Medieval Mining and Power in Thirteenth-Century Europe: Bishop Wanga’s Private Mine Drainage Work
By Jeannette Graulau
Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 978-3-031-99238-4
Silver mines, flooded tunnels, and fierce political rivalries lay at the heart of a medieval struggle for wealth and power in the Alps. This book reveals how controlling water and underground resources helped reshape society, technology, and economic life in thirteenth-century Europe.
Excerpt:
This book tells the story of an imperial bishop and the dilemmas of political power he confronted when he sponsored private mine drainage works. It places the medieval silver mines of Monte Calisio in Trent in world history perspective. Why lords escalated political competition by plowing private capital in mines is a puzzling question. Marxist scholars have addressed the inquiry by emphasizing the role of ‘politico-military’ capabilities in the making of lordly power. Relying upon the force of monopolies of means of warfare that sustained land rights, lords extracted surpluses from agrarian labor and effectively resisted ‘pressures from below.’ Agrarian peasants cleared marshes and swamps, and expanded internal extractive frontiers, while lords exploited new sources of rents. Diseases, famines, plagues, wars, and climate change led to contradictions; generally, however, ‘the system’ remained fairly stable until the expansion of Iberian powers to the rest of the world.
Who is this book for?
This book offers a case study of a medieval mining operation near the present-day Italian-Austrian border. Its central figure is Frederick Wanga, the Prince-Bishop of Trent from 1207 to 1218, who used the silver mines of Monte Calisio as an important economic and political resource in his struggles with rival powers. Through this story, the book explores broader themes of mining, water management, political rivalry, and economic change in medieval Europe.
Readers will likely benefit from some familiarity with economic theory, particularly Marxist political economy, and those who have read the author’s earlier work, The Underground Wealth of Nations: On the Capitalist Origins of Silver Mining, A.D. 1150–1450, may find this book especially rewarding. It will also appeal to readers interested in medieval economic history, mining technology, environmental history, and the relationship between natural resources and political power.
The Author
Jeannette Graulauis a Professor of Political Science at Lehman College, where she works on economic history and medieval mining.
Medieval Mining and Power in Thirteenth-Century Europe: Bishop Wanga’s Private Mine Drainage Work
By Jeannette Graulau
Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 978-3-031-99238-4
Silver mines, flooded tunnels, and fierce political rivalries lay at the heart of a medieval struggle for wealth and power in the Alps. This book reveals how controlling water and underground resources helped reshape society, technology, and economic life in thirteenth-century Europe.
Excerpt:
This book tells the story of an imperial bishop and the dilemmas of political power he confronted when he sponsored private mine drainage works. It places the medieval silver mines of Monte Calisio in Trent in world history perspective. Why lords escalated political competition by plowing private capital in mines is a puzzling question. Marxist scholars have addressed the inquiry by emphasizing the role of ‘politico-military’ capabilities in the making of lordly power. Relying upon the force of monopolies of means of warfare that sustained land rights, lords extracted surpluses from agrarian labor and effectively resisted ‘pressures from below.’ Agrarian peasants cleared marshes and swamps, and expanded internal extractive frontiers, while lords exploited new sources of rents. Diseases, famines, plagues, wars, and climate change led to contradictions; generally, however, ‘the system’ remained fairly stable until the expansion of Iberian powers to the rest of the world.
Who is this book for?
This book offers a case study of a medieval mining operation near the present-day Italian-Austrian border. Its central figure is Frederick Wanga, the Prince-Bishop of Trent from 1207 to 1218, who used the silver mines of Monte Calisio as an important economic and political resource in his struggles with rival powers. Through this story, the book explores broader themes of mining, water management, political rivalry, and economic change in medieval Europe.
Readers will likely benefit from some familiarity with economic theory, particularly Marxist political economy, and those who have read the author’s earlier work, The Underground Wealth of Nations: On the Capitalist Origins of Silver Mining, A.D. 1150–1450, may find this book especially rewarding. It will also appeal to readers interested in medieval economic history, mining technology, environmental history, and the relationship between natural resources and political power.
The Author
Jeannette Graulau is a Professor of Political Science at Lehman College, where she works on economic history and medieval mining.
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website
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