Commodity Frontiers and Global Capitalist Expansion: Social, Ecological and Political Implications from the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day (Palgrave Studies in Economic History)

This interdisciplinary edited collection explores the dynamics of global capitalist expansion through the concept of the 'commodity frontier'. Applying an inductive approach rather than starting at the global level, as most meta-narratives have done, this book sheds light on how local dynamics have shaped the process of capitalist expansion into 'uncommodified' spaces. Contributors demonstrate that ultimately the evolution of frontier zones and their reconfiguration over time have transformed human ecology, labour relations and social, economic and political structures across the globe. Chapters examine agricultural and pastoral frontiers, natural habitats, and commodity frontiers with fossil fuels and mineral resources located in various regions of the world, including South America, Asia, Africa and the Arabian Gulf.-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Introduction (Sabrina Joseph)....Pages 1-13 Making Cheap Nature on High Altitude: A World-Ecological Perspective on Commodification, Communities and Conflict in the Andes (Hanne Cottyn)....Pages 15-56 Agricultural Commodities on the Philippine Frontier: State-Sponsored Resettlement and Ecological Distress in the 1930s (Karen R. Miller)....Pages 57-77 Gendering Farmer Producer Companies at the Agricultural Frontier of India: Empowerment or Burden? (Indrakshi Tandon)....Pages 79-109 Ecosystems as Commodity Frontiers—Challenges Faced by Land Set Aside as Protected Areas (PAs) in the Dubai Emirate, United Arab Emirates (UAE) (Brigitte Howarth, Tamer Khafaga, Greg Simkins, Sabrina Joseph)....Pages 111-136 From the Amazon to the Congo Valley: A Comparative Study on the Violent Commodification of Labour During the Rubber Boom (1870s–1910s) (Louise Cardoso de Mello, Sven Van Melkebeke)....Pages 137-181 Chilean Expansion and Southern South America’s Integration into the Modern Capitalist System, 1879–1931 (James Lockhart)....Pages 183-214 Red Fever: Natural Resource Companies and the Global Copper Mining Frontier 1890–1939 (Robrecht Declercq)....Pages 215-253 A Toxic Development: Pollution and Change in an Amazonian Oil Frontier (Deborah Delgado Pugley)....Pages 255-277 Conclusion (Sabrina Joseph)....Pages 279-285 Back Matter ....Pages 287-292 Chapter 1: Introduction; Sabrina Joseph -- Chapter 2: Making Cheap Nature on High Altitude: A World-Ecological Perspective on Commodification, Communities, and Conflict in the Andes; Hanne Cottyn -- Chapter 3: Agricultural Commodities on the Philippine Frontier: State-Sponsored Resettlement and Ecological Distress in the 1930s; Karen Miller -- Chapter 4: Gendering Farmer Producer Companies at the Agricultural Frontier of India: Empowerment or Burden?; Indrakshi Tandon -- Chapter 5: Ecosystems as Commodity Frontiers: Challenges faced by land set aside as Protected Areas (PAs) in the Dubai Emirate, United Arab Emirates (UAE); Brigitte Howarth, Tamer Khafaga, Greg Simkins, and Sabrina Joseph -- Chapter 6: From the Amazon to the Congo Valley: A Comparative Study on the Violent Commodification of Labour during the Rubber Boom (1870s-1910s); : Louise Cardoso de Mello and Sven Van Melkebeke -- Chapter 7: Chilean Expansion and Southern South America's Integration into the Modern Capitalist System, 1879-1931; James Lockhart -- Chapter 8: Red Fever: Natural Resource Companies and the Global Copper Mining Frontier 1890-1939; Robrecht Declercq -- Chapter 9: A Toxic Development: Pollution and Change in an Amazonian Oil Frontier; Deborah Delgado Pugley -- Chapter 10: Conclusion; Sabrina Joseph