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An Empire of Plants: People and Plants That Changed the World
For centuries, from foodstuffs to industrial materials, plants have dominated trade between countries. Possession of rare spices, sweets, and narcotics could meand enviable wealth and power, so explorers ventured forth, risking death on unknown seas. Here are stories of seven plants--tobacco, sugar, cotton, tea, poppies, quinine, and rubber--and how Europe's hunger for them led to the Age of Empire and turned world history upside down. Not only did these crops ensure the commercial success of America and Europe, but they became the catalyst foasr piracy, smuggling, addiction, and the slave the darker side of the golden profits. A beautiful presentation of a fascinating subject.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 18, 2008
My favorite "plant" books are also exploration books, such as Frank Kingdon Ward's In the Land of the Blue Poppies, Peter Raby's Bright Paradise, and Patrick Synge's Mountains of the Moon. I've also got a copy of Toby & Will Musgrave's The Plant Hunters that I've thumbed through from time to time, so when I saw they'd written a book on the plants that were central to the spread of the British empire, I was intrigued.
For the most part the book lived up to its promise, though at times I confess it was a little textbook like. It helped that I'd recently read a book on the rubber trade, The Thief at the End of the World, a book which also dipped into the importance of the cinchona tree, from which quinine is derived. I'd wished for more information on the rubber plantations in the Far East in that book, and I found it in this one.
The seven plants profiled (one per chapter) are tea, tobacco, sugar cane, opium, cotton, quinine, and rubber. The chapter on opium gave a good overview of the Opium War, which I knew little about. I hadn't realized how widespread the addiction to opium in China was -- 27 percent of the adult male population by the start of the 20th century -- or how critical the trade imbalances were that led to Britain's mass smuggling of the product into China. (Interestingly, it was Britain's demand for tea that was one of the main factors in the huge trade imbalance.)
One of the things I've become more interested in recently is the role of trade routes, trade imbalances, and trade competition as a force for change in the world. This book certainly did a good job of showing the importance of key plants as "engines" for colonial expansion, and to no small extent also the cause of conflicts, subjugation, and slavery.
The chapter on tea (my favorite) provided such delightful conversational nuggets as the origin of the word "tips" (At fashionable 18th century "tea gardens" a small wooden box was placed on the table. "Upon sitting down it was the custom to drop a coin in the box 'To Insure Prompt Service' from the waiters.") Another thing I enjoyed were the wonderful illustrations scattered throughout the book. Finally, there's a good bibliography with some interesting ideas for further reading and a short but powerful epilogue that stresses the need for preserving the planet's biohabitat, particularly in places such the Amazon.
For the most part the book lived up to its promise, though at times I confess it was a little textbook like. It helped that I'd recently read a book on the rubber trade, The Thief at the End of the World, a book which also dipped into the importance of the cinchona tree, from which quinine is derived. I'd wished for more information on the rubber plantations in the Far East in that book, and I found it in this one.
The seven plants profiled (one per chapter) are tea, tobacco, sugar cane, opium, cotton, quinine, and rubber. The chapter on opium gave a good overview of the Opium War, which I knew little about. I hadn't realized how widespread the addiction to opium in China was -- 27 percent of the adult male population by the start of the 20th century -- or how critical the trade imbalances were that led to Britain's mass smuggling of the product into China. (Interestingly, it was Britain's demand for tea that was one of the main factors in the huge trade imbalance.)
One of the things I've become more interested in recently is the role of trade routes, trade imbalances, and trade competition as a force for change in the world. This book certainly did a good job of showing the importance of key plants as "engines" for colonial expansion, and to no small extent also the cause of conflicts, subjugation, and slavery.
The chapter on tea (my favorite) provided such delightful conversational nuggets as the origin of the word "tips" (At fashionable 18th century "tea gardens" a small wooden box was placed on the table. "Upon sitting down it was the custom to drop a coin in the box 'To Insure Prompt Service' from the waiters.") Another thing I enjoyed were the wonderful illustrations scattered throughout the book. Finally, there's a good bibliography with some interesting ideas for further reading and a short but powerful epilogue that stresses the need for preserving the planet's biohabitat, particularly in places such the Amazon.
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October 21, 2007A short (190 page) but glossy book on seven plants and their impact on human history, especially colonialism: tobacco, sugar cane, cotton, tea, the opium poppy, chinchona (the source of quinine) and rubber. I wasn't hugely satisfied: I can think of other significant plants (the spices, coffee and cacao, flax and sisal, the coconut/copra) whose trade has affected and continues to affect the world economy. I found numerous irritating trivial mistakes (one that I will treasure refers to the British occupation of "Cypress" rather than Cyprus). The major reference cited is J.M. Roberts' Penguin History of the World. There are too many sidebar blocks of text which could have been better incorporated into the main narrative. It could perhaps be a nice jumping-off point for further reading but didn't satisfy me.
September 23, 2022
Took it everywhere with me ignoring it was a coffee table book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews