David Pretel
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Economic History, Faculty Member
- Global History, History of Capitalism, Atlantic World, Latin American and Caribbean History, Environmental History, History of Science and Technology, and 17 moreEconomic History, African History, History of Commodities in a Global Perspective, International History, History of Slavery, Intellectual History, Historiography, Historical and Comparative Sociology, History of Social Sciences, Atlantic history, Economic Anthropology, Global Intellectual Property Laws (patents) & Biopolitics, Imperialism, Colonialism, science and technology studies (STS), History, and World-Ecologyedit
- My general areas of research interest are the history of technology and the history of capitalism in the 19th and 20t... moreMy general areas of research interest are the history of technology and the history of capitalism in the 19th and 20th centuries, with an ever-increasing interest in the global history of tropical forests. If you have any questions or are interested in obtaining copies of other publications that are not available online, please contact me at david.pretel@uam.esedit
Pretel, David, 'Towards a Technological History of Commodity Production', in Jonathan Curry-Machado, and others (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Commodity History, Oxford Handbooks (2024; online edn, Oxford Academic, 18 Dec. 2023),... more
Pretel, David, 'Towards a Technological History of Commodity Production', in Jonathan Curry-Machado, and others (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Commodity History, Oxford Handbooks (2024; online edn, Oxford Academic, 18 Dec. 2023), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197502679.013.14
This chapter explores the technological history of export commodities, especially as it pertains to the processes of extraction and processing in the Global South. General historiographic reflections are combined with detailed historical examples spanning the past six centuries. The objective is to appraise the impact of technology in commodity cycles using a variety of case studies, in particular the production of sugar, silver, henequen, and tree products. Rather than attempting a comprehensive examination of all the technological dimensions of commodity frontiers and chains, this chapter concentrates on the significance of industrial treatment of raw materials in Asia, Africa, and Latin America; the emergence of technological interconnections among distant regions; the displacement of natural resources by artificial substitutes; the persistence of traditional production techniques; and the collaboration of local and imported expertise. Taken together, these serve as a call for a technological history of global commodity production.
This chapter explores the technological history of export commodities, especially as it pertains to the processes of extraction and processing in the Global South. General historiographic reflections are combined with detailed historical examples spanning the past six centuries. The objective is to appraise the impact of technology in commodity cycles using a variety of case studies, in particular the production of sugar, silver, henequen, and tree products. Rather than attempting a comprehensive examination of all the technological dimensions of commodity frontiers and chains, this chapter concentrates on the significance of industrial treatment of raw materials in Asia, Africa, and Latin America; the emergence of technological interconnections among distant regions; the displacement of natural resources by artificial substitutes; the persistence of traditional production techniques; and the collaboration of local and imported expertise. Taken together, these serve as a call for a technological history of global commodity production.
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This article reconsiders the production of tropical forest commodities during the industrial age. It argues that writing the global history of jungle commodities requires combining an analysis of local production with larger histories of... more
This article reconsiders the production of tropical forest commodities during the industrial age. It argues that writing the global history of jungle commodities requires combining an analysis of local production with larger histories of trans-local interaction and exchange. To that end, this article exposes the nineteenth-and twentieth-century production connections between jungle frontiers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and industries and research laboratories in Europe and North America. While tropical forests are usually seen as places of basic raw material extraction, this article alternatively presents them as complex technological landscapes, where production is entangled with chemical, consumer, electrical, and pharmaceutical industries. Significant accounts of tropical forest labor activities shed light on what techniques and skills were required for producing vital global commodities and how these changed over time.
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Historians have thoroughly documented the development of mercury-based silver refining in Spanish America in the late sixteenth century, and its use for over 300 years on an industrial scale unknown in Europe. However, we currently lack... more
Historians have thoroughly documented the development of mercury-based silver refining in Spanish America in the late sixteenth century, and its use for over 300 years on an industrial scale unknown in Europe. However, we currently lack any consensus about the significance of this technology in the global history of knowledge. This article critically reassesses the invention and improvement of this refining method with the aim of addressing two interrelated issues. Firstly, how experiential knowledge and practical skills in silver refining were deliberately harnessed to solve a specific technical problem. Secondly, how economic incentives and patronage set the stage for empirical practices and a collaborative culture that facilitated the widespread use of this novel technique. In so doing, this article places silver refining within the theoretical constructs and historiography of useful knowledge, and bridges narratives that have remained largely isolated.
