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Technological and Strategic Superiority: An Analysis

In: The Political Economy of the Indigenous Peoples of the World, Volume I

Author

Listed:
  • Sangaralingam Ramesh

    (University College London
    University of Oxford)

Abstract

This chapter analyses the technological and strategic systems that enabled European dominance between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, arguing against deterministic narratives of inherent civilizational superiority. It details how maritime technologies (e.g., caravels and galleons), navigational instruments (astrolabe, magnetic compass), and knowledge of wind systems (trade winds, westerlies) made sustained oceanic projection possible. The chapter also examines military advantages—gunpowder weaponry, combined arms tactics, discipline, steel, and cavalry—and how asymmetries shaped conquests such as that of the Inca Empire. Beyond warfare, it highlights the agricultural transformations and demographic surpluses that underwrote imperial ventures, including crop rotation, livestock regimes, and the translocation of crops and animals that reshaped Indigenous ecologies and food systems. The chapter situates these advantages within broader institutional and logistical capacities, emphasizing that “superiority” was assembled through systems, not essence.

Suggested Citation

  • Sangaralingam Ramesh, 2026. "Technological and Strategic Superiority: An Analysis," Springer Books, in: The Political Economy of the Indigenous Peoples of the World, Volume I, chapter 4, pages 179-242, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-24041-5_4
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-24041-5_4
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