If stable and efficient banks are such a good idea, why are they so rare? -- The game of bank bargains -- Tools of conquest and survival : why states need banks -- Privileges with burdens : war, empire, and the monopoly structure of English banking -- Banks and democracy : Britain in the...

Examining the commodity chains that have connected producers in Latin America with consumers around the world for 500 years, this work follows a specific commodity from its inception, through its development and transport, to its final destination in the hands of consumers