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American precious metals and the rise of the West
Season 6
Episode 17
Published 2 years, 11 months ago
Description
Between the 16th and 18th centuries, at least 180,000 tons of silver and around 4,000 tons of gold were extracted from the Americas and transported to Europe. How much of western Europe’s economic transformation can be attributed to this windfall? Yao Chen tells Tim Phillips about new research that upends the conventional wisdom.