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A world of copper: globalizing the Industrial Revolution, 1830–70*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2015

Chris Evans  and
Olivia Saunders
Chris Evans
Affiliation:
University of South Wales, FBS, Treforest, CF37 1DL, UK E-mail: [email protected]
Olivia Saunders
Affiliation:
University of South Wales, FBS, Treforest, CF37 1DL, UK E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

For most of human history the smelting of metallic ores has been performed immediately adjacent to the ore body. In the 1830s the copper industry that was centred on Swansea in the UK departed abruptly from that ancient pattern: Swansea smelters shipped in ores from very distant locations, including sites in Australasia, Latin America, and southern Africa. Swansea became the hub of a globally integrated heavy industry, one that deployed capital on a very large scale, implanted British industrial technologies in some very diverse settings, and mobilized a transnational workforce that included British-born ‘labour aristocrats’, Chinese indentured servants, and African slaves. This paper explores the World of Copper between its inception c.1830 and its demise in the aftermath of the American Civil War. It asks what the experience of this precociously globalized industry can contribute to some current concerns in global history.

Keywords

AustraliaBritaincopperIndustrial RevolutionLatin Americanineteenth century
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Global History , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , March 2015 , pp. 3 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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Footnotes

*

Our principal debt is to the Leverhulme Trust, which awarded Chris Evans an International Network Grant in 2012–13. That award allowed us to establish the World of Copper network, a grouping led by Evans and Olivia Saunders at the University of South Wales in collaboration with the universities of Exeter, Santiago de Chile, Swansea, Toulouse, and Western Australia. Our thanks go to everyone involved in the network, especially those who attended the workshops at Swansea in April 2012, Burra, South Australia, in September 2012, and Santiago in April 2013. Special thanks must go to Greg Drew of the Australasian Mining History Association who facilitated our visit to Burra, and Luis Ortega, our host at the University of Santiago de Chile. We have drawn freely upon discussions with a large number of historians, archaeologists, museum professionals, and mining enthusiasts. We do not expect all of them – indeed, perhaps any of them – to agree with the inferences that we have drawn or the conclusions that we have reached. The text is our responsibility and only ours. We are grateful to Stephen Hughes for his help with illustrations and to Martin Critchley for designing the map. Needless to say, we have benefitted greatly from the advice of the Journal's referees and editors.

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