Wendy smith, boston globe empire of cotton proves sven beckert one of the new elite of genuinely global historians. Beckert practices what is known as global or world history. Sven beckerts superb new book is a history of the overwhelming role played by cotton in dictating the shape of our world. Beckert makes clear how these forces ushered in the world of modern capitalism, including the vast wealth and disturbing inequalities that are with us today. The publication of sven beckerts empire of cotton is probably among the most significant events in twentyfirst century us historiography. Beckert, a leading global historian, offers a dark story of capitalism, born of worldwide empire and violence. Sven beckert, american history professor at harvard university, talks about his book, empire of cotton.
Winner of the bancroft prize pulitzer prize finalist winner of the alfred and fay chandler book award the empire of cotton was, from the beginning, a fulcrum of constant global struggle between slaves and planters, merchants and statesmen, workers and factory owners. With regard to the history of cotton specifically, beckert largely complements giorgio riellos 20 book cotton. As beckert and others have argued, writing the history of capitalism demands an interdisciplinary and transnational approach, and empire of cotton does not disappoint. Sven beckert harvard university history department. On april 3, 2015, the university of texas at arlington history department hosted sven beckert laird bell professor of history at harvard university as a. A new history of global capitalism 01 by beckert, sven isbn. The empire of cotton was, from the beginning, a fulcrum of constant global struggle between slaves and planters, merchants and statesmen, workers and factory owners. In his important new book, the harvard historian sven beckert makes the. It is both a gripping narrative and a brilliant case history of how the world works. A global history, sven beckert reinterprets the history of global capitalism through the lens of cotton, the commodity at the. Economic, political, social, and cultural themes are interwoven throughout the book. Beckerts empire of cotton and the telos problem society.
Desan, he is the codirector of the program on the study of capitalism at harvard university. The epic story of the rise and fall of the empire of cotton, its centrality in the world economy, and its making and remaking of global capitalism. A global history, by sven beckert a worker wades through cotton last year at a ginning mill in pilibanga, rajasthan, india. Just a few pages in and i had already high expectations for this book. Those pushing the burgeoning field of classical reception studies probably hadnt intended to leave the door ajar for heavy metal. Empire of cotton proves sven beckert one of the new elite of genuinely global historians. Beckerts american history, harvard univ the american bourgeoisie specialty is capitalism studies. Several civilizations in both the old and new world stated using cotton for making fabrics, independently of each other. Everything you thought you knew about the aztecs is wrong.
Historian sven beckerts widely acclaimed book, empire of cotton. Sven beckerts longawaited second book examines the central role of cotton in the making of capitalism. Cotton is so ubiquitous as to be almost invisible, yet understanding its history is key to understanding the. A global history knopf, 2014, which tells the epic story of the rise and fall of the empire of cotton, its centrality to the world economy, and its making and remaking of global capitalism. By deciding to write global history through the prism of a single commodity cotton as a window into the story of the making and remaking of global capitalism and with it of the modern world, xi harvard historian sven beckert got me immediately thinking about, and reappreciating the value of, the opening. Contents introduction ix chapter i the rise of a global commodity 3 chapter 2 building war capitalism 29 chapter 3 the wages of war capitalism 56 chapter 4. Cotton was used in the old world from at least 5000bc. Too little presentday academic history is written for the general public.
A global history is that wonderful new animal in literaturean engrossing, narrative, academic nonfiction pageturner in the vein of thomas pikettys capital in the twentyfirst century and edward. Empire of cotton won the bancroft prize, and was a finalist for a pulitzer. Professor beckert will speak about his upcoming new book, empire of cotton. The stuff of roman robes and royal apparel, of slaves and satanic mills, and of a new empire of capital that still holds sway today.
Sven beckerts rich, fascinating book tells the story of how, in a remarkably brief period, european entrepreneurs and powerful statesmen recast the worlds most significant manufacturing industry combining imperial. The most recent externalist explanation of capitalism is beckerts empire of cotton. Beckerts book is more broadly framed and more readable, but at its heart. Winner of the alfred and fay chandler book award the empire of cotton was, from the beginning, a fulcrum of constant global struggle between slaves and.
