Born with a Copper Spoon

Robrecht Declercq

ISBN 10: 0774864869 / ISBN 13: 9780774864862

Published by University of British Columbia Press, CA, 2023

About this Item

Over the past two centuries, industrial societies hungry for copper - essential for light, power, and communication - have demanded ever-increasing quantities of the metal. Born with a Copper Spoon examines how the metal has been produced, distributed, controlled, and sold on a global scale. However, this is not simply a narrative of ever-increasing and deepening global connections. It is also about periods of deglobalization, fragmentation, and attempts to sever connections. Throughout history, copper production has spawned its own practices, technologies, and a constantly changing political economy. Large-scale production has affected ecologies, states, and companies, while creating and even destroying local communities dependent on volatile commodity markets. Former president of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda once remarked that Zambians were "born with a copper spoon in our mouths," but few societies managed to profit from copper's abundance.From copper cartels and the futures market to the consequences of resource nationalism, Born with a Copper Spoon delivers a global perspective on one of the world's most important metals.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780774864862

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Born with a Copper Spoon
• Publisher: University of British Columbia Press, CA
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0774864869
• ISBN 13: 9780774864862
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 560 grams

About this title

Synopsis

A global perspective on the demand for and production of copper.

Over the past two centuries, industrial societies hungry for copper—essential for light, power, and communication—have demanded ever-increasing quantities. Born with a Copper Spoon examines how the metal has been produced, distributed, controlled, and sold on a global scale. Throughout history, copper production has spawned its own practices, technologies, and a constantly changing political economy. Large-scale production has affected ecologies, states, and companies while creating and even destroying local communities dependent on volatile commodity markets. Former president Kenneth Kaunda once remarked that Zambians were "born with a copper spoon in our mouths," but few societies managed to profit from copper’s abundance. From copper cartels and the futures market to the consequences of resource nationalism, Born with a Copper Spoon delivers a global perspective on one of the world’s most important metals.

About the Authors

Robrecht Declercq is a senior postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University in Belgium. He is the author of World Market Transformation.

Duncan Money is a historian at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He is the author of White Mineworkers on Zambia’s Copperbelt.

Hans Otto Frĝland is professor of European contemporary history at Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. He is a co-editor of From Warfare to Welfare and Industrial Collaboration in Nazi-Occupied Europe.