070258 KU Praxis der wissenschaftlichen Kommunikation (2011S)

Fierce debates have been waged by economic historians during the last
decades on the question when economic globalisation began. For the early
modern period that will be dealt with in this class, the debate has
often been waged in terms of market integration, price convergence or the
amounts of goods and or money involved. The focus in this class will be
different.
After a brief introduction in those general debates and the relevant
general literature to acquire the necessary background knowledge, we will try and chart the concrete history of various important global commodities,
looking at changes in the way in which - and in the places where - they were
produced, distributed and consumed because of the emergence of
intercontinental economic connections and exchanges. The following
products will be discussed: the so-called food drugs sugar, tea, coffee, cocoa plus tobacco; the 'real' drug opium; spices as the first global 'commodity' in the early modern era and bullion, as the most important one.