NOTES

CHAPTER 1 / Two Monuments

1 Location of La Isabela: Colón 2004:314; Léon Guerrero 2000:247–51; Las Casas 1951:vol. 1, 362–63; Anghiera 1912:87; Chanca 1494:62–64; Colón, C. 1494(?). Relation of the Second Voyage. In Varela and Gil eds. 1992:235–54 (“a very suitable area of high land … not a closed port, but rather a very large bay in which all the vessels in the world will fit,” 247 [my thanks to Scott Sessions for helping me with the translation]). As Morison noted, though, the harbor is open to the north, “rendering the anchorage untenable” in winter storms, and potable water was about a mile away (1983:430–31).

2 Description of La Isabela: Author’s visit; Deagan and Cruxent 2002a:chap. 3; 2002b:chap. 4 (esp. fig. 4.2).

3 Colón’s life: Recent biographical studies include Abulafia 2008; Wey Gómez 2008; Fernández-Armesto 2001, 1991; Taviani 1996; Phillips and Phillips 1992. Useful but dated is Morison 1983. Biographies by contemporaries are Colón 2004; Las Casas 1951:vol. 1; vol. 2:1–200 (the two frequently are identical). See also the notes to p. 12.

4 Shuttle flight: I owe this simile to William Kelso.

5 First and second voyages: Abulafia 2008: 10–30, 105–212; Colón 2004:chaps 13–63; Fernández-Armesto 2001:51–114; Léon Guerrero 2000; Las Casas 1951:vol. 1 (“bailiff posthaste,” 170; Colón’s share of budget, 175–76); Phillips and Phillips 1992:120–211 (ship lengths, 144–45); Varela and Gil eds. 1992:95–365 (Colón’s and other letters); Gould 1984 (Colón’s crew); Oviedo y Valdés 1851:bks. 1–4; Cuneo 1495:50–63. Las Casas says the second voyage had “1,500 men, all or almost all paid by Their Highnesses” (1951:vol. 1, 346); court historian Andrés Bernáldez says (1870:vol.2, 5) that the ships had “one thousand two hundred fighting men in them, or a little less,” a tally that seems not to include seamen, priests, artisans, etc.

6 “magnificent walls”: Scillaccio, N. 1494. The Islands Recently Discovered in the Southern and Indian Seas. In Symcox ed. 2002:162–74, at 172.

7 Worldwide spread of tobacco: See Chaps. 2, 5; Satow 1877:70–71 (Tokyo gangs).

8 Early pan-Eurasian trade: Overviews include Bernstein 2008:1–109; Abu-Lughod 1991.

9 Colón as beginning of globalization: I adopt this point from Phillips and Phillips (1992:241), who say that the admiral “placed the world on the path” to global integration.

10 Exceptions: Decker-Walters 2001 (bottle gourds); Zizumbo-Villarreal and Quero 1998 (coconuts); Montenegro et al. 2007 (sweet potatoes).

11 Torn seams of Pangaea: Crosby 1986: 9–12.

12 Columbian Exchange: Crosby 2003.

13 Comparison to death of dinosaurs: Crosby 1986: 271. Crosby’s point (2003:xxvi) is increasingly accepted: “Even the economic historian may occasionally miss what any ecologist or geographer would find glaringly obvious after a cursory reading of the basic original sources of the sixteenth century: the most important changes brought on by the Columbian voyages were biological in nature.”

14 Santa María, La Navidad: Abulafia 2008:168–71; Colón 2004:108–13; Morison 1983:300–07; Colón 1493:177–86. La Navidad may have been near the town of Caracol, in northern Haiti; the anchor of the Santa María may have been found there in the eighteenth century (Moreau de Saint-Méry 1797–98:vol. 1, 163, 189, 208).

15 Taino: Rouse 1992.

16 Destruction of La Navidad: Abulafia 2008: 168–71; Las Casas 1951:vol. 1, 356–59; Chanca 1494:51–54 (“grown over them,” 54—I translate yerba as “weeds” and “vegetation”). Las Casas (1951:vol. 1, 357) gives the number of bodies as “seven or eight”; Colón’s son (2004:312) gives the figure as eleven. Michele de Cuneo (1495) says that the Spaniards feared they had been eaten.

17 Creation of La Isabela: Abulafia 2008:192–98; Las Casas 1951:vol. 1, 363–64, 376–78; Anghiera 1912:88 (gardens); Cuneo 1495:178 (“roofed with weeds”).

