Mining in World History (eBook)

Martin Lynch (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2012 | 1. Auflage
356 Seiten
Reaktion Books (Verlag)
978-1-78023-005-4 (ISBN)

Infos

This book deals with the history of mining and smelting from the Renaissance to the present. Martin Lynch opens with the invention, sometime before 1453, of a revolutionary technique for separating silver from copper. It was this invention which brought back to life the rich copper-silver mines of central Europe, in the process making brass cannon and silver coin available to the ambitious Habsburg emperors, thereby underpinning their quest for European domination. Lynch also discusses the Industrial Revolution and the far-reaching changes to mining and smelting brought about by the steam engine, the era of the gold rushes, the massive mineral developments and technological leaps forward which took place in the USA and South Africa at the end of the 19th century, and, finally, the spread of mass metal-production techniques amid the violent struggles of the 20th century. In an engaging, concise and fast-paced text, he presents the interplay of personalities, politics and technology that have shaped the metallurgical industries over the last 500 years.

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Mining in World History deals with the history of mining and smelting from the Renaissance to the present day, drawing out, in an engaging and fast-paced fashion, the interplay of personalities, politics and technology which have together shaped the metallurgical industries over the last 500 years.Martin Lynch opens with the invention, sometime before the year 1453, of a revolutionary technique for separating silver from copper, an event that revived the rich copper-silver mines of central Europe and the ruling ambitions of the Habsburg emperors who owned them. The author shows how the flood of silver from Spain’s newly-conquered American colonies brought about the demise of these mines, and goes on to examine the far-reaching changes brought to mining and smelting by the steam engine and the Industrial Revolution. The book then looks at the era of the gold rushes and the comprehensive developments in mineral extraction and technology that took place in the United States and South Africa at the end of the nineteenth century, and describes the spread of mass metal-production techniques across the world amid the violent struggles of the twentieth century and the energy crises of the 1970s.Written by an author vastly experienced in the field, Mining in World History is the first book to provide an account of how and why change and advance in this global industry have taken place in different eras and locations around the world. As such it will appeal to the industry specialist as well as to the general reader who wants to know more about a field that has been fundamental to the construction of industrial civilization.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 6.11.2012
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Technikgeschichte
• Themenwelt: Technik ► Bergbau
• ISBN-10: 1-78023-005-2 / 1780230052
• ISBN-13: 978-1-78023-005-4 / 9781780230054