Silver, Trade, and War

Silver, Trade, and War PDF Author: Stanley J. Stein
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801861352
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
Silver, Trade, and War is about men and markets, national rivalries, diplomacy and conflict, and the advancement or stagnation of states. Chosen by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title The 250 years covered by Silver, Trade, and War marked the era of commercial capitalism, that bridge between late medieval and modern times. Spain, peripheral to western Europe in 1500, produced American treasure in silver, which Spanish convoys bore from Portobelo and Veracruz on the Carribbean coast across the Atlantic to Spain in exchange for European goods shipped from Sevilla (later, Cadiz). Spanish colonialism, the authors suggest, was the cutting edge of the early global economy. America's silver permitted Spain to graft early capitalistic elements onto its late medieval structures, reinforcing its patrimonialism and dynasticism. However, the authors argue, silver gave Spain an illusion of wealth, security, and hegemony, while its system of "managed" transatlantic trade failed to monitor silver flows that were beyond the control of government officials. While Spain's intervention buttressed Hapsburg efforts at hegemony in Europe, it induced the formation of protonationalist state formations, notably in England and France. The treaty of Utrecht (1714) emphasized the lag between developing England and France, and stagnating Spain, and the persistence of Spain's late medieval structures. These were basic elements of what the authors term Spain's Hapsburg "legacy." Over the first half of the eighteenth century, Spain under the Bourbons tried to contain expansionist France and England in the Caribbean and to formulate and implement policies competitors seemed to apply successfully to their overseas possessions, namely, a colonial compact. Spain's policy planners (proyectistas) scanned abroad for models of modernization adaptable to Spain and its American colonies without risking institutional change. The second part of the book, "Toward a Spanish-Bourbon Paradigm," analyzes the projectors' works and their minimal impact in the context of the changing Atlantic scene until 1759. By then, despite its efforts, Spain could no longer compete successfully with England and France in the international economy. Throughout the book a colonial rather than metropolitan prism informs the authors' interpretation of the major themes examined.

Silver, Trade, and War

Silver, Trade, and War PDF Author: Stanley J. Stein
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801861352
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 382

Get Book Here

Book Description
Silver, Trade, and War is about men and markets, national rivalries, diplomacy and conflict, and the advancement or stagnation of states. Chosen by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title The 250 years covered by Silver, Trade, and War marked the era of commercial capitalism, that bridge between late medieval and modern times. Spain, peripheral to western Europe in 1500, produced American treasure in silver, which Spanish convoys bore from Portobelo and Veracruz on the Carribbean coast across the Atlantic to Spain in exchange for European goods shipped from Sevilla (later, Cadiz). Spanish colonialism, the authors suggest, was the cutting edge of the early global economy. America's silver permitted Spain to graft early capitalistic elements onto its late medieval structures, reinforcing its patrimonialism and dynasticism. However, the authors argue, silver gave Spain an illusion of wealth, security, and hegemony, while its system of "managed" transatlantic trade failed to monitor silver flows that were beyond the control of government officials. While Spain's intervention buttressed Hapsburg efforts at hegemony in Europe, it induced the formation of protonationalist state formations, notably in England and France. The treaty of Utrecht (1714) emphasized the lag between developing England and France, and stagnating Spain, and the persistence of Spain's late medieval structures. These were basic elements of what the authors term Spain's Hapsburg "legacy." Over the first half of the eighteenth century, Spain under the Bourbons tried to contain expansionist France and England in the Caribbean and to formulate and implement policies competitors seemed to apply successfully to their overseas possessions, namely, a colonial compact. Spain's policy planners (proyectistas) scanned abroad for models of modernization adaptable to Spain and its American colonies without risking institutional change. The second part of the book, "Toward a Spanish-Bourbon Paradigm," analyzes the projectors' works and their minimal impact in the context of the changing Atlantic scene until 1759. By then, despite its efforts, Spain could no longer compete successfully with England and France in the international economy. Throughout the book a colonial rather than metropolitan prism informs the authors' interpretation of the major themes examined.

Silver, Trade, and War

Silver, Trade, and War PDF Author: Stanley J. Stein
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press+ORM
ISBN: 0801876958
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 600

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Book Description
A look at the interaction of America, Spain, and Europe between 1500 and 1750, focusing on Spain’s role in Europe’s expansion across the Atlantic. The 250 years covered by this book marked the era of commercial capitalism, bridging late medieval and modern times. In 1500, Spain brought American silver back home across the Atlantic in exchange for European goods. Spanish colonialism, the authors suggest, was the cutting edge of the early global economy. America’s silver enabled Spain to bring elements of capitalism into its late medieval society. However, the authors argue, silver gave Spain illusions of wealth, security, and dominance, while its system of “managed” transatlantic trade failed to monitor silver flows that were beyond government control. While Spain’s intervention reinforced Hapsburg efforts at hegemony in Europe, it also led to proto-nationalist state formations, notably in England and France. 1714’s Treaty of Utrecht emphasized the lag between developing England and France, and stagnating Spain, and the persistence of Spain’s late medieval structures. These were basic elements of what the authors term Spain’s Hapsburg “legacy.” Over the first half of the eighteenth century, Spain under the Bourbons tried to contain expansionist France and England in the Caribbean and to create policies competitors seemed to apply successfully to their overseas possessions, namely, a colonial compact. Spain’s policy planners (proyectistas) scanned abroad for models of modernization adaptable to Spain and its American colonies without risking institutional change. The second part of the book analyzes the projectors’ works and their minimal impact on the changing Atlantic scene until 1759. By then, despite its efforts, Spain could no longer compete with England and France in the international economy. Silver, Trade, and War is about markets, national rivalries, diplomacy, conflict, and the advancement or stagnation of states.

