S1.E6 - The Columbian Exchange

Spain's new colonial empire endowed Europe's rising monarchy with an unprecedented economic windfall. In this episode, we find out how silver and other goods extracted from the Americas made the first truly worldwide economy possible at the cost of Spain's prosperity and long-term stability.

Works Cited:
“Megadrought and Megadeath in 16th Century Mexico”, by Rodolfo Acuna-Soto, David W. Stahle, Malcolm K. Cleveland, and Matthew D. Therrell, Emerging Infectious Diseases Vol. 8, Issue 4, (2002)
1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C Mann
The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson
The Resource Curse: The Political and Economic Challenges of Natural Resource Wealth by the Natural Resource Governance Institute
Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures: A History of Tobacco and Chocolate in the Atlantic World by Marcy Norton
The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations by Michael L. Ross
Silver, Trade, and War: Spain and America in the Making of Early Modern Europe by Stanley J. Stein and Barbara H. Stein
The Colonial Heritage of Latin America: Essays on Economic Dependence in Perspective by Stanley J. Stein and Barbara H. Stein
The Spanish Treasure Fleets by Timothy R. Walton