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Volume 14, Number 1, February 2021, pp. 120-145. This article provides an environmental history of indigenous resistance during the Caste War, a major Indian revolt that took place in the Yucatan peninsula between 1847 and 1901. It argues... more
Volume 14, Number 1, February 2021, pp. 120-145.
This article provides an environmental history of indigenous resistance during the Caste War, a major Indian revolt that took place in the Yucatan peninsula between 1847 and 1901. It argues that the evolution of the war was bound to the material conditions of the vast Maya rainforest and the expanding built environment at this area's commodity frontiers. In this regard, the article advances two main theses. First, that the Maya rainforest was an ideal battleground for the insurgents' guerrilla warfare but extremely challenging for regular military columns. Second, that indigenous subversion and survival rested on both commodity extraction and everyday agricultural practices carried out in the forest. In short, indigenous resistance was built on the ecology and geography of the rainforest at the contested interstices of empires and nations
https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/whp/ge/2021/00000014/00000001
This article provides an environmental history of indigenous resistance during the Caste War, a major Indian revolt that took place in the Yucatan peninsula between 1847 and 1901. It argues that the evolution of the war was bound to the material conditions of the vast Maya rainforest and the expanding built environment at this area's commodity frontiers. In this regard, the article advances two main theses. First, that the Maya rainforest was an ideal battleground for the insurgents' guerrilla warfare but extremely challenging for regular military columns. Second, that indigenous subversion and survival rested on both commodity extraction and everyday agricultural practices carried out in the forest. In short, indigenous resistance was built on the ecology and geography of the rainforest at the contested interstices of empires and nations
https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/whp/ge/2021/00000014/00000001
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El presente artículo discute las principales aportaciones de la Nueva Historia del Capitalismo escrita en los últimos quince años, prestando especial atención al interés de esta perspectiva historiográfica por repensar la vieja cuestión... more
El presente artículo discute las principales aportaciones de la Nueva Historia del Capitalismo escrita en los últimos quince años, prestando especial atención al interés de esta perspectiva historiográfica por repensar la vieja cuestión de la relación entre capitalismo y esclavitud. El ensayo cuestiona el lugar relativamente periférico de América Latina y el Caribe en esta renovada historiografía y muestra los beneficios de ampliar el debate hacia la extracción de recursos y formación de capital durante la «segunda esclavitud» en Brasil y Cuba. A lo largo del ensayo se apuntan asimismo nuevas vías de investigación como los estudios centrados en las dimensiones tecnológica, empresarial y medioambiental de la forma de producción esclavista en el continente americano y el mundo atlántico.
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(awarded an honorable mention to the best article by the CMCH) El presente artículo aborda el impacto del cambio tecnológico en la evolución de las fronteras de producción de mercancías tropicales por medio del estudio de los casos del... more
(awarded an honorable mention to the best article by the CMCH)
El presente artículo aborda el impacto del cambio tecnológico en la evolución de las fronteras de producción de mercancías tropicales por medio del estudio de los casos del palo de tinte y el chicle en la península yucateca desde mediados del siglo XIX hasta la segunda guerra mundial. Tres son los propósitos de este texto. En primer lugar, poner de relieve el papel que el cambio tecnológico a distintas escalas tuvo en el auge y declive de las cadenas globales de mercancías tropicales, en particular forestales, durante los años de la llamada segunda revolución industrial. En segundo lugar, argumentar que los ciclos de explotación del palo de tinte y el chicle en la península de Yucatán estuvieron determinados por la articulación de tecnologías globales y locales, en concreto químicas, botánicas y mecánicas. En tercer lugar, demostrar que las cadenas globales de transformación de estos dos recursos forestales fueron espacios de sincronía tecnocientífica, al conectar dos culturas tecnológicas disímiles.
