Metals and Monies in an Emerging Global Economy

Download or read book Metals and Monies in an Emerging Global Economy written by Arturo Giráldez and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-03-01 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The literature on early-modern monetary history is vast and rich, yet overly Eurocentric. This book takes a global approach. It calls attention to the fact that, for example, Japan and South America were dominant in silver production, while China was the principal end-market; key areas for transshipment included Europe and Africa, India and the Middle East. Europeans were often just middlemen. Other monetized substances - gold, copper and cowries - must also be viewed globally. The interrelated trades in metals and monies are what first linked worldwide markets, and disequilibrium within the silver market in the 16th and 17th centuries was an active cause of this global trade.