In all ages, tribes, races, states, or nations have interrelated with trade, treaties, and, all too often, war. But not until the mid-16th century did dominating groups assume that success on the battlefield meant superiority of culture. As a result, certain cultural patterns and outlooks have dominated at the expense of others-for example, the Judeo-Christian view of history as a linear, unidirectional process, over the cyclical view held by many other cultures. This landmark collection of essays and lectures explores key encounters in many times and places, including Constantinople and Baghdad through the Middle Ages, the British in India, and present-day situations in China, Columbia, and Malaysia.