Pieces of eight

Pieces of eight

Neil MacGregor's world history as told through things that time has left behind. This week he is exploring the world between 1450 and 1600 - looking at what was happening in South America, Africa and Japan at the time of the great European age of discovery. He has looked at the new ocean going galleons that were being built in Europe at this time and today he describes the money that was being used to fuel the great new trade routes of the period. He is with pieces of eight, little silver coins that by 1600 could have been used in many countries around the world. Neil describes Spain's dominance in South America and their discovery of a silver mountain in Potosi in present day Bolivia. He describes the process by which pieces of eight turned into the first truly global money. The Bolivian former head of a UNESCO project in Potosi describes the conditions for workers there today and the financial historian William Bernstein looks at how these rough silver coins were to shift the entire balance of world commerce.

Producer: Anthony Denselow

Episoder(101)

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Early Victorian tea set

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This week Neil MacGregor's history of the world is looking at how the global economy became cemented in the 19th century, a time of mass production and mass consumption. He tells the story of how tea ...

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Ship's chronometer from HMS Beagle

Ship's chronometer from HMS Beagle

Neil MacGregor's history of the world as told through things. Throughout this week he is examining the global economy of the 19th century - of mass production and mass consumption. Today he is with an...

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Jade bi

Jade bi

Neil MacGregor's world history told through the things that time has left behind. Throughout this week, Neil has been looking at Europe's discoveries around the world and its engagement with different...

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Australian Bark Shield

Australian Bark Shield

The history of humanity as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum in London. This week, Neil MacGregor, the Director of the Museum, is looking at Europe's engagement with the rest of...

7 Okt 201013min

North American Buckskin Map

North American Buckskin Map

The history of humanity - as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum in London - is once again in North America. This week, Neil MacGregor, the museum's director, is looking at Europe...

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Hawaiian feather helmet

Hawaiian feather helmet

This week Neil MacGregor's history of the world is telling the story of European encounters across the globe during the 18th century. Today he finds out what happened to Captain Cook as he was mapping...

5 Okt 201013min

Akan Drum

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Neil MacGregor's history of the world as told through things that time has left behind. Throughout this week, he is examining the often troubled relationship between Europe and the rest of the world d...

4 Okt 201014min

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