Mercury and the making of California : mining, landscape, and race, 1840-1890 / Andrew Scott Johnston.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnston, Andrew Scott.

Series:

Mining the American West

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mineral industries--California--History--19th century.

Mineral industries.

Mercury ores--California--History--19th century.

Mercury ores.

Landscapes--California--History--19th century.

Landscapes.

Mining camps--California--History--19th century.

Mining camps.

California--Economic conditions--19th century.

California.

California--Social conditions--19th century.

California--History--19th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (297 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Boulder : University Press of Colorado, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Mercury and the Making of California, Andrew Johnston's multidisciplinary examination of the history and cultural landscapes of California's mercury-mining industry, raises mercury to its rightful place alongside gold and silver in the development of the American West. Gold and silver could not be refined without mercury; therefore, its production and use were vital to securing power and wealth in the West. The first industrialized mining in California, mercury mining had its own particular organization, structure, and built environments. These were formed within the Spanish Empire, subsequently transformed by British imperial ambitions, and eventually manipulated by American bankers and investors. In California mercury mining also depended on a workforce differentiated by race and ethnicity. The landscapes of work and camp and the relations among the many groups involved in the industry-Mexicans, Chileans, Spanish, English, Irish, Cornish, American, and Chinese-form a crucial chapter in the complex history of race and ethnicity in the American West.This pioneering study explicates the mutual structuring of the built environments of the mercury-mining industry and the emergence of California's ethnic communities. Combining rich documentary sources with a close examination of the existing physical landscape, Johnston explores both the detail of everyday work and life in the mines and the larger economic and social structures in which mercury mining was enmeshed, revealing the significance of mercury mining for Western history.

Contents:

Introduction: California, the quicksilver state

British imperialism and California's quicksilver

Money and power in California's quicksilver industry

A geography of mercury mining in California

Ethnic and racial hierarchies at New Almaden

Race, technology and work in the 1870s

Race, family, and camp life in the 1870s

Conclusion: the legacy of mercury mining.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781457184017

145718401X

9781607322436

1607322439

OCLC:

856932915