18 Reiter’s syndrome (footnote): Disease at La Isabela: Allison 1980; Aceves-Avila et al. 1998; Chanca 1494:66–67; Las Casas 1951:vol. 1, 376. Colón’s sickness: Colón 2004:329; Las Casas 1951:vol. 1, 396–97; and Colón, C. 1494. Letter to the Monarchs, 26 Feb. In Varela and Gil eds. 1992:313. Rheumatologist Gerald Weissmann has written up Colón as a case study (1998:154–55). According to Las Casas (1951:vol. 1, 363–64), whose father and brother were eyewitnesses, the admiral also fell sick in January; the summer attack may have been a second, worse bout. Colón described “a sickness that deprived me of all sense and understanding, as if it were pestilence or modorra” (313). Reiter’s is not linked to modorra (swoony somnolence, then regarded as its own disease), but has been associated with high fever and confusion, which may be close enough. Colón’s later symptoms, such as inflammation, match more closely.

19 Margarit’s betrayal: Abulafia 2008:202–03; Phillips and Phillips 1992:207–08; Poole 1974; Las Casas 1951:vol. 1, 399–400; Oviedo y Valdés 1851:vol. 1, 54. Poole argues that Margarit’s departure was less a betrayal than the action of a dutiful royal servant reporting the chaos in the colony, but this is a difference of nuance—his report was strongly anti-Colón.

20 War with Taino: Abulafia 2008:201–07; Colón, C. Letter to the Monarchs, 14 Oct. 1495. In Varela and Gil eds. 1992:316–30 (“the land,” 318); Castellanos 1930–32:vol. 1, 45 (Elegía II [chemical warfare]).

21 Dominican Republic in Columbian Exchange: E-mail to author, Bart Voorzanger (gross); Hays and Conant 2007 (mongoose); Eastwood et al. 2006 (swallowtail); Guerrero et al. 2004 (swallowtail); Martin et al. 2004 (forest understory); Rocheleau et al. 2001 (forest change); Parsons 1972 (African grass [bedding, 14]); Hitchcock 1936 (African grasses, 161, 259).

22 Fire ant onslaught: Wilson 2006, 2005; Williams and Matile-Ferraro 1999:146 (African scale insects); Las Casas 1951:vol. 3, 271–73 (all other quotes); Oviedo y Valdés 1851 (“depopulated,” vol. 1, 453 [bk. 15, chap. 1]; plantains, vol. 1, 291–93 [bk. 8, chap. 1]); Herrera y Tordesillas 1601–15:vol. 2, 105–06 (Dec. 2, bk. 3, chap. 14). The plantains were imported from the Canary Islands, off the West African coast. Most of the scale insects involved were mealybugs. Oviedo reported that “the ants in these parts are very good friends” of plantains (vol. 1, 291).

23 “millions of them”: Colón, C. Letter to the Catholic Monarchs, Apr.-May 1494. In Varela and Gil eds. 1992:284. Cuento de cuentos literally means “a million millions,” or one trillion. But trillón did not enter Spanish until the seventeenth century. Colón clearly intended “a whole lot,” so I use “millions upon millions” to convey this indeterminacy with a period term. My thanks to Scott Sessions for help with this translation.

24 Estimates of Hispaniola population fall: Livi-Bacci 2003 (table of estimates, 7; “a few hundred thousand,” 48; 1514 count, 25–34); Las Casas 1992:29 (“three million”). Geographer William Denevan, author of many studies of pre-contact demography, believes (pers. comm.) the figure is 500,000–750,000.

25 Fewer than five hundred Taino: Oviedo y Valdés 1851 (“no one believes in this year of 1548 there are as many as 500 persons,” vol. 1, 71 [bk. 3, chap. 6]). Las Casas claimed that “not 1000 souls could have survived or escaped this misery” by 1518–19 (1951:vol. 1, 270). Oviedo lived on the island from 1514 to 1556, Las Casas from 1502 to about 1540.

26 Santo Domingo in poverty: Bigges 1589:32. When Sir Francis Drake sacked the city, it was too poor “for lacke of people to worke in the Mines” to give him much ransom.

27 Absence of diseases in Americas, incursion of new diseases: A summary is Mann 2005:86–133.

28 Taino genes: E-mail to author, Juan Carlos Martinez-Cruzado (University of Puerto Rico). Martinez-Cruzado reported in July 2009 “finding Native American mtDNA at ~15% in the Dominican Republic,” but at the time of writing was still trying to distinguish what fraction was Taino.

29 Charges against Colón: See, e.g., Sale 2006. Index entries under “Colón” indicate his general tone: “complaining,” “deceptive,” “exaggeration and boasting,” “preoccupation with glory, with lineage,” “self-pity,” “self-serving.” For reactions to Colón over time, see Stavans 2001.

