Before European Hegemony Part II

Where the first half of the book detailed the rise of economy pre-1300, the second half almost exclusively discusses the decline of each of the pivotal areas. The author repeatedly reminds her reader that if "strategic location" was the only factor, all the regions would have unlimited success but that, as is evident from the decline of the various areas, there are a number of other factors at work.
Baghdad utilizes the gulf as a strategic location as it allows access to the different civilizations of the time. However, it loses its value as an economic hub by breaking up ties with Persia, making trade more difficult. Also, the costs of protecting the area and controlling it proved more arduous than was do-able at times. Egypt had a great location as well, and with Venice, was a powerful player in the trade system. They both, Egypt and Venice, lose their high position by the discovery of the "circumnavigation" of Africa. India takes the lead after Egypt is depopulated and devastated by the Black Plague. India then loses its place by constantly absorbing trade surpluses. It produced many valuable items but often did not profit from it for this reason. Also, India's neighbors, the Muslims on the west and Chinese on the East, kind of take over India's control of the routes. Later, Portugal takes over China's half. China essentially completes the "world system," making all areas of the world accessible through its routes.
I found the last part about the future of world systems intriguing. The prediction, as Abu-Lughod tells us, is the hegemony of Europe. However, she seems to give a notion that things can change and this is not an all together easy prediction to make given the weight of many different factors. Although the US has dominated recently, this (currently) seems as though it will not always be the trend. Her last statement is that there is much to be learned from the world systems of previous days, namely the thirteenth century. In the arrogance of dominating areas or countries, it seems that rather than considering what can be learned, the approach for success will simply to be to pursue what is most lucrative.
What will the future of world systems be? I also wonder if during this time there was an appreciation for the trades that were being made in light of there being new access to things that were previously not given a thought (like produce, spices, silk - items we hardly consider luxuries now) and also in awareness of the difficulty in accessing these goods. We hardly give this any consideration now when our produce comes from great distances and the majority of the products we use are not made on our continent, let alone our country. So I guess my question is somewhat tangential from the readings. Did people realize or greatly appreciate the products that were imported from afar? And also: Will Europe dominate in the end?
A.Gorno