Swansea Copper: A Global History

Swansea, Wales, was a major copper production center in the 18th century, using the Welsh Process to smelt copper using mineral coal. It became a global smelting center, producing one-third of the world's smelted copper between the 1770s and 1840s. Chris Evans and Louise Miskell's book "Swansea Copper" traces the history of copper making in Britain from the late 17th century to the 1890s, examining how it achieved global dominance and its impact on the industrial age.

Format: Hardback
Length: 242 pages
Publication date: 27 October 2020
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press

Swansea, Wales, in the 18th century, was a significant hub for copper production, comparable to Manchester's role in cotton or Detroit's in the automobile industry. Around 1700, a revolutionary method called the Welsh Process emerged, which utilized mineral coal as an energy source to produce copper in vast quantities. This marked a significant shift in the global copper market, making Swansea a prominent smelting center. Initially, the Swansea district gained prominence within Europe, but it soon became a dominant force on a global scale. Between the 1770s and the 1840s, it consistently produced one-third of the world's smelted copper, sometimes even more.

In their book, Swansea Copper, Chris Evans and Louise Miskell delve into the history of copper making in Britain, spanning from the late 17th century when the Welsh Process revolutionized the industry to the 1890s when Swansea's dominance in the copper trade began to wane. The authors explore the significance of copper in Baroque Europe, examine the productive landscape that welcomed Swansea Copper, and detail the mechanisms that propelled it to global dominance. They shed light on how Swansea copper achieved supremacy in the years between the Seven Years' War and Waterloo, the impact of new commercial regulations that facilitated the importation of copper ore from various parts of the world, and the interconnectedness of the copper trade with the rise world slave trade.

The book also delves into the social and economic implications of Swansea's copper industry. It discusses the impact of copper mining on the local community, the working conditions of the miners, and the changes that occurred in the town world society. It sheds light on the role of women in the copper industry, the rise of trade unions, and the development of new technologies that transformed the production process.

Swansea Copper is a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the global impact of copper production in Swansea, Wales, and the transformative technological shift that propelled the British Isles into the world's most dynamic center of copper smelting. It provides a detailed account of the industry's historical development, its global dominance, and the social and economic implications of its growth. The book is a valuable resource for scholars, researchers, and anyone interested in the history of technology, industry, and global trade.

Weight: 470g
Dimension: 159 x 235 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781421439112