We see how industrial capitalism then reshaped these worlds of cotton into an empire, and how this empire transformed the world. The epic story of the rise and fall of the empire of cotton, its. Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows on the cotton plants. A global history, about the origins of the global cotton trade and its impact on the. Sven beckert makes clear how these forces ushered in the world of modern. As thomas piketty did in capital in the 21st century, his excellent recent study of wealth and inequality, sven beckert takes the long view in empire of cotton. It is also the period of full dominance of what beckert calls war capitalism. In his important new book, the harvard historian sven beckert makes the case that in the 19th century what most stirred the universe was cotton. Empire of cotton is among the best nonfiction books of this year. Empire of cotton transcends this barrier and should be devoured eagerly, not only by scholars and students but also by the intelligent reading public. Slavery and capitalism excerpt 4 cotton factories, cotton ports, and cotton plantations of the 18th and 19th centuries. Cotton is so ubiquitous as to be almost invisible, yet understanding its history is key to understanding the origins of modern capitalism.
A new history of global capitalism, is a good agrarian, business, and labour history of a single commodity. The result is a book as unsettling as it is enlightening. Sven beckert on the entangled history of cotton, slavery, and capitalism. The epic story of the rise and fall of the empire of cotton, its centrality to the world economy, and its making and remaking of global capitalism. Sven beckert makes clear how these forces ushered in the world of modern capitalism, including the vast wealth and disturbing inequalities that are with us today. A global history, the journal of modern history 88, no. Heavy going at times, it is crowded with many more details and statistics a few of them repeated. For gandhi, simple and homespun, the cotton khadi shirt was a symbol of a resurgent, democratic india. In sven beckerts sure, spacious, and skillful empire of cotton, we learn that cotton was a monarch of the terrible and flexibly unpredictable kind, a ruthless conqueror, a force that changed our world, more than once. The empire of cotton was, from the beginning, a fulcrum of constant global struggle between slaves and planters, merchants and statesmen, farmers and merchants, workers and factory owners. One of the new york times 10 best books of the year winner of the bancroft prize pulitzer prize finalist the epic story of the rise and fall of the empire of cotton, its centrality to the world economy, and its making and remaking of global capitalism. The united states was just one nexus in a much larger story that connected artisans in india, european manufacturers, and, in the americas, african slaves and landgrabbing settlers. Beckert painstakingly narrates how cotton became the first global commodity and how it shaped and reshaped lives of peasants, workers and merchants across the world.
Sven beckert is the laird bell professor of american history at harvard university. Its research is so impressive, and its scale so vast, that it is impossible not to admire its accomplishments. It is astonishing to learn how britain became the capital of the cotton empire, without growing cotton, without the expertise of spinning and weaving and without domestic demand. I think many readers are disarmed by the books magisterial sweep across time and space, which obscures or subdues its underlying thesis. Cotton, slavery, and the transformation of the texas borderlands, 18001850 the david j. Cotton, of course, has been grown and worked for millennia, long before the development of capitalism. Empire of cotton, by sven beckert the new york times. Sven beckert on cotton, slavery, capitalism guest post by. Sven beckert is laird bell professor of american history at harvard university, where he teaches the history of the united states in the nineteenth century, and global history.
Sven beckert, winner of the pulitzer prize for history, professor of history at harvard university, and author of empire of cotton. New york city and the consolidation of the american bourgeoisie, 18501896, 2001 writes convincingly of cotton as the impetus for a worldsystem kind of capitalism. Winner of the bancroft prizepulitzer prize finalistthe empire of cotton was, from the. Drawing these kinds of global connections is a relatively recent trend among historians, and beckerts brilliant case study makes it clear how valuable this broader perspective is. Today cotton clothes the world, still handing out wealth and misery in equal measure. Thus harvard historian sven beckert kicks off his prodigiously researched and encompassing exploration of the first global commodity. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. In his introduction to this doorstopping history, sven beckert takes us briefly to manchester, the global center of cotton production in 1860. This post has been adapted from sven beckerts book, empire of cotton.