John Wills is Professor of History Emeritus, University of Southern California, and the author of Pepper, Guns, and Parleys: The Dutch East India Company and China, 1662-1681; Embassies and Illusions: Dutch and Portuguese Envoys to K'ang-hsi, 1666-1687; Mountain of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History; and 1688: A Global History.

As a text for the classroom, Wills' work has several merits. The prose is lively and direct, and is written by one who is fully in command of his multiple and interweaving stories.

• Prologue: Texas and the World ; 1. Islam and a Wider World, 1450-1490 ; 2. The Columbian Exchange, 1490-1530 ; 3. Old Ways Made New, 1530-1570 ; 4. New Shapes of Power, 1570-1610 ; 5. Settlers and Slaves, 1610-1640 ; 6. Time of Troubles, 1640-1670 ; 7. Toward an Early Modern World, 1670-1700

John Wills is Professor of History Emeritus, University of Southern California, and the author of Pepper, Guns, and Parleys: The Dutch East India Company and China, 1662-1681; Embassies and Illusions: Dutch and Portuguese Envoys to K'ang-hsi, 1666-1687; Mountain of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History; and 1688: A Global History.

As a text for the classroom, Wills' work has several merits. The prose is lively and direct, and is written by one who is fully in command of his multiple and interweaving stories.

• Prologue: Texas and the World ; 1. Islam and a Wider World, 1450-1490 ; 2. The Columbian Exchange, 1490-1530 ; 3. Old Ways Made New, 1530-1570 ; 4. New Shapes of Power, 1570-1610 ; 5. Settlers and Slaves, 1610-1640 ; 6. Time of Troubles, 1640-1670 ; 7. Toward an Early Modern World, 1670-1700

John Wills is Professor of History Emeritus, University of Southern California, and the author of Pepper, Guns, and Parleys: The Dutch East India Company and China, 1662-1681; Embassies and Illusions: Dutch and Portuguese Envoys to K'ang-hsi, 1666-1687; Mountain of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History; and 1688: A Global History.

As a text for the classroom, Wills' work has several merits. The prose is lively and direct, and is written by one who is fully in command of his multiple and interweaving stories.

• Prologue: Texas and the World ; 1. Islam and a Wider World, 1450-1490 ; 2. The Columbian Exchange, 1490-1530 ; 3. Old Ways Made New, 1530-1570 ; 4. New Shapes of Power, 1570-1610 ; 5. Settlers and Slaves, 1610-1640 ; 6. Time of Troubles, 1640-1670 ; 7. Toward an Early Modern World, 1670-1700