A History of Gold and Money, 1450 to 1920

A History of Gold and Money, 1450 to 1920 PDF Author: Pierre Vilar
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
For much of human history, the motive force behind war, conquest, social conflict and world exploration has been the drive to acquire gold. From the ancient world of Croesus to the wealthy dynasties of Renaissance Italy, from the earliest European explorations into Africa, America, and Asia to the gold rushes of the nineteenth century and the banking crises that lay beyond them, Pierre Vilar depicts the awesome power of avarice to structure the world in which we live. The insidious power of gold and money is the subject of this enlightening and entertaining history. The age of exploration brought an influx of treasure into Western Europe, prompting disputes between theologians and early economists over the causes of inflation in the sixteenth century. In time, American silver distorted metropolitan Spanish society beyond recognition. Vilar goes on to examine the roots of the modern banking and financial systems in institutions founded in Holland, England and France during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. And in the nineteenth century, the gold rushes of Australia, California and South Africa generated new modifications in the international monetary system. Vilar concludes the story of these developments with a discussion of the crisis of the 1920s that, in the wake of the world credit crash of 2008, is more pertinent than ever. A History of Gold and Money provides a unique work of synthesis on the role of money in modern economic history.

A History of Gold and Money, 1450 to 1920

A History of Gold and Money, 1450 to 1920 PDF Author: Pierre Vilar
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 370

Get Book Here

Book Description
For much of human history, the motive force behind war, conquest, social conflict and world exploration has been the drive to acquire gold. From the ancient world of Croesus to the wealthy dynasties of Renaissance Italy, from the earliest European explorations into Africa, America, and Asia to the gold rushes of the nineteenth century and the banking crises that lay beyond them, Pierre Vilar depicts the awesome power of avarice to structure the world in which we live. The insidious power of gold and money is the subject of this enlightening and entertaining history. The age of exploration brought an influx of treasure into Western Europe, prompting disputes between theologians and early economists over the causes of inflation in the sixteenth century. In time, American silver distorted metropolitan Spanish society beyond recognition. Vilar goes on to examine the roots of the modern banking and financial systems in institutions founded in Holland, England and France during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. And in the nineteenth century, the gold rushes of Australia, California and South Africa generated new modifications in the international monetary system. Vilar concludes the story of these developments with a discussion of the crisis of the 1920s that, in the wake of the world credit crash of 2008, is more pertinent than ever. A History of Gold and Money provides a unique work of synthesis on the role of money in modern economic history.

A History of Gold and Money, 1450-1920

A History of Gold and Money, 1450-1920 PDF Author: Pierre Vilar
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description


The History of Money

The History of Money PDF Author: Jack Weatherford
Publisher: Crown Currency
ISBN: 0307556743
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
“If you’re interested in the revolutionary transformation of the meaning and use of money, this is the book to read!”—Charles R. Schwab Cultural anthropologist Jack Weatherford traces our relationship with money, from primitive man’s cowrie shells to the electronic cash card, from the markets of Timbuktu to the New York Stock Exchange. The History of Money explores how money and the myriad forms of exchange have affected humanity, and how they will continue to shape all aspects of our lives—economic, political, and personal. “A fascinating book about the force that makes the world go round—the dollars, pounds, francs, marks, bahts, ringits, kwansas, levs, biplwelles, yuans, quetzales, pa’angas, ngultrums, ouguiyas, and other 200-odd brand names that collectively make up the mysterious thing we call money.”—Los Angeles Times

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History PDF Author: Joel Mokyr
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190282991
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 2812

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Book Description
What were the economic roots of modern industrialism? Were labor unions ever effective in raising workers' living standards? Did high levels of taxation in the past normally lead to economic decline? These and similar questions profoundly inform a wide range of intertwined social issues whose complexity, scope, and depth become fully evident in the Encyclopedia. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the field, the Encyclopedia is divided not only by chronological and geographic boundaries, but also by related subfields such as agricultural history, demographic history, business history, and the histories of technology, migration, and transportation. The articles, all written and signed by international contributors, include scholars from Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Covering economic history in all areas of the world and segments of ecnomies from prehistoric times to the present, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History is the ideal resource for students, economists, and general readers, offering a unique glimpse into this integral part of world history.

