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)

North American otter pipe

North American otter pipe

The history of the world as explained through objects arrives in North America 2000 years ago and a stone pipe used in ritual. It is one of hundreds of pipes shaped as animals that were found in huge ...

25 Mai 201014min

Warren Cup

Warren Cup

Throughout this week Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum in London, is exploring the ways in which people were seeking pleasure around the world 2000 years ago, from pipe smoking in Nor...

24 Mai 201014min

Head of Augustus

Head of Augustus

Neil MacGregor concludes the first week of the second part of his global history as told through objects from the British Museum. This week he has been exploring the lives and methods of powerful rule...

21 Mai 201014min

Chinese Han lacquer cup

Chinese Han lacquer cup

In a week of programmes exploring the nature of power and the emergence of new rulers around the world 2000 years ago, Neil MacGregor takes us to Han Dynasty China. He tells the story of how the Chine...

20 Mai 201014min

Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone

Today's programme finds Neil MacGregor in the company of one of the best known inhabitants of the British Museum - the Rosetta Stone. Throughout this week he is exploring shifting empires and the rise...

19 Mai 201014min

Pillar of Ashoka

Pillar of Ashoka

The history of the world as told through objects at the British Museum arrives in India over 2000 years ago. Throughout this week Neil MacGregor is exploring the lives and methods of powerful new lead...

18 Mai 201014min

Head of Alexander

Head of Alexander

Another chance to hear the first programmes in the second part of Neil MacGregor's global history told through objects from the British Museum. This week Neil is exploring the lives and methods of pow...

17 Mai 201013min

Chinese Bronze Bell

Chinese Bronze Bell

This week Neil MacGregor is exploring the emergence of sophisticated new powers across the world 2500 years ago, from the Parthenon in Greece, to the great empire of Cyrus in Persia and the forgotten ...

26 Feb 201014min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-katastrofe
historier-som-endret-norge
henrettelsespodden
historier-som-endret-verden
sektledere
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
aftenposten-historie
rss-benadet
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
rss-frontkjemperne
rss-historiske-romanser
med-egne-oyne
historiepodden
rss-gamle-greier
vare-historier
liberal-halvtime
historiepodden-ww2
sannhet-eller-konspirasjon
rss-historiepodden-ww2