In terms of Western historiography, global history remains a nascent field. The diversely and globally located formal and informal enclaves does not mean that the overseas experiences belong to the Portuguese people alone, they were not to be claimed exclusively by Asians, Africans or Brazilians either; but as one scholar remarked -it was a shared memory
Like its more "matured" British counterpart, Portuguese history is increasingly interacting with indigenous and primary sources. Russell-Wood's Portuguese Empire is built on largely secondary sources, as expected; including afew Portuguese primary materials. Mastering the languages and the necessary paleography remains a daunting task for any historian. Eventhough the perspective might be Portuguese, the issues dealt with are global in nature; qualifying it in the category of world history. Russell-Wood also clarified from the beginning that he will not be probing too much into the political-administrative-military aspect but with explore the technologies, geography, demography, economics, ideas and dynamics of ecology (ie flora, fauna and disease)
In terms of perspective, the Portuguese Empire does indeed take on a "new history" approach, looking not only at the business of "the high class" in society (ie administrators and clergy) but also at the individuals and the voiceless
Whether in terms of human experience or traffic of goods, Russell-Wood has woven the international nature of the Portuguese empire well into the book. In an illustration of the former, there was a father and son team who were given appointments from Brazil to Africa to Goa and Macao and even returning briefly to Portugal to participate in the War of Spanish Succession (p 70-1). In the terms of trade, cloves from Ternate were carried to Malacca, to Cochim, then to Lisbon, reloaded there for Morocco and exchanged for wheat which became a further part of the exchange system of the South Atlantic (p 134). Excellent maps and tables were also interspersed in the book to explain the flow and traffic of commodities exchanged between the Portuguese and their hosts or that of the complicated wind system of the Atlantic or Indian Ocean
In some ways, the largely non new primary resource based and reinterpretative nature of the book meant it will still resonates afew outdated ideas. For example, the book continues to portray a planned approach by which the Portuguese were undertaking their overseas enterprise (p 21). Even the historians of the more "successful" British are conceiting that the formation of its First Empire might be more haphazard that what have been previously believed. Granted, the Portuguese venture had seen more of the state/crown intervention in the beginning than the private enterprise approach of the British; logistical and technological challenges of the time forbid a more coordinated effort
The book professed to look at development of the "Portuguese Empire" to the eve of the Napoleonic Wars just on the onset of nineteenth century (beginning of modern era?). Space does not permit it to treat the entire period with justice even on the secondary sources available. On trying to tie the Portuguese world together, the book did a splendid job and certainly complement, as the author humbly acknowledged, Boxer CR's magnificently written Portuguese Seaborne Empire as well as many other research done to date on political and military aspect of this human experience
"[Russell-Wood] enumerates Portuguese contributions to other peoples' pasts and presents, especially in the contexts of the 'ebb and flow of commodities,' the 'dissemination of flora and fauna' and the 'transmission of styles, theories and ideas.' The original feature is the author's concentration on people and transport as vectors of cultural exchange... He evokes a lively picture of the highly mobile merchants, missionaries and administrators who hurried back and forth across oceans and continents to keep the enterprise going." -- Times Literary Supplement
This is the story of the first and one of the greatest colonial empires: its birth, apotheosis, and decline. By approaching the history of the Portuguese empire thematically, A. J. R. Russell-Wood is able to pursue ideas and make connections that previously have been constrained by strict chronological approaches. Using the study of movement as a focus, Russell-Wood gains unique insight into the diversity, breadth, and balance between the competing interests and priorities that characterized the Portuguese culture and its expansion spanning four centuries' events on four different continents.
"A. J. R. Russell-Wood realized that human and geographical factors contributed much to Portuguese success. Some practices were responses to the colonial experience itself. He therefore culled this historical literature, largely modern works in English including his own, to explore a rich variety of aspects of the Portuguese colonial empire... If geography is defined as mankind's relationship with its planet, this book is the essence of historical geography. Informative and entertaining, it is important for its new approach and insights, and because it confirms the amazing global perspective of Portugal's colonial rulers." -- Journal of Historical Geography
"This is a book where every page bears witness to the author's fascination with the Portuguese colonial world and his deep love of his subject. It is the kind of book which results from a scholar's decision to open to the world the files he has accumulated in a lifetime's reading. As a result it is a sort of encyclopaedia of strange and recondite information, colourful detail, anecdotes and quotations. It is certainly a book that any student of Portuguese colonial activity would want to read and, indeed, to own." -- Mariner's Mirror