Empire Of Cotton Summary

Historian Sven Beckert narrates in his book Empire of Cotton the story of cotton production within the framework of state power and capitalism. He also goes on to explain how much has been in studying the vulnerable slaves, women, etc. without incorporating the structural advantages of those on top. Cotton was a huge part of the “war capitalism” that Beckert describes as providing great expansion and growth to Europe but entailed misfortunes in Asia and the Americas. Though impressive, the emergence of cotton production in twelfth-century northern Italy, and later in fifteenth-century southern Germany, did not seem world-altering. World production had still centered on India and China, and intercontinental trade was still dominated by the products of Indian weavers. No significant technological or organizational departures characterized the European industry: Asian producers remained at the top in textile advancements. Europe’s new manufacturing plans produced a large quantity of

While invention was only part of the story, empire was central. It enabled the accumulation of capital for rapid expansion and controlled markets, and it ensured a supply of cotton. Beckert argues that slavery and the expropriation of native lands was fueled by European capital and combined to feed raw materials relentlessly into Europe’s core industry. European capitalists and rulers altered global networks through multiple means. The muscle of armed trade enabled the creation of a complex, Eurocentric maritime trade web and the forging of a military-fiscal state allowed for the projection of power into the far-flung corners of the world. The invention of financial instruments allowed for the transfer of capital and goods over long distances. Unbeknownst to contemporaries, these alterations were the first steps toward the Industrial