El presente artículo aborda el impacto del cambio tecnológico en la evolución de las fronteras de producción de mercancías tropicales por medio del estudio de los casos del palo de tinte y el chicle en la península yucateca desde mediados del siglo XIX hasta la segunda guerra mundial. Tres son los propósitos de este texto. En primer lugar, poner de relieve el papel que el cambio tecnológico a distintas escalas tuvo en el auge y declive de las cadenas globales de mercancías tropicales, en particular forestales, durante los años de la llamada segunda revolución industrial. En segundo lugar, argumentar que los ciclos de explotación del palo de tinte y el chicle en la península de Yucatán estuvieron determinados por la articulación de tecnologías globales y locales, en concreto químicas, botánicas y mecánicas. En tercer lugar, demostrar que las cadenas globales de transformación de estos dos recursos forestales fueron espacios de sincronía tecnocientífica, al conectar dos culturas tecnológicas disímiles.
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This article examines the role of international dynamics in the early development of Latin American patent regimes during the long nineteenth century. It locates various national systems in their international contexts and delineates... more
This article examines the role of international dynamics in the early development of Latin American patent regimes during the long nineteenth century. It locates various national systems in their international contexts and delineates their differences from late colonial times until the region's export age. It then investigates the role of Latin American countries in the international and regional patent agreements that emerged in the late nineteenth century. The article advances the hypothesis that patent institutions and multilateral agreements were far from an urgent necessity for Latin American countries and had a limited impact on the technological transformation of this region before 1930.
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This article considers the evolution of natural resource frontiers in the Caribbean from the perspective of the history of technology —specifically the changing relations between technological change and the life cycles of commodities... more
This article considers the evolution of natural resource frontiers in the Caribbean from the perspective of the history of technology —specifically the changing relations between technological change and the life cycles of commodities between the mid-nineteenth century and the Second World War. Drawing on the cases of three basic resources produced in the Maya-populated Yucatán peninsula —logwood, henequen and chicle— it offers an account of the rise and decline of global commodities. The article contends that the shifting trends of production, trade and consumption of these raw materials were primarily determined by the historical interplay of global technologies, local knowledge and practices, and environmental conditions of production.
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Anyone teaching or researching the Latin American history of technology has probably faced the following criticism: Latin America is not home to an innovative technological culture; it is not a cohesive technological region – so why study... more
Anyone teaching or researching the Latin American history of technology has probably faced the following criticism: Latin America is not home to an innovative technological culture; it is not a cohesive technological region – so why study this? These commonly held views may explain why (until recently) the history of technology in Latin America has been considered of secondary importance. That said, the interest and research in the role of technological change in the economic, political and social history of the region are not new nor small in scope. It is a growing field, particularly in regard to the development of English-language scholarship. Over the past three decades, there has been a new trend in the field, one that privileges the study of technologies in socio-cultural context, factoring in local communities of expertise, hybrid knowledge and domestic technical capacities in infrastructure, agricultural production, nuclear energy and computers, just to name the foremost sectors.
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This paper examines the rise of various forms of patent expertise over the course of the second industrialisation. The essential insight here is that patent agents and lawyers, as well as consultant engineers, became, in the late 19th... more
This paper examines the rise of various forms of patent expertise over the course of
the second industrialisation. The essential insight here is that patent agents and lawyers, as well as consultant engineers, became, in the late 19th century, critical actors in the production and transmission of patent rights and patented technologies within and among societies. This paper considers three main themes. First, the global institutionalisation of patent agents during the late nineteenth century and their growing centrality in several national systems. Second, the transnational patenting networks created during the 1880s, particularly the activities of associations of patent agents and their impact on the making of an international patent system. Third, the controversial role of patent experts as agents of corporate globalism. The most important point remains that agents’ powers, and their many services to multinational corporations, had enduring consequences on the structure of knowledge property worldwide.
the second industrialisation. The essential insight here is that patent agents and lawyers, as well as consultant engineers, became, in the late 19th century, critical actors in the production and transmission of patent rights and patented technologies within and among societies. This paper considers three main themes. First, the global institutionalisation of patent agents during the late nineteenth century and their growing centrality in several national systems. Second, the transnational patenting networks created during the 1880s, particularly the activities of associations of patent agents and their impact on the making of an international patent system. Third, the controversial role of patent experts as agents of corporate globalism. The most important point remains that agents’ powers, and their many services to multinational corporations, had enduring consequences on the structure of knowledge property worldwide.
