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Embattled Earth: Commodities, Conflict and Climate Change in the Indian Ocean



Event Date 11 Oct 2018 (Thu), 11:30 AM - 01:00 PM
Venue HSS Auditorium (Location Map)
Organiser Shirley Chew (Email : annmarie@ntu.edu.sg )


Event Info

Embattled Earth: Commodities, Conflict and Climate Change in the Indian Ocean

By Amitav Ghosh

11 October 2018
HSS Auditorium (Level B1)

Abstract

Since the time of Vasco da Gama’s voyage, the Indian Ocean has been the theatre of intense imperial rivalries over commodities and resources. For centuries the main players in these conflicts were Western colonial powers, but over the last few decades the countries of the Indian Ocean rim have themselves become major consumers of commodities and resources. As such they are now among the principal drivers of anthropogenic climate change, an ongoing process that will have catastrophic consequences for the billions of people who live around the Indian Ocean. This presentation explores the continuities between the resource conflicts of the past and the future by focusing on two transformative imperial wars: the Anglo-Dutch spice wars of the 17th century and the 1st Opium War of 1840-42. It also poses some related questions: are the imperatives of empire and military supremacy among the major drivers of climate change? If so, why are these issues generally elided? Does the fact that the discourse on climate change is largely produced within university-based contexts have anything to do with this elision?

 



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