The Anthropology of Precious Minerals

The Anthropology of Precious Minerals PDF Author: Elizabeth Ferry
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1487517343
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
Why do people single out gold, sapphires, diamonds, and other minerals as particularly “precious”? What makes precious minerals “precious”? Drawing from ethnographic and cross-cultural research, this collection of anthropological essays and case studies answers these questions by exploring humans’ multifaceted relationships with the minerals they deem “precious.” The Anthropology of Precious Minerals addresses the entanglement of humans and minerals, with a particular focus on the practices of scrappers, miners, and hunters as they work to extract value. The editors draw from history, archaeology, and ethnography, and remind us that “preciousness” must always be understood in relation to complex cultural, political-economic, and semiotic systems of value.

Free Banking and Monetary Reform

Free Banking and Monetary Reform PDF Author: David Glasner
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521361753
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
This book boldly challenges the conventional view that the state must play a dominant role in the monetary system.

The World of the Indian Ocean, 1500-1800

The World of the Indian Ocean, 1500-1800 PDF Author: M.N. Pearson
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040233945
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
The articles in The World of the Indian Ocean, 1500-1800 describe the activities of people living on the coasts of the Indian Ocean, generously defined, during the early modern period. Most are based, at least in part, on Portuguese materials. A broad theme linking them all is the claim that in most areas of society and economy early modern Europeans and Asians had much in common, with the newly arrived Europeans having no particular advantage over their Asian interlocutors. The first five studies discuss aspects of trade and commerce, while the next group deal with social and religious themes, including conversions and a much quoted early attempt to investigate 'littoral society'. The third section presents four discussions of aspects of the early contact between Indian and European medical systems.

Making Money in Sixteenth-Century France

Making Money in Sixteenth-Century France PDF Author: Jotham Parsons
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801454972
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 378

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Book Description
Coinage and currency—abstract and socially created units of value and power—were basic to early modern society. By controlling money, the people sought to understand and control their complex, expanding, and interdependent world. In Making Money in Sixteenth-Century France, Jotham Parsons investigates the creation and circulation of currency in France. The royal Cour des Monnaies centralized monetary administration, expanding its role in the emerging modern state during the sixteenth century and assuming new powers as an often controversial repository of theoretical and administrative expertise.The Cour des Monnaies, Parsons shows, played an important role in developing the contemporary understanding of money, as a source of both danger and opportunity at the center of economic and political life. More practically, the Monnaies led generally successful responses to the endemic inflation of the era and the monetary chaos of a period of civil war. Its work investigating and prosecuting counterfeiters shone light into a picaresque world of those who used the abstract and artificial nature of money for their own ends. Parsons's broad, multidimensional portrait of money in early modern France also encompasses the literature of the age, in which money's arbitrary and dangerous power was a major theme.

Historical Economics

Historical Economics PDF Author: Charles Poor Kindleberger
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520073432
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
Charles P. Kindleberger's writing has ranged widely in the past, from international economics to such specialized topics as the Marshall Plan. In recent years, however, his perspective has shifted to one that tempers the rigidity of technical economics with the flexibility of the liberal arts. Historical economics, drawing on history, politics, cultural anthropology, sociology, and geography, bridges the gap between abstraction and fact engendered by traditional conceptions of economic science. Inherently interdisciplinary, historical economics ultimately leads to a more meaningful understanding of contemporary economic phenomena. This selection of Kindleberger's work has been carefully culled to illustrate his approach to the subject. The essays cover a range of historical periods and in addition to his well known writing on financial issues also include European history and explorations of long-run changes in the American economy. Economists and historians, both the converted and the unconvinced, will want to consult this powerful argument for the importance of historical economics.

Gold

Gold PDF Author: Shannon L. Kenny
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 524

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Book Description
This encyclopedia provides detailed information about the historical, cultural, social, religious, economic, and scientific significance of gold, across the globe and throughout history. Gold has been an intrinsic part of human culture and society throughout the world, both in ancient times and in the modern era. This precious metal has also played a central role in economics and politics throughout history. In fact, the value of gold remains a topic of debate amid the current upheavals of economic conditions and attendant reevaluations of modern financial principles. Gold: A Cultural Encyclopedia consists of more than 130 entries that encompass every aspect of gold, ranging from the ancient metallurgical arts to contemporary economies. The connections between these interdisciplinary subjects are explored and analyzed to highlight the many ways humankind's fascination with gold reflects historical, cultural, economic, and geographic developments. While the majority of the works related to gold focus on economic theory, this text goes beyond that to take a more sociocultural approach to the subject.