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Este trabajo ofrece un estudio de los sistemas coloniales de patentes durante el siglo XIX. En primer lugar, se muestra la heterogeneidad en la regulación y práctica administrativa de las instituciones de patentes coloniales en los... more
Este trabajo ofrece un estudio de los sistemas coloniales de patentes durante el siglo XIX. En primer lugar, se muestra la heterogeneidad en la regulación y práctica administrativa de las instituciones de patentes coloniales en los distintos imperios atlánticos, con especial atención al caso de América Latina. En segundo lugar, se estudia en detalle el funcionamiento y la evolución institucional del sistema de patentes
colonial en Puerto Rico, Cuba y Filipinas. Se sostiene que entre 1820 y 1860 este sistema fue una institución imperfecta, de corte neomercantilista, controlada por las corporaciones coloniales y que servía de espacio colectivo de intercambio de información tecnológica. En tercer lugar, se muestra la recon guración del sistema de patentes en las colonias españolas durante las dos últimas décadas del siglo XIX, en un contexto de acuerdos multilaterales y creciente in uencia estadunidense.
Palabras clave: patentes; colonialismo; neo-mercantilismo; instituciones; tecnología.
colonial en Puerto Rico, Cuba y Filipinas. Se sostiene que entre 1820 y 1860 este sistema fue una institución imperfecta, de corte neomercantilista, controlada por las corporaciones coloniales y que servía de espacio colectivo de intercambio de información tecnológica. En tercer lugar, se muestra la recon guración del sistema de patentes en las colonias españolas durante las dos últimas décadas del siglo XIX, en un contexto de acuerdos multilaterales y creciente in uencia estadunidense.
Palabras clave: patentes; colonialismo; neo-mercantilismo; instituciones; tecnología.
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Durante el siglo XIX los sistemas de patentes de los distintos países tuvieron una evolución institucional heterogénea. Este artículo explora los determinantes internacionales de esta diversidad institucional tomando como estudio de caso... more
Durante el siglo XIX los sistemas de patentes de los distintos países tuvieron una evolución institucional heterogénea. Este artículo explora los determinantes internacionales de esta diversidad institucional tomando como estudio de caso el sistema español. En vez de trazar la causalidad de la institución al desempeño económico, se explora la relación inversa, es decir, cómo la dependencia y el retraso tecnológico españoles incidieron en la organización institucional de su sistema de patentes. El impacto de las dinámicas internacionales se hizo sentir en distintas esferas del sistema: en su naturaleza periférica, híbrida y dual; la recepción de las controversias europeas en torno a las patentes; la temprana integración de España en el sistema internacional de patentes; y el protagonismo de los intermediarios internacionales. Se concluye señalando que las variaciones en la arquitectura institucional y la práctica administrativa de los distintos sistemas nacionales fueron la consecuencia de la construcción de un sistema internacional de patentes asimétrico.
Abstract
The various nineteenth-century national patent systems had a heterogeneous institutional evolution. This article explores the international determinants of this institutional diversity, using the Spanish system as a case study. Instead of presenting the causality as running from institutions to economic performance, it explores the inverse relationship, that is, how Spain's technological backwardness and dependency set the stage for the institutional organisation of this country's patent system. The international dynamics manifested in different aspects of the system: its peripheral, hybrid and dual nature; the Spanish reception of the European controversy over patent rights; the early Spanish integration into the international patent system; and the prominence of international intermediaries. The article concludes that nineteenth-century variations in the institutional architecture and the administrative practices of the various national systems were the consequence of the historical making of an asymmetric international patent system.
Abstract
The various nineteenth-century national patent systems had a heterogeneous institutional evolution. This article explores the international determinants of this institutional diversity, using the Spanish system as a case study. Instead of presenting the causality as running from institutions to economic performance, it explores the inverse relationship, that is, how Spain's technological backwardness and dependency set the stage for the institutional organisation of this country's patent system. The international dynamics manifested in different aspects of the system: its peripheral, hybrid and dual nature; the Spanish reception of the European controversy over patent rights; the early Spanish integration into the international patent system; and the prominence of international intermediaries. The article concludes that nineteenth-century variations in the institutional architecture and the administrative practices of the various national systems were the consequence of the historical making of an asymmetric international patent system.
