Conclusion

Oxford University Press eBooks, pp. 679–696

Abstract

Abstract This chapter builds on the Handbook contributions to propose a new approach to commodity history that seeks to sidestep the enduring pitfalls of core-periphery thinking. The editors recommend a deeper integration of south-south, north-north, and north-south commodity flows into historical narratives, enhancing an understanding of global relationships from non-Western viewpoints. The editors further suggest that historians take a more nuanced view of the economic and environmental consequences of the production, trade, and consumption of commodities. A multi-centred approach can account for a variety of causal relationships in global commodity chains, and can help to assess the contributions of different places and actors, in terms that would have made sense to the people involved.

Authors 1

1. Jelmer Vos

   University of Glasgow · SOAS University of London

   Affiliation as printed

   Global History, University of Glasgow

   Food Studies, SOAS University of London