Understanding Capitalism Through Cotton
Looking at the development of cotton as a global commodity, explains historian Sven Beckert, helps us understand how capitalism emerged.
Stevia’s Global Story
Native to Paraguay, Ka’a he’e followed a circuitous path through Indigenous medicine, Japanese food science, and American marketing to reach the US sweeteners market.
The Colonial History of the Telegraph
Gutta-percha, a natural resin, enabled European countries to communicate with their colonial outposts around the world.
Alpha. Bravo. Cyrillic.
Free from Russian dictates over language usage and education, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan prepare to embrace Latin lettering. It’s the latest chapter in the region’s fraught history of alphabet reform.
Peppers and Spice and Everything Nice
How humans have acquired, used, and assigned cultural value to spices, from sage to cinnamon, chili pepper to salt.
Holiday Supply Chain Issues of Ancient Rome
Hey, at least we’re not trying to track down frankincense and myrrh.
Did Kongolese Catholicism Lead to Slave Revolutions?
The legacy of Kimpa Vita, a Kongolese Catholic mystic, was felt from the U.S. to Haiti.
Why India Once Led The Fashion Industry
India led the fashion world in the 16th and 17th centuries through cotton fabric, design motifs, and its customer-centric market system.
What If the World Were Flat and Columbus Had Fallen Off the Edge of the Earth?
What if Columbus had never made it to America?