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Invention, Techno-Nationalism and Progress: The Discourse of Intellectual Property in Nineteenth-Century Spain This article examines the discourse of the social actors who operated within or through the Spanish patent institution... more
Invention, Techno-Nationalism and Progress: The Discourse of Intellectual Property in Nineteenth-Century Spain
This article examines the discourse of the social actors who operated within or through the Spanish patent institution during the nineteenth century. The article’s principal focus is the representation and conceptualisation of technological change in the social sites of invention and patenting activity. During the mid-nineteenth century, a discourse in support of mechanisation, industrial progress and intellectual property became dominant in this social environment. This discourse had an important techno-nationalistic component in a context of increasing economic globalisation, with its winners and losers, and the international technological competition displayed in colossal industrial exhibitions. Specifically, this article analyses the content of La Gaceta Industrial, a technical journal devoted largely to the world of invention and patents, and the explicit and implicit discourse of the technical and administrative documentation of patents granted in Spain during the period.
Keywords: : Invention, progress, techno-nationalism, La Gaceta Industrial, patents.
El artículo estudia el discurso elaborado en los espacios de la propiedad industrial durante el siglo XIX español. Se presta especial atención a la conceptualización y representación del cambio tecnológico y la retórica empleada por aquellos agentes sociales próximos al mundo de la invención tecnológica y la propiedad industrial. En las décadas centrales del siglo XIX empezó a generalizarse entre este grupo social un discurso apologético de la mecanización, el progreso industrial y la propiedad del invento. Este discurso se impregnaba de una retórica nacionalista que se veía estimulada por la creciente globalización económica, con sus consiguientes líderes y seguidores, y la competencia tecnológica escenificada en colosales exposiciones industriales. En concreto, el artículo analiza el contenido de una publicación técnica vinculada con la promoción y difusión de la información contenida en las patentes, La Gaceta Industrial, y el discurso, tanto explícito como implícito, de la documentación técnica y administrativa de los privilegios reales y de las patentes de invención solicitadas en España en este periodo.
Palabras clave: : Invención, progreso, nacionalismo tecnológico, La Gaceta Industrial, patentes.
This article examines the discourse of the social actors who operated within or through the Spanish patent institution during the nineteenth century. The article’s principal focus is the representation and conceptualisation of technological change in the social sites of invention and patenting activity. During the mid-nineteenth century, a discourse in support of mechanisation, industrial progress and intellectual property became dominant in this social environment. This discourse had an important techno-nationalistic component in a context of increasing economic globalisation, with its winners and losers, and the international technological competition displayed in colossal industrial exhibitions. Specifically, this article analyses the content of La Gaceta Industrial, a technical journal devoted largely to the world of invention and patents, and the explicit and implicit discourse of the technical and administrative documentation of patents granted in Spain during the period.
Keywords: : Invention, progress, techno-nationalism, La Gaceta Industrial, patents.
El artículo estudia el discurso elaborado en los espacios de la propiedad industrial durante el siglo XIX español. Se presta especial atención a la conceptualización y representación del cambio tecnológico y la retórica empleada por aquellos agentes sociales próximos al mundo de la invención tecnológica y la propiedad industrial. En las décadas centrales del siglo XIX empezó a generalizarse entre este grupo social un discurso apologético de la mecanización, el progreso industrial y la propiedad del invento. Este discurso se impregnaba de una retórica nacionalista que se veía estimulada por la creciente globalización económica, con sus consiguientes líderes y seguidores, y la competencia tecnológica escenificada en colosales exposiciones industriales. En concreto, el artículo analiza el contenido de una publicación técnica vinculada con la promoción y difusión de la información contenida en las patentes, La Gaceta Industrial, y el discurso, tanto explícito como implícito, de la documentación técnica y administrativa de los privilegios reales y de las patentes de invención solicitadas en España en este periodo.
Palabras clave: : Invención, progreso, nacionalismo tecnológico, La Gaceta Industrial, patentes.