30 Lighthouse first proposed: Del Monte y Tejada 1852–90:vol. 1, 316–19 (“divine decree,” 316).

31 Colón’s collected writings: Varela and Gil eds. 1992.

32 Signature: Colón, C. Entail of estate, 22 Feb. 1498. In Varela and Gils eds. 1992:356. See also, Morison 1986:356–57; Milhou 1983:55–90.

33 “San Fernando”: Colón 2004:238. See also, Las Casas 1951: Vol. 1, Chap. 2. My brief biography relies on the sources cited in the notes to p. 4.

34 Two constants: Here I follow Fernández-Armesto 2001. For Colón’s attempts to found a dynasty, see, e.g., his instructions for dynastic succession in Colón 1498. See also the determined efforts to preserve the records of his noble privileges in what has come to be known as the Book of Privileges (Nader 1996:10–13). The best analysis of his religious beliefs I have seen is Milhou 1983; see also, Delaney 2006; Watts 1985.

35 “conquest of the Holy Land”: Colón 1493:181. Colón amplified his hopes in a 1493 letter to the monarchs: “Divine grace permitting,…seven years from today, I will be able to pay to Your Highnesses the costs of five thousand cavalry and fifty thousand infantry in the war and conquest of Jerusalem, which was the reason for undertaking this enterprise” (Varela and Gil eds. 1992:227–35, at 232). See also, Delaney 2006; Rusconi ed. 1997:71–77 (unsent Colón missive exhorting the monarchs to take Jerusalem); Colón 1498:360 (instructing his heirs to help with the conquest). My thanks to Scott Sessions for helping me with this material.

36 “pear-shaped Earth”: Colón, C. Relation of the Third Voyage, Aug.(?). 1498. In Varela and Gil eds. 1992:377 (“put there”); 380 (“by divine will”). Reporting to the monarchs about his third voyage, Colón claimed to have found the Paradise nipple. At the mouth of the Orinoco River, in Venezuela, he had ascended the slopes that led to “this protruding part” (ibid.:377). Heaven was presumably near the river’s headwaters. Such ideas were widely shared; Dante put Paradise on top of a huge projection he called Mount Purgatory (Lester 2009:292–95). My thanks to Scott Sessions for translation help.

37 Islam, Venice, Genoa as middlemen: My thanks to Dennis Flynn for straightening me out. See, e.g., Bernstein 2008:70–76; Hourani 1995:51–87ff.

38 Eratosthenes: Crease 2003:chap. 1 (“around the globe,” 3). Eratosthenes’s actual figure was probably closer to 29,000 miles, which most science historians view as remarkably accurate.

39 Colón’s geography: Wey Gómez 2008:65–99, 143–58; Varela and Gil eds. 1992:90–91 (quadrant); Nunn 1924:chap. 1. Colón also relied on the cosmographer Pierre d’Ailly, who argued that East Asia had to be near West Africa (Nunn 1935). D’Ailly took his ideas from Roger Bacon (1962:311), who in turn based his on a mistaken reading of Aristotle. (Aristotle in fact wrote [1924:II.14], “[M]athematicians who try to calculate the size of the earth’s circumference arrive at the figure 400,000 stades”—about 45,500 miles, twice its actual size.) Colón knew nothing of such scholarly niceties, and there is no evidence that he would have cared. Old Spanish nautical miles are close enough to current terrestrial miles that I ignore the difference.

40 “in the Apocalypse”: Colón, C. 1500. Letter to Dona Juana de la Torre. In Varela and Gil eds. 1992:430–37, at 430.

41 Converting emperor of China: Colón, C. 1503. Relation of the Fourth Voyage, 7 Jul. In Varela and Gil eds. 1992:485–503, at 498.

42 Inuits in Ireland (footnote): Varela and Gil eds. 1992:89 (marginalia). The story is brushed aside by Morison (1983:25), mentioned without comment by Phillips and Phillips (1992:105), and dismissed by Quinn (1992:282–85). By contrast, Jack Forbes (2007:9) calls the marginalia “solid, indisputable evidence that Columbus and others had seen Native Americans at Galway.” My thanks to Scott Sessions for helping me translate Colón’s note.

43 History of lighthouse project: González 2007; Roorda 1998:114–18, 283–85; Farah 1992; French 1992a, b (protests); Wilentz 1990; Gleave 1952.

