Donkey and the Boat
Book • 2023
Chris Wickham's work, referred to here as The Donkey and the Boat, explores economic history across broad geographies, focusing on transportation, production, and market integration in past societies.
Wickham uses interdisciplinary evidence to trace continuities and changes in economic organization from late antiquity through the medieval period.
His research emphasizes local and regional networks, the role of labor and transport, and the interaction between small producers and larger market systems.
The book challenges simplified periodizations by showing complex, variegated economic dynamics across Europe and the Mediterranean.
It has become a touchstone for historians seeking to understand premodern economies beyond elite-focused narratives.
Wickham uses interdisciplinary evidence to trace continuities and changes in economic organization from late antiquity through the medieval period.
His research emphasizes local and regional networks, the role of labor and transport, and the interaction between small producers and larger market systems.
The book challenges simplified periodizations by showing complex, variegated economic dynamics across Europe and the Mediterranean.
It has become a touchstone for historians seeking to understand premodern economies beyond elite-focused narratives.
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Morteza Hajizadeh
Kim Bowes, "Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent" (Princeton UP, 2025)
Mentioned by
Morteza Hajizadeh
Kim Bowes, "Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent" (Princeton UP, 2025)
