Asian Travel in the Renaissance

Asian Travel in the Renaissance looks at travel in Asia for the purposes of trade, colonialism, and religious conversion by a diverse array of Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, and English figures. It contrasts the traditions and aspirations of rival trading companies and religious orders in the Renaissance era, describing the cultural politics of European contact with countries from Siam to Japan.

The book comprises a series of essays written by international scholars, each of which focuses on a particular aspect of religious, cultural, political, and economic exchange. Subjects under scrutiny include Dutch methods of globalisation, the Jesuits’ attempts to introduce European culture into China, the part played by the Far East in the English imagination, and the documentary resources available to chroniclers who recorded the journeys of their countrymen. Collectively, the essays establish the importance of Asia as a place of aspiration and experience in the early modern period.