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This article examines the transnational operations of the French firm Derosne & Cail, one of the most innovative engineering companies in the mid-nineteenth century. It would become the leading European firm supplying advanced... more
This article examines the transnational operations of the French firm Derosne & Cail, one of the most innovative engineering companies in the mid-nineteenth century. It would become the leading European firm supplying advanced steam-powered technologies and equipment to the international sugar industry. Derosne & Cail’s international expansion was achieved primarily through a global strategy that connected customers and suppliers, particularly by building an effective international network of technological knowledge and expertise. This article explores three aspects related to its international activities from 1818 to 1871 (both before and after Derosne’s death): strategies of commercialisation of steam technologies; relationships with end users; and consequences for industrialising peripheral countries in terms of the transfer of knowledge, technology, and human capital.
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This volume explores the history of natural dyes from the Americas and asks how their production and trade have shaped globalisation since early modern times. From the role of peasants, forest peoples and slaves who carried out the... more
This volume explores the history of natural dyes from the Americas and asks how their production and trade have shaped globalisation since early modern times. From the role of peasants, forest peoples and slaves who carried out the laborious extraction and production, to the merchants supplying the textile and art markets in Europe and the rest of the world, it shows how these commodities were central to early global trade and exchange.
Ranging from the indigo trade in the Atlantic to the secrets of the Indian production of cochineal consumed in Europe, the topical breadth of this collection will transport readers across continents and epochs, revealing the intricate threads that connect diverse cultures, economies, and technological advancements. Spanning several centuries, Colours, Commodities and the Birth of Globalization takes the reader on a journey that explores the goal of finding lasting colors from early mercantile capitalism in the Atlantic world to the industrial revolutions that culminated in the synthetic age of the late-19th and early-20th centuries.
Ranging from the indigo trade in the Atlantic to the secrets of the Indian production of cochineal consumed in Europe, the topical breadth of this collection will transport readers across continents and epochs, revealing the intricate threads that connect diverse cultures, economies, and technological advancements. Spanning several centuries, Colours, Commodities and the Birth of Globalization takes the reader on a journey that explores the goal of finding lasting colors from early mercantile capitalism in the Atlantic world to the industrial revolutions that culminated in the synthetic age of the late-19th and early-20th centuries.
Research Interests: History of Science and Technology, Economic History, Latin American and Caribbean History, African History, Labour history, and 9 moreHistory of Slavery, Caribbean History, History of Capitalism, Global History, Atlantic history, Latin American Economic History, History of Commodities in a Global Perspective, Environmental Hsitory, and Globalisation
This collection of essays explores the inter-imperial connections between British, Spanish, Dutch, and French Caribbean colonies, and the 'Old World' countries which founded them. Grounded in primary archival research, the thirteen... more
This collection of essays explores the inter-imperial connections between British, Spanish, Dutch, and French Caribbean colonies, and the 'Old World' countries which founded them. Grounded in primary archival research, the thirteen contributors focus on the ways that participants in the Atlantic World economy transcended imperial boundaries.
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https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319962979 This book examines the development of the Spanish patent system in the years 1826 to 1902, providing a fundamental reassessment of its evolution in an international context. The Spanish case... more
https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319962979
This book examines the development of the Spanish patent system in the years 1826 to 1902, providing a fundamental reassessment of its evolution in an international context. The Spanish case is particularly interesting because of this country’s location on the so-called European periphery and also because of the centrality of its colonial dimension. Pretel gauges the political regulation and organisation of the system, showing how it was established and how it evolved following international patterns of technological globalisation and the emergence of the ‘international patent system’ during the late nineteenth century.
Crucially, he highlights the construction and evolution of the patent system in response to the needs of Spain's technologically dependent economy. The degree of industrial backwardness in mid-nineteenth-century Spain set the stage for the institutionalisation of its modern patent system. This institutionalisation process also entailed the introduction of a new technological culture, social infrastructure and narrative that supported intellectual property rights. This book is important reading to all those interested in the history of patents and their role in globalisation.
