I have to say Colour
of Paradise: Columbian Emeralds in the Age of Gunpowder Empires by Kris
Lane was an interesting book, but it seems to be the product of data looking
for a story or book that could have been a serious article. Please don’t get me wrong, the niche market
of emeralds and its unique place in world history is interesting, yet it had
very narrow producers, brokers and consumers, making this more of a
microhistory on the commodity spectrum. Lane set out in the beginning of the book
saying this commodity chain did not change world history, but was a story that
needed to be told because of the global range of the green stones and their
meaning the end user ascribed to them.
Unlike gold, silver and even diamonds, emeralds were not used as
currency. They were for “consumed” in
presentation, be it jewelry, clothing or other royal trappings, by mostly Asian
“prince and princesses”.
The amount of sources Lane analyzed for this book seems
vast. A full 25% of the book – after the conclusion and postscript was devoted
to very detailed explanation of weights and measures, production data,
manifests and ledgers. The incredible detail
of names, dates and events surrounding the Muzo region of colonial Columbia reveals
the sources the Author has garnered and analyzed and synthesized is impressive,
giving the reader a glimpse of the human hardships found in the mines and their
environs. In dealing with such a small
production base and such a small consumer base (Ottomans, Safavids and the Moguls)
Lane brought out the classic commodity fetish theme very well. Neither end of the chain knew about or really
cared about the other.
The constant injection of the trader/brokers of Europe was crucial
to the storyline. The role of the middle
man in connecting the players of the commodity fetish informed the reader of
the religious, economic and political struggles of the 16th and 17th
centuries. The interference of the
crown, the inquisition and local bosses in the mining community showed how the “larger
world” hamstrung to Muzo district. I particularly
liked how Lane emphasized the meaning the stone are what drove the market and
not their use per se.
The two aspect of this book that stand out for me is that no
matter how small a market for a commodity is it is very significant to those in
the chain and the incorporation in detail of the Asian market, a feature not
seen in the other books we have read this semester.
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