Book ID: CBB820343719

Unravelled Dreams: Silk and the Atlantic World, 1500–1840 (2020)

unapi

Marsh, Ben (Author)


Cambridge University Press


Publication Date: 2020
Physical Details: 500
Language: English

One of the greatest hopes and expectations that accompanied American colonialism – from its earliest incarnation – was that Atlantic settlers would be able to locate new sources of raw silk, with which to satiate the boundless desire for luxurious fabrics in European markets. However, in spite of the great upheavals and achievements of Atlantic plantation, this ambition would never be fulfilled. By taking the commercial failure of silk seriously and examining numerous experiments across New Spain, New France, British North America and the early United States, Ben Marsh reveals new insights into aspiration, labour, environment, and economy in these societies. Each devised its own dreams and plans of cultivation, framed by the particularities of cultures and landscapes. Writ large, these dreams would unravel one by one: the attempts to introduce silkworms across the Atlantic world ultimately constituted a step too far, marking out the limits of Europeans' seemingly unbounded power.

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Reviewed By

Review Paul D Blanc (April 2021) Review of "Unravelled Dreams: Silk and the Atlantic World, 1500–1840". Environmental History (pp. 373-375). unapi

Review Peter A. Coclanis (2022) Review of "Unravelled Dreams: Silk and the Atlantic World, 1500–1840". Journal of Interdisciplinary History (pp. 426-428). unapi

Review Patricia Fara (2020) Review of "Unravelled Dreams: Silk and the Atlantic World, 1500–1840". British Journal for the History of Science (pp. 594-596). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB820343719/

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Authors & Contributors
Joanna W. C. Lee
Kananoja, Kalle
Giuliano Pinto
Skeehan, Danielle C.
Anja Timmermann
Karolina Hutková
Concepts
Agriculture
Colonialism
Plantations
Economic botany; plant cultivation; horticulture
Cross-cultural interaction; cultural influence
Environmental history
Time Periods
19th century
18th century
17th century
16th century
20th century
Early modern
Places
Atlantic world
India
Africa
Caribbean
South Carolina (U.S.)
Atlantic Ocean
Institutions
East India Company (English)
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