Items related to Empire of Plants: People and Plants That Changed the...
This title explores the stories of seven plants - tea, tobacco, sugar, opium, quinine, cotton and rubber - whose discovery and cultivation changed the destinies of countries from America to China, India to Brazil. It investigates the complex legacy of trade routes overseas, the engine and imperative for colonial expansion, and shows how great fortunes were built upon a dark history of espionage, slavery, danger and conflict. From the race to colonize the Americas to the devious smuggling of tea from China and the cynical opium trade, the compulsive historical drive towards riches and exploration is evoked. Interwoven with this are the tales of those who depended on them, from pioneering planters and their workforces to merchants who risked piracy and shipwreck in the pursuit of profit. Together, these dramatic stories offer a perspective upon events whose consequences still reverberate today.
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About the Author:
Dr Toby Musgrave is a garden designer and historian, with keen interest in the social aspects of economic botany. Toby is co-author of the highly successful book The Plant Hunters, published by Cassell Illustrated, and the author of Courtyard Gardens. Will Musgrave is an archaeologies and historian with a special interest in plant history and garden archaeology. Co-author of The Plant Hunters, he is also fascinated by Minoan civilisation and is currently working on a novel set in ancient Crete.
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- PublisherWeidenfeld & Nicolson
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 1841882097
- ISBN 13 9781841882093
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages192
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