Tin: a historical perspective on a networked resource

The history of human civilization is closely linked to the
exploitation of mineral resources. It is no coincidence that the
periodization of prehistory and antiquity has been chosen
according to the main metals in use: stone, bronze and iron. It
shows the centrality of the exploitation and production of these
mineral resources in human history. Since the Industrial
Revolution metals have become global commodities, including tin.
The importance of tin increased with the invention of canned
food in the 19th century, and during the 20th century with the
rise of the electronics industry. Both of these factors made tin
a strategic resource not seen since the days that it was used in
the production of bronze for weaponry.


A new edited book entitled Tin and Global Capitalism, 1850-2000:
A History of the “Devil’s Metal”, explores the evolution of the
global tin industry, from mining through the trade networks and
the politics surrounding the strategic importance of tin.
Interrogating the rhetoric of “strategic” raw materials is
important in order to understand the social, political, and
environmental effects of displacement of communities,
environmental degradation and pollution, and ‘resource
conflicts'.


This edition of the podcast explores these themes with the
editors of Tin and Global Capitalism: Andrew Perchard, Senior
Research Fellow in the Centre for Business in Society at Coventry
University; Mats Ingulstad, Postdoctoral Fellow
in the Department of Historical Studies, Norwegian University of
Science and Technology (NTNU); and Espen Storli,
Associate Professor in History at the NTNU.


Music credits
: "Where You Are Now" by Zapac, 
"Nightride"
by remaxim, 
"Unfriendly Me" by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD). All
available from ccMixter