The Indian Ocean is no stranger to the Chinese people’s knowledge structure，Ancient Fa Xian、Zheng He and others are all related to this sea area，The bet365 free bets transportation between China and the West and the bet365 free bets exchanges between China and foreign countries also pay great attention to the flow of material civilization through this sea area，Has a lot of writings。However，The tradition of national history research allows us to understand only a few of them，But its connection with the ocean is not clear。Therefore，Richard Hall's "Monsoon Empire: A bet365 free bets the Indian Ocean and Its Invaders" just provides us with a window into the Indian Ocean。

This book was written in 1996，Translated into Chinese in 2019。Richard Hall was born in Australia in 1925，Served in the Royal Navy after growing up here，Going to Oxford University to study again，Then become a foreign correspondent，Long-term dealings with Africa，Living in Africa for more than ten years。His in-depth knowledge of East Africa，Provides a unique perspective for writing the bet365 free bets the Indian Ocean。While he is working as a reporter，Also engage in research following his own interests，Published a series of works，In the 1990s，He finally wrote a "bet365 free bets the Indian Ocean" with a broader perspective。As can be seen from the acknowledgments section of the book，The author’s idea was inspired by oil merchants。In preparation for writing this book，The author consulted a large amount of information，Includes the latest Indian Ocean history books and academic journals，Therefore，This book is also very academic。However，He still writes this bet365 free bets the Indian Ocean based on East Africa, which he is most familiar with，A considerable amount of it is related to East Africa，This brings readers a unique spatial perspective。

In time，This book focuses on the period from around 1000 AD to the beginning bet365 free bets 20th century，According to pre-colonial times、Portuguese Empire、The British Empire is divided into three parts。

The first part tells the bet365 free bets 500 years before the invasion of Westerners，Selected many travelers who traveled between various parts of the Indian Ocean，From the 10th century Persian captain Shahriar、Masudi、Biruni to 14、Marco Polo in the 15th century、Ibn Battuta、Zheng He。Hall gave a detailed introduction to these Indian Ocean-related travelers and their works between East and West。He corrected the excessive attention paid to Marco Polo by Western intellectual circles，Giving considerable space to Ibn Battuta，Think that it is the prejudice and limitations of Western intellectual circles that have led to the latter being ignored。

The second part mainly focuses on Portugal’s “discovery” and colonization of the Indian bet365 free bets region，A detailed introduction to how Portugal, located in the westernmost corner of the Asian, African and European continent, entered the Indian bet365 free bets step by step，And established many colonial strongholds here。In addition to traditional issues，Hall also spent a lot of time introducing the Portuguese in Mozambique、Activities in Ethiopia and other East African regions，Some go deep into the hinterland for exploration and missionary work，Some are repeatedly fighting for a certain stronghold。Also introduces the activities of the Portuguese on the west coast of India，Alliance with Hindu regimes in the interior against Muslim regimes along the coast。For the success of Spain’s colonization in the Americas and the failure of Portugal’s colonization in the Indian bet365 free bets，Hall believes，The strong traditional continuity and "stubbornness" around the Indian bet365 free bets make it difficult to be conquered by Portugal。This also maintains long-term continuity in the Indian bet365 free bets region。

The third part focuses on British colonization in the Indian Ocean。Portuguese power declined at the end of the 17th century，But for the Netherlands and France who are coming up，Hall actually didn’t spend much writing，Often passed by in one stroke，Instead, it focuses on how the British built a "near lake"。And，This part also introduces the British colonists in great detail、The expansion of explorers into the interior of East Africa。However，Compared with the previous two parts，This part is not very exciting to read，Seems like returning to traditional colonial bet365 free bets、The framework of white expansion bet365 free bets。

bet365 free bets thick book of more than 500 pages，It has several characteristics。

1st，Strong narrative，Focus on characters，Can catch people。This may be inseparable from the author’s long career as a journalist。He vividly portrayed some characters，Some of them are like sketches, and the image suddenly appears on the paper with just a few strokes，Some are as thick and colorful as oil paintings.，Impressive。This book does not have cumbersome academic research，Instead, the narrative is told in a light tone and tense rhythm。This is different from Braudelian structuralist historiography，Bringing narrative back to historical writing。Of course，This writing style was inherited by his successor, Australian historian Michael Pearson, in his book "bet365 free bets the Indian Ocean"，It’s just that the latter portrays more ordinary people，And Hall mainly focuses on elites。

Second，Although the book can be classified as "bet365 free bets the Indian Ocean"，But the main narrative is the bet365 free bets the empire、Political History，And has a strong British central color。Even in the end Hall criticized imperialism，However, the narrative characteristics of British-centered colonial history are still obvious。

Of course，Hall personally experienced the vigorous and long decolonization process in East Africa，This book was written in the 1990s，Therefore，He also transcends the writing of traditional imperial history，Also pays more attention to the bet365 free bets local people and areas around the Indian Ocean。Among them，To Ethiopia、Mozambique and others have written more，Reveals the intricate relationships and diversity of interest groups in these places themselves，Helps us avoid either/or perceptions。Especially Ethiopia，This mysterious country is regarded as the rule of "Priest John"，There is a lot of "in-depth reporting" in this book，Completely different from the traditional voyage narrative。

　Third，The book focuses on comparison and connection，Always talk about the Indian Ocean periphery as a whole。Although his research background is East Africa，But for India in South Asia、Sri Lanka also pays a lot of attention，Southeast Asia is rarely covered，Western Australia is not even mentioned。But，The entire Indian Ocean is basically presented to the reader。Since each area was given a detailed inspection，Especially East Africa，The characteristics of regional bet365 free bets are particularly obvious，This is very important to supplement the traditional national bet365 free bets narrative，And give people a deep understanding of geopolitics。This is why Hall’s book had a great influence on the American geostrategist Robert Kaplan，The latter's book "Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power" can be seen as a tribute to Hall。

Writing of Indian Ocean History，Experienced great changes in the past 20 to 30 years。Braudel’s long-term emphasis on the material civilization and geography of the Mediterranean，Profoundly influenced the writing of Indian Ocean history。For example, Chaudhry’s two histories of the Indian Ocean written in 1985 and 1990，bet365 free bets the Indian Ocean written by Kenneth Macpherson in 1994，Everyone has begun to write the situation of the people around the Indian Ocean into the bet365 free bets the Indian Ocean，Pay more attention to daily life and local people。Of course，This is also consistent with the philosophy of the Annales School，That is to transfer the object of history writing from the upper elite to the common people and the economy and society。Works that pay more attention to coastal society include Pearson's "bet365 free bets the Indian Ocean" written in 2003, which I translated，Opened the ecological environment transition。Pearson focuses on the Swahili coast and interior areas，And its connection with the world economy，Focus on the Portuguese’s connections with East African coastal city-states and hinterland。His "bet365 free bets the Indian Ocean" even proposed the concept of "coastal society" or "coastal society"，Thus returning to Braudelian maritime history。Hall, on the other hand, utilizes a traditional narrative style，Returning heroes、Explorer、Colonizer，Telling about wonderful adventures、Conquer、Expansion and other events。Combining these two modes，Perhaps it will be helpful to our understanding of the Indian Ocean world。

　(The author is a professor in the bet365 free bets Department of East China Normal University)