Description
Book SynopsisExamines the commodity chains that have connected producers in Latin America with consumers around the world for five hundred years
Trade Review“
From Silver to Cocaine is an ambitious and novel application of the ‘commodity chain’ approach to the insertion of a whole continent into the world economy. It has no rivals.”—William Gervase Clarence-Smith, author of
Cocoa and Chocolate, 1765–1914“
From Silver to Cocaine is an important and innovative collection. It provides a corrective to the purely national studies of commodities and of export sectors, and to studies that posit influence in only one direction, focusing on the international penetration of capital and trade into Latin America. This book makes a strong statement about the direction of future research: it should be required reading for anyone interested in the economic history of Latin America, broadly conceived.”—Edward Beatty, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame
“[A] very sound economic history of some of the most important Latin American commodities, one that sheds new light on the histories of the producing countries. Anyone wishing to learn about the individual commodities and the impact of this trade on Latin America history will do well to read this great collection. Just as importantly, though, it provides a sound starting point for a comparative, more global history that can explore the integration of Latin America into the world economy in a more complex manner than can be achieved through the aggregation of national economic histories.” -- Alejandra Irigoin * Social History *
“All in all, this is an important volume. The commodity chain approach stimulates economic historians to think beyond national boundaries and contextualizes products within a wider geographical framework. It combines production with consumption, the latter a largely overlooked theme . . . . [T]hese case studies illuminate the economic realities of Latin America and beyond in new and interesting ways.” -- Erick D. Langer * Journal of Social History *
“There is much merit in this book, and indeed, in a commodity-chain approach to the study of the varied primary products emanating from Latin America and the Caribbean. It is well put together by the editors, and the translations of chapters written originally in a different language are of a high standard. It is also timely, as globalization and the rise of Chinese demand are driving many Latin American countries back to concentration on commodity exports.” -- Victor Bulmer-Thomas * Business History Review *
Table of ContentsIntroduction. Commodity Chains in Theory and in Latin American History / Steven Topik, Carlos Marichal, and Zephyr Frank 1
1. The Spanish-American Peso: Export Commodity and Global Money of the Ancient Regime, 1550–1800 / Carlos Marichal 25
2. Indigo Commodity Chains in the Spanish and British Empire, 1560–1860 / David McCreery 53
3. Mexican Cochineal and the European Demand for American Dyes, 1550–1850 / Carlos Marichal 76
4.Colonial Tobacco: Key Commodity of the Spanish Empire, 1500–1800 / Laura Nater 93
5. The Latin American Coffee Commodity Chain: Brazil and Costa Rica / Steven Topik and Mario Samper 118
6. Trade Regimes and the International Sugar Market, 1850–1980: Protectionism, Subsides, and Regulation / Horacio Crespo 147
7. The Local and the Global: Internal and External Factors in the Development of Bahia’s Cacao Sector / Mary Ann Mahony 174
8. Banana Boats and Baby Food: The Banana in U.S. History / Marcelo Bucheli and Ian Read 204
9. The Fertilizer Commodity Chains: Guano and Nitrate, 1840–1930 / Rory Miller and Robert Greenhill 228
10. Brazil in the International Rubber Trade, 1870–1930 / Zephyr Frank and Also Musacchio 271
11. Reports of Its Demise Are Not Exaggerated: The Life and Times of Yucatecan Henequen / Allen Wells 300
12. Cocaine in Chains: The Rise and Demise of Global Commodity, 1860–1950 / Paul Gootenberg 321
Conclusion: Commodity Chains and Globalization in Historical Perspective / Carlos Marichal, Steven Topik, and Zephyr Frank 352
Contributors 361
Index 365