This book examines the development of the Spanish patent system in the years 1826 to 1902, providing a fundamental reassessment of its evolution in an international context. The Spanish case is particularly interesting because of this country’s location on the so-called European periphery and also because of the centrality of its colonial dimension. Pretel gauges the political regulation and organisation of the system, showing how it was established and how it evolved following international patterns of technological globalisation and the emergence of the ‘international patent system’ during the late nineteenth century.
Crucially, he highlights the construction and evolution of the patent system in response to the needs of Spain's technologically dependent economy. The degree of industrial backwardness in mid-nineteenth-century Spain set the stage for the institutionalisation of its modern patent system. This institutionalisation process also entailed the introduction of a new technological culture, social infrastructure and narrative that supported intellectual property rights. This book is important reading to all those interested in the history of patents and their role in globalisation.
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Despite having undergone major advances in recent years, the history of technology in Latin America is still an understudied topic. This is the first English-language volume to bring together a variety of critical perspectives on the... more
Despite having undergone major advances in recent years, the history of technology in Latin America is still an understudied topic. This is the first English-language volume to bring together a variety of critical perspectives on the history of technology in Latin America from the early nineteenth century through to the present day.
This special issue, assembled by guest editors David Pretel and Helge Wendt, brings together a range of experts to explore a plethora of topics in Latin America's technological history. Papers include a study of rural telephony in 20th-century Latin America; the rise of the 'Techno-class' in modern Brazil; an analysis of the rise and fall of three Caribbean commodities; the history of educational technology in Latin America, and science and technology in Cold War Chile.
This special issue, assembled by guest editors David Pretel and Helge Wendt, brings together a range of experts to explore a plethora of topics in Latin America's technological history. Papers include a study of rural telephony in 20th-century Latin America; the rise of the 'Techno-class' in modern Brazil; an analysis of the rise and fall of three Caribbean commodities; the history of educational technology in Latin America, and science and technology in Cold War Chile.
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This book examines the role of experts and expertise in the dynamics of globalisation since the mid-nineteenth century. It shows how engineers, scientists and other experts have acted as globalising agents, providing many of the materials... more
This book examines the role of experts and expertise in the dynamics of globalisation since the mid-nineteenth century. It shows how engineers, scientists and other experts have acted as globalising agents, providing many of the materials and institutional means for world economic and technical integration. Focusing on the study of international connections, Technology and Globalisation illustrates how expert practices have shaped the political economies of interacting countries, entire regions and the world economy.
This title brings together a range of approaches and topics across different regions, transcending nationally-bounded historical narratives. Each chapter deals with a particular topic that places expert networks at the centre of the history of globalisation. The contributors concentrate on central themes including intellectual property rights, technology transfer, tropical science, energy production, large technological projects, technical standards and colonial infrastructures. Many also consider methodological, theoretical and conceptual issues.
This title brings together a range of approaches and topics across different regions, transcending nationally-bounded historical narratives. Each chapter deals with a particular topic that places expert networks at the centre of the history of globalisation. The contributors concentrate on central themes including intellectual property rights, technology transfer, tropical science, energy production, large technological projects, technical standards and colonial infrastructures. Many also consider methodological, theoretical and conceptual issues.
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Este capítulo tiene el objeto de recoger el estado de la cuestión del polarizado debate internacional sobre la reparación de la esclavitud y reflexionar sobre sus implicaciones para el caso español. Por eso, este trabajo se centra en... more
Este capítulo tiene el objeto de recoger el estado de la cuestión del polarizado debate internacional sobre la reparación de la esclavitud y reflexionar sobre sus implicaciones para el caso español. Por eso, este trabajo se centra en analizar los principales argumentos esgrimidos tanto para justificar la reparación de una injusticia histórica como para cuestionarla, viendo asimismo cuáles han sido las principales demandas e iniciativas en Europa y América.
