Thanks for this, I didn’t know about that stuff. Perhaps I should read Braudel. This makes me more confident that technology was a necessary factor. If I were motivated to do so, I’d read through the stories of Afonso’s success in more detail and try to see whether open-sea sailing and/or sailing against the wind played a factor.
Braudel is both long and dense, and I wouldn’t recommend the second two volumes at all, but the first volume is probably the single best history book I’ve read. Beware that his understanding of economics is pretty poor—trust his facts, but be wary of his interpretations.
Thanks for this, I didn’t know about that stuff. Perhaps I should read Braudel. This makes me more confident that technology was a necessary factor. If I were motivated to do so, I’d read through the stories of Afonso’s success in more detail and try to see whether open-sea sailing and/or sailing against the wind played a factor.
Braudel is both long and dense, and I wouldn’t recommend the second two volumes at all, but the first volume is probably the single best history book I’ve read. Beware that his understanding of economics is pretty poor—trust his facts, but be wary of his interpretations.