Conquest, Tribute, and Trade: The Quest for Precious Metals and the Birth of Globalization

We in the 21st century like to think of our time as the era of globalization. In fact, the birth of that era took place some five hundred years ago-as the author shows in this fascinating, original work of economic history. He traces the roots of globalization to the rapacious pursuit of gold, silver, and copper in the 16th century, when empires were won and lost based on their ability to find, exploit, or control increasingly large volumes of mineral wealth. This book tells the story of ho...