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En este capítulo se discute la historiografía que estudia el papel de los ingenieros en la historia de América Latina desde mediados del siglo XIX. A partir de diversos ejemplos históricos, se sostiene que los ingenieros han sido una... more
En este capítulo se discute la historiografía que estudia el papel de los ingenieros en la historia de América Latina desde mediados del siglo XIX. A partir de diversos ejemplos históricos, se sostiene que los ingenieros han sido una poderosa tecnocracia en la región, frecuentemente sin legitimidad política, que ha ostentado autoridad técnica, profesional y legal. Es un colectivo con fuertes lazos con los diferentes Estados y grandes empresas latinoamericanas, dimensión que permite iluminar cómo las decisiones técnicas se han visto influenciadas por cuestiones políticas e intereses profesionales corporativos. Este capítulo también considera las redes transnacionales de ingenieros y su papel en la mediación entre instituciones y mercados, sobre todo en cuestiones de economía política.
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Research Interests:
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This paper focuses on the modernisation project of the Cuban colonial elite during the mid and late nineteenth century. It does so though the study of sugar planters’ attitudes to technology and their efforts to transform their... more
This paper focuses on the modernisation project of the Cuban colonial elite during the mid and late nineteenth century. It does so though the study of sugar planters’ attitudes to technology and their efforts to transform their small-scale slave plantations into large agro-industrial complexes.
To remain innovative, some planters went heavily into debt, despite a lack of strong incentives for introducing labor-saving innovations. Creole elites also used their political power to further their corporative interests in the sugar industry. It is not clear, however, to what extent planters’ political regulations and investments in technology succeeded in modernising the Cuban economy, and to what extent they were merely a manifestation of a rent-seeking impulse to secure their own economic enterprise.
Planters’ increasing propensity to invest in capital-intensive technology should be seen as part of a broader trend of optimism about the virtues of technical advancement and industrial modernisation. Cultural motivations as well as economic ones were behind planters’ attraction to cutting-edge technology. For planters the investment in new technology was not only an economic opportunity, but also an indication of status and wealth.
To remain innovative, some planters went heavily into debt, despite a lack of strong incentives for introducing labor-saving innovations. Creole elites also used their political power to further their corporative interests in the sugar industry. It is not clear, however, to what extent planters’ political regulations and investments in technology succeeded in modernising the Cuban economy, and to what extent they were merely a manifestation of a rent-seeking impulse to secure their own economic enterprise.
Planters’ increasing propensity to invest in capital-intensive technology should be seen as part of a broader trend of optimism about the virtues of technical advancement and industrial modernisation. Cultural motivations as well as economic ones were behind planters’ attraction to cutting-edge technology. For planters the investment in new technology was not only an economic opportunity, but also an indication of status and wealth.
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Journal of American History, Volume 104, Issue 3, 1 December 2017, Pages 752–753, https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jax331
https://academic.oup.com/jah/article-abstract/104/3/752/4655083
https://academic.oup.com/jah/article-abstract/104/3/752/4655083
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Pretel, D. Review: Edward Beatty. Technology and the Search for Progress in Modern Mexico. University of California Press, 2015. Investigaciones de Historia Económica - Economic History Research (2016).... more
Pretel, D. Review: Edward Beatty. Technology and the Search for Progress in Modern Mexico. University of California Press, 2015.
Investigaciones de Historia Económica - Economic History Research (2016).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ihe.2016.07.004.
Investigaciones de Historia Económica - Economic History Research (2016).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ihe.2016.07.004.
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Book Review: Emanuele Saccarelli y Latha Varadarajan, Imperialism: Past and Present, New York, Oxford University Press, 2015, 256 pp.Illes i Imperis 18, 2016, 219-221 http://dx.doi.org/10.2436/20.8050.02.15
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"Review of Christine MacLeod: Heroes of invention. Technology, Liberalism and British Identity, 1750-1914", Investigaciones de Historia Económica 05(13), (193-195). Christine MacLeod, Heroes of Invention: Technology, Liberalism and... more
"Review of Christine MacLeod: Heroes of invention. Technology, Liberalism and British Identity, 1750-1914", Investigaciones de Historia Económica 05(13), (193-195).
Christine MacLeod, Heroes of Invention: Technology, Liberalism and British Identity, 1750-1914. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. xv + 458 pp. $105 (cloth), ISBN: 978-0-521-87370-3.
Christine MacLeod, Heroes of Invention: Technology, Liberalism and British Identity, 1750-1914. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. xv + 458 pp. $105 (cloth), ISBN: 978-0-521-87370-3.