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Early-Modern Globalization and the Extent of Indigenous Agency: Trade, Commodities, and Ecology

Author

Listed:
  • Ann M Carlos

    (University of Colorado Boulder United States)

  • Erik Green

    (Department of Economic History, Lund University)

  • Calumet Links

    (Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University)

  • Angela Redish

    (University of British Columbia Vancouver Canada)

Abstract

This paper examines the responses of Indigenous nations and European companies to new trading opportunities: Cree nations and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), and Khoe nations and the Dutch East India Company (VOC). This case study is important because of the disparate outcomes: within a few decades the Cree standard of living had increased, and Khoe had lost land and cattle. Standard histories begin with the establishment of trading posts but this elides the decades of prior intermittent contact which played an important role in the disparate outcomes in the two regions. The paper emphasizes the significance of Indigenous agency in trade.

Suggested Citation

  • Ann M Carlos & Erik Green & Calumet Links & Angela Redish, 2024. "Early-Modern Globalization and the Extent of Indigenous Agency: Trade, Commodities, and Ecology," Working Papers 01/2024, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers383
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    6. Carlos, Ann M. & Nicholas, Stephen, 1990. "Agency Problems in Early Chartered Companies: The Case of the Hudson’s Bay Company," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(4), pages 853-875, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Indigenous economics; trade; ecology; cross-continental comparison;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • N70 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • N71 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N77 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Africa; Oceania
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

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