44 Homogenocene: Samways 1999. It is more often called the Anthropocene.

45 Legazpi and Urdaneta before expedition: Rubio Mañé 1970, 1964; Mitchell 1964 (Urdaneta selects Legazpi, 105); De Borja 2005:chap. 3. Enriquez, M. 1561. Letter to Philip II, 9 Feb. In B&R 3:83–84 (Urdaneta and Legazpi as relatives); idem 1573. Letter to Felipe II, 5 Dec. In B&R 3:209–22, at 216–17 (Legazpi sells property). A popular account is Sanz y Díaz 1967:3–17.

46 King’s hopes for mission: Royal Audiencia of New Spain. Instructions to Legazpi, 1 Sep. 1564. In B&R 2:89–100.

47 “and Legazpi”: García-Abásolo 2004:231. Legazpi, García-Abásolo says, “always thought that his final destination would be to come to China.… Probably, if he had lived a few more years, Legazpi would have sponsored a diplomatic mission to China” (235). See also, Cortés 2001:266–77 passim, 444–47 (hoping to explore Pacific) and the many abortive China missions chronicled in Ollé Rodríguez 2002.

48 Legazpi’s first years in the Philippines: Legarda 1999:16–31; Guerrero 1966:15–18; Rubio Mañé 1970, 1964. See also, Sanz y Díaz 1967:35–52.

49 Beeswax (footnote): Cervancia 2003; Ruttner 1988:284 (bee ranges); Cowan 1908:73, 89, 105 (scale insect).

50 Maujao trading place: Author’s visit, interviews with Chiquita Cabacay-Jano and Rudmar T. Cabacay (Bulalacao development office); Horsley 1950:74–75 (parasols, drums); Legazpi, M. L. d. Letter to Philip II, 23 Jul. 1567. In B&R 2:233–43, at 238. See also, Laufer 1908:251–52; Li 2001:76–79.

51 Encounter at Maujao: Legarda 1999:23–24; Zuñiga 1814:vol. 1, 110–11; Laveçarism G. d. 1575? “Part of a Letter to the Viceroy.” In B&R 3:291–94, at 291–92; Anon. (Martín de Goiti?). 1570. Relation of the Voyage to Luzon. In B&R 3:73–104, at 73–77 (all quotes). The Spaniards went on to Manila, where they protected some Chinese junks in a trade dispute and also sacked the town (ibid.:94–96, 101–04; Anon. 1571. Relation of the Conquest of the Island of Luzon. In B&R 3:141–72, at 148–57). The distances involved are in “leagues,” which I take as the legua común of 3.46 miles (Chardon 1980). See also, Sanz y Díaz 1967:53–59.

52 Chinese visit Manila: Pacheco Maldonado, J. 1572. Carta en Relación de Juan de Maldo-nado Tocante al Viaje y Poblacion de la Isla de Luzón en Filipinas, 6 May. Quoted in Ollé Rodríguez 2006:32, 1998:227–30; Riquel et al. 1573:235; Zuñiga 1814:vol. 1, 125–26.

53 Initial exchange in Manila: Lavezaris, G. d. 1573. Affairs in the Philippines, after the Death of Legazpi, 29 Jun. In B&R 3:179–89, at 181–84; Riquel H. et al. 1573. News from the Western Islands. ibid.: 230–49, at 243–49 (“delighted,” 245); see also the letter from the viceroy of New Spain quoted on ibid.: 226, note 75.

54 New globalized era, impact of silver trade and slavery: See Chaps. 3 and 4.

55 China’s superiority: Pomeranz 2000:31–107; Frank 1998: Chap. 4.

56 Spanish inability to export European goods to China: Enriquez, M. 1573. Letter to Philip II, 5 Dec. In B&R 3:209–19, at 212 (“not already possess”), 214. The Chinese were equally blunt: “China trades in Luzon solely for the purpose of obtaining feringhee[foreign] silver coins,” wrote Provincial Governor Xu Xueju. The foreigners had nothing else China needed (Xu, X. Initial Report on Red-Haired Foreigners. In Chen et al. eds. 1962:4726–27). See also Marks 2007:60–62.

57 “revolutionary events”: Song 2007:2. See Chap. 5.

58 “Asian train”: Frank 1998:277.

59 History of Legazpi-Urdaneta monument: De Borja 2005:17, 128.

60 World money supply triples: Garner 2006, using updated data from TePaske and Klein; Morineau 1985:571–99. By 1650 the Americas had produced about thirty thousand tons of silver.

61 Potosí geology: Bartos 2000; Waltham 2005.

62 Potosí as biggest American city: See Chap. 3.

63 Silver processing, transportation, fleet: Craig and Richards 2003:1–12 (sixty-five pounds, table 1–1); Goodman 2002:3–5; Cobb 1949:33–36; Acarete du Biscay 1698:54–57.

