Lords of the Sea by Peter D. Shapinsky - 9781929280810

Lords of the SeaPirates, Violence, and Commerce in Late Medieval Japan\nAuthor(s): Peter D. Shapinsky\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: The University of Michigan Press, United States\nImprint: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan\nISBN-13: 9781929280810, 978-1929280810\nSynopsis\nLords of the Sea revises our understanding of the epic political, economic, and cultural transformations of Japans late medieval period (ca. [tel] by shifting the conventional land-based analytical framework to one centered on the perspectives of seafarers who, though usually dismissed as \""pirates,\"" thought of themselves as sea lords. Over the course of these centuries, Japans sea lords became maritime magnates who wielded increasing amounts of political and economic authority by developing autonomous maritime domains that operated outside the auspices of state authority. They played key roles in the operation of networks linking Japan to the rest of the world, and their protection businesses,.