Colonies, copper, and the market for inventive activity in England and Wales, 1680-1730

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4352807
AutoresNuala Zahedieh (0000-0003-1321-4086, University of Edinburgh, autor de correspondencia)
Año2013
Volumen66
Número3
Páginas805-825
Fecha de publicación2013-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Economic History Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0013-0117 • E-ISSN: 1468-0289
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1468-0289.2012.00676.x
OpenAlexW1904939731
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas47

Between 1680 and 1730 the English and Welsh copper industry rose from the dead and by the mid-eighteenth century it had become Europe's leading copper producer. The revival followed the extension of sugar cultivation in England's colonies and the creation of a strong new demand for copper, which was reflected in rising exports and rising prices. Buoyant demand created a favourable market for the inventive activity needed to cut costs in the native industry, which encouraged investment in a systematic programme of research and development and culminated in important breakthroughs in smelting and mining technologies which transformed the non-ferrous metal industries. The story provides an insight into how the economic context shaped the way useful knowledge was produced and consumed. Colonial expansion not only provided England with additional resources overseas but also encouraged the reallocation of human and financial capital to make better use of slack resources at home. Empire and technical change intersected with positive consequences for economic growth

Archaeology · Business · Capital (architecture) · Colonialism · Commerce · Context (archaeology) · Economic history · Economics · Economy · Geography · Gold rush · Investment (military) · Market economy · Political science · Politics · Australian History and Society · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · Historical Economic and Social Studies