220122 King Cotton. Geschichte eines globalen Rohstoffs im 19. Jahrhundert (V+Ü) (WiSe 2018/2019)

King Cotton in a narrow sense was used by secessionist of the soutern states of the USA in order to stress the agro-economic power and indepence of the south. Cotton was the backbone of their economy and socio-economic structure and it gained ever more importance with an accelerating industrialisation in parts of the United Kingdom.
However, in a wider sende the term 'King Cotton' can be conceived as symbol of one of the most important traded goods of the early globalisation stage. Cotton connected all parts of the increasingly interrelated world together. Even if you never touched cotton, cotton could dramatically change your entire live in 19th century, as many producers of other, regional textiles such as silk or linnen, experienced.
Cotton made some regions very rich, while others suffered form the changes that cotton production caused.
The seminar will retrace these different entanglements, their intentional and unintentional causes and effects in many different regions of the world. Doing that, a number of historical, economic, statistical and sociological theories and methods will be applied to a wide range of topics with relation to the rise and fall of King Cotton.

Bibliography

Beckert, Sven: Empire of Cotton: A New History of Global Capitalism. New York 2015. Mönninghoff, Wolfgang: King Cotton. Eine Kulutrgeschichte der Baumwolle. Mannheim 2006. Surdam, David G. "King Cotton: Monarch or Pretender? The State of the Market for Raw Cotton on the Eve of the American Civil War." Economic History Review 1998 51(1): 113-132. Yafa, Stephen H. Big Cotton: How A Humble Fiber Created Fortunes, Wrecked Civilizations, and Put America on the Map; 2004.