sea

livemint.com:

Empires of the Sea, maritime historian Radhika Seshan attempts the ambitious task of presenting the story of India’s engagement with the sea from the era of the Indus Valley civilisation to the 18th century. Despite consulting a shipload of books, Seshan’s reach far exceeds her grasp. The final product is a book that, while well researched, is poorly organised and is often unable to forge a meaningful connection with the reader.

Empires of the Sea centres around the Indian peninsula to provide maritime history of the Indian subcontinent in a manner that aims to appeal to a general audience. Seshan claims that the region, which was often politically fragmented, is well worth studying by virtue of being at the centre of the Indian Ocean world, both geographically and economically. The book is largely concerned with trade and the circulation of commodities across India’s eastern and western coasts.

Seshan’s key argument is that Indians have had a close engagement with the seas for millennia, contesting colonial historiography that has shown Indians to be unconcerned with maritime affairs. The book has strengths worth applauding. First, it deploys a highly extensive literature on the Indian Ocean, with which the author is clearly well versed.

A variety of works, both classic and cutting edge, from the vast realm that is Indian Ocean studies find mention through the book, including Sanjay Subhramanyam, K.A.N. Sastri, Ashin Das Gupta, and M.N. Pearson.