The Story of Silver

The Story of Silver PDF Author: William L. Silber
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691208697
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
"This is the story of silver's transformation from soft money during the nineteenth century to hard asset today, and how manipulations of the white metal by American president Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1930s and by the richest man in the world, Texas oil baron Nelson Bunker Hunt, during the 1970s altered the course of American and world history. FDR pumped up the price of silver to help jump start the U.S. economy during the Great Depression, but this move weakened China, which was then on the silver standard, and facilitated Japan's rise to power before World War II. Bunker Hunt went on a silver-buying spree during the 1970s to protect himself against inflation and triggered a financial crisis that left him bankrupt. Silver has been the preferred shelter against government defaults, political instability, and inflation for most people in the world because it is cheaper than gold. The white metal has been the place to hide when conventional investments sour, but it has also seduced sophisticated investors throughout the ages like a siren. This book explains how powerful figures, up to and including Warren Buffett, have come under silver's thrall, and how its history guides economic and political decisions in the twenty-first century"--Publisher's description

China and the End of Global Silver, 1873–1937

China and the End of Global Silver, 1873–1937 PDF Author: Austin Dean
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501752421
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
In the late nineteenth century, as much of the world adopted some variant of the gold standard, China remained the most populous country still using silver. Yet China had no unified national currency; there was not one monetary standard but many. Silver coins circulated alongside chunks of silver and every transaction became an "encounter of wits." China and the End of Global Silver, 1873–1937 focuses on how officials, policy makers, bankers, merchants, academics, and journalists in China and around the world answered a simple question: how should China change its monetary system? Far from a narrow, technical issue, Chinese monetary reform is a dramatic story full of political revolutions, economic depressions, chance, and contingency. As different governments in China attempted to create a unified monetary standard in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the United States, England, and Japan tried to shape the direction of Chinese monetary reform for their own benefit. Austin Dean argues convincingly that the Silver Era in world history ended owing to the interaction of imperial competition in East Asia and the state-building projects of different governments in China. When the Nationalist government of China went off the silver standard in 1935, it marked a key moment not just in Chinese history but in world history.

Mexico City, 1808

Mexico City, 1808 PDF Author: John Tutino
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
ISBN: 0826360025
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
In 1800 Mexico City was the largest, richest, most powerful city in the Americas, its vibrant silver economy an engine of world trade. Then Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, desperate to gain New Spain’s silver. He broke Spain’s monarchy, setting off a summer of ferment in Mexico City. People took to the streets, dreaming of an absent king, seeking popular sovereignty, and imagining that the wealth of silver should serve New Spain and its people—until a military coup closed public debate. Political ferment continued while drought and famine stalked the land. Together they fueled the political and popular risings that exploded north of the capital in 1810. Tutino offers a new vision of the political violence and social conflicts that led to the fall of silver capitalism and Mexican independence in 1821. People demanding rights faced military defenders of power and privilege—the legacy of 1808 that shaped Mexican history.

Bonds of War

Bonds of War PDF Author: David K. Thomson
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469666626
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
How does one package and sell confidence in the stability of a nation riven by civil strife? This was the question that loomed before the Philadelphia financial house of Jay Cooke & Company,&8239;entrusted&8239;by the US government with an unprecedented sale of bonds to finance the Union war effort in the early days of the American Civil War.&8239;How the government and its agents marketed these bonds revealed a version of the war the public was willing to buy and buy into, based not just in the full faith and credit of the United States but also in the success of its armies and its long-term vision for open markets. From Maine to California, and in foreign halls of power and economic influence,&8239;thousands of agents were deployed to&8239;sell&8239;a clear message: Union victory was unleashing the American economy itself. This fascinating work of&8239;financial and political history&8239;during&8239;the Civil War&8239;era&8239;shows&8239;how the marketing and sale of bonds crossed the Atlantic to Europe and beyond, helping ensure foreign countries' vested interest in the Union's success. Indeed, David K. Thomson demonstrates how Europe, and ultimately all corners of the globe, grew deeply interdependent on American finance during, and in the immediate aftermath of, the American Civil War.&8239;

Tea, Silver, Opium and War

Tea, Silver, Opium and War PDF Author: Guotu Zhuang
Publisher:
ISBN: 9787561508626
Category : China
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description


Our Savage Neighbors

Our Savage Neighbors PDF Author: Peter Rhoads Silver
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393334906
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
In potent, graceful prose that sensitively unearths the social complexity and tangled history of colonial relations, Silver presents an astonishingly vivid picture of 18th-century America. 13 illustrations; 2 maps.

The Great Trade Collapse: Causes, Consequences and Prospects

The Great Trade Collapse: Causes, Consequences and Prospects PDF Author: Richard E. Baldwin
Publisher: CEPR
ISBN: 1907142061
Category : Commercial policy
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description


Thomas Violet, a Sly and Dangerous Fellow

Thomas Violet, a Sly and Dangerous Fellow PDF Author: Amos Tubb
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 9781442275058
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
This biography of English goldsmith Thomas Violet uses his dramatic life to explore banking, spying, the English Civil War, economic theories, the silver trade, and anti-Semitism in early modern England. By putting a human face on political, social, and economic change, the book provides a vivid view of the seventeenth century's seismic changes.