Emeralds

Different from other commodities that we have read about, emeralds cannot be eaten, nor do they have the ability to alter our consciousness that way caffeine, tobacco and cocaine can. Unlike cochineal, they are permanent, and don't need to be replaced, as dyed cloth so often does. Like silver, emeralds have permanence, but unlike silver, their value is much greater because of their rarity. They can't be necessarily used as cash, and their value shifts based not just on their relatively quality and rarity, but also based on the relative meaning applied to them by various groups of people.

What I liked most about this book more than anything was that it was more explicitly global in its approach. Even though our focus in this course has been Latin America, the original question of the book actually starts with the Islamic empires of the Ottomans, Safavids and Mughals (three empires that are always connected together in my head as a trio together). As Daniel mentioned in his post, we see the pathway of a truly global commodity chain, from production to consumption. We see agency of the various layers of the commodity chain as well. I was also greatly intrigued by the argument that Lane makes about the role of Europeans within the greater global network, particularly in the 1450-1750 period, discussing the fact that the Europeans are actually peripheral to the Indian Ocean world's core.