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The Underground Wealth of Nations
On the Capitalist Origins of Silver Mining, A.D. 1150-1450
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Jeannette Graulau
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2019
About this book
Silver mining was a capitalist business long before the supposed origin of modern capitalism
Hundreds of years before a sixteenth†‘century crisis in European agriculture led to the origins of capital, investment, and finance, the silver mining industry exhibited many of the features of modern capitalism. Silver mines were large†‘scale businesses that demanded large investments and steady cash flow, achieved by spreading that risk through fungible shares and creating legal structures to protect entrepreneurs from financial disaster. Jeannette Graulau argues that mining preceded agriculture as the first true capitalist enterprise of the modern world.
Hundreds of years before a sixteenth†‘century crisis in European agriculture led to the origins of capital, investment, and finance, the silver mining industry exhibited many of the features of modern capitalism. Silver mines were large†‘scale businesses that demanded large investments and steady cash flow, achieved by spreading that risk through fungible shares and creating legal structures to protect entrepreneurs from financial disaster. Jeannette Graulau argues that mining preceded agriculture as the first true capitalist enterprise of the modern world.
Author / Editor information
Jeannette Graulau is associate professor of political science at Herbert H. Lehman College, The City University of New York.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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CONTENTS
vii -
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List of Illustrations
ix -
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List of Tables
xii -
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Preface
xiii -
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Acknowledgments
xv -
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1. Mining the Underground Wealth of Nations: A Word on Theory and History
1 -
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2. World Mining Regions before the Rise of Modern Capitalism
30 -
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3. Digging the Underground Wealth of Europe
73 -
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4. Capitalist Profits of Mining Corporations
138 -
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5. A ‘Lengthy Digression’: Why Mining Lagged Elsewhere
163 -
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6. Capitalist Mining in West European Development
207 -
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Appendix A. German Loanwords in Mining Statutes
229 -
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Appendix B. Carbon Yield and Charcoal Characteristics
232 -
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Notes
235 -
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Bibliography
301 -
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Index
353
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
October 8, 2019
eBook ISBN:
9780300249576
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
384
Other:
40 b-w illus.
This book is in the series
