Workshop: 'The Raw and the Refined: Commodities, Processing and Power in Global Perspective' 2-3 September 2021.

Workshop: 'The Raw and the Refined: Commodities, Processing and Power in Global Perspective' 2-3 September 2021.

I will be serving as discussant on a panel titled 'The processing of mineral resources'

‘The Raw and the Refined: Commodities, Processing and Power in Global Perspective’

Commodities of Empire International Workshop, Institute of Latin American Studies, School of Advanced Studies, University of London.

2-3 September 2021

There has long been a tendency to suppose that commodities exported from the Global South have been ‘raw’ and destined for manufacture in the Global North. They have certainly been labelled as such. The assumptions underlying this stated division of labour derived from theories of colonial pact, underdevelopment, dependency, and unequal exchange. However, prior to export, many commodities were subjected to a growing degree of processing, which was increasingly industrial and capital-intensive in nature. Thus, sugar famously came from ‘factories in the fields’. The industrial treatment of goods prior to export became the road to development in Japan (silk and tea) and Australia (wool and flour). Commodities were processed to varying degrees, partly due to their physical characteristics, such as the need to prevent spoiling (sugar, palm oil, meat and fish), or to save on transport costs (mineral ores and timber). However, the same commodity was processed to a higher degree in different localities, indicating that other factors were at play, such as cost, productivity, and availability of capital, labour, land, energy, and technical education. Policies of settlers, merchants, and imperial powers further affected outcomes, while organised labour sought to keep manufacturing jobs located in the Global North.

In this two-day workshop (to be held on-line), we aim to explore, through case studies, how and why the history of commodity processing unfolded unevenly.

» CoE-2021-workshop-programme-revised.pdf (PDF, 186.6 Kb)

» Workshop link