64 Deserted Andean fields: Studies of the abandonment of highland agriculture are few, but Denevan sums the evidence and concludes that it was “primarily related to sixteenth-century population decline” (2001:201–10, quote at 210).

65 1600 volcano: De Silva and Zielinski 1997.

66 Proportion of silver shipped to China: The two sides of the debate are encapsulated in Garner 2006 and Flynn and Giráldez 2001. See Chap. 4.

67 Spanish and European financial woes: Standard accounts include Kamen 2005, Elliott 2002, Lynch 1991 (price revolution, 174–84), Parker 1979 (esp. “War and Economic Change: The Economic Costs of the Dutch Revolt,” 178–203), and Hamilton 1934. Spain’s woes are succinctly summarized in Flynn 1982:esp. 142–43. A detailed study of Spain’s flight into silver-hued bankruptcy is Carande 1990, esp. vol. 3. Silver production decline: Garner 2007:figs. 6, 8 (using updated, unpub. figures from John TePaske); Garner 1988:fig. 2; Brading and Cross 1972:fig. 2. The idea of a “general crisis” apparently originated with Roland Mousnier in 1954.

68 “Spain’s wars”: Flynn (pers. comm.) based his summary on Parker 1979b, c.

69 Little Ice Age in Europe: Parker 2008:1065, 1073 (Ireland); Fagan 2002 (frozen sea, 137); Reiter 2000 (Greenland, 2); Lamb 1995:chap. 12; Ladurie 1971 (wine, 52–56; bishop, 180–81).

70 Sunspots, volcanos, and Little Ice Age: Eddy 1976 (Maunder Minimum); Briffa et al. 1998 (volcano impact); Jansen et al. 2007:476–78 (skepticism on sunspots, volcanos); Hegerl et al. 2007:681–83 (sunspots and volcanos). The 1641 eruption was heard throughout the Philippines—a “noise in the air of musketry, artillery, and war drums” (Anon. 1642. News from Filipinas, 1640–42. In B&R 35:114–24, at 115).

71 Ruddiman’s hypotheses: Ruddiman 2003, 2005, 2007. His additional argument that deforestation and burning affected climate as much as eight thousand years ago has been the subject of attacks (e.g., Olofsson and Hickler 2008) and defenses (e.g., Müller and Pross 2007). Accepted by many is the connection between American pandemics and CO₂ decline (Dull et al. 2010; Nevle and Bird 2008; Faust et al. 2006).

72 Fire maintains prairies: Anderson 1990; Stewart 2002:113–217; Clouser 1978. For the role of fire in worldwide grasslands, see Bond et al. 2005.

73 Indian fire and eastern forest: Johnson 2005:85 (“Parkes in England”); Stewart 2002:70–113; Williams 1989:chap. 2, esp. 43–48; Cronon 1983:48–52; Day 1953.

74 Thirty-one sites: Nevle and Bird 2008.

75 Change in landscape after epidemics: Dull et al. 2010 (“carbon budget,” 765); Denevan 2007, 1992:377–79; Wood 1977:38–39 (“travel through”).

76 Little Ice Age in North America: Parker 2008:1067; Pederson et al. 2005 (forest composition); Anderson 2004:100 (livestock); Kupperman 1982.

77 Climate, mosquito, disease, slavery: See Chap. 4. A. quadrimaculatus: Reinert et al. 1997; Freeborn 1923. Paradoxically, drought also favors the mosquito, because it kills off aquatic predators on its larvae (Chase and Knight 2003); the species thrives on climatic disturbance.

78 Introduction of horses: Hämäläinen 2008 passim; Calloway 2003:chap. 6; Holder 1974.

79 Mexico City and Acapulco: Chap. 8, Schurz 1939:371–84; Gemelli Careri 1699–1700:vol. 6, 5–16.

80 1637–41 volcanos, decline in silver: Garner 2007:esp. figs. 1–3 (silver); Atwell 2005 (silver); Atwell 2001:32, 36, 62–70 (volcanos).

81 Famine and unrest in China: Parker 2008:1058–60, 1063–65. See Chap. 5.

82 Greatest cities in 1500: Chandler 1987:478–79; see also, Eggiman 1999, De Vries 1984. The sole exception to the rough thirty-degree rule is Beijing, the northern capital of a country whose population was concentrated to the south. Note: I adjust Chandler’s list for sub-Saharan African and indigenous American cities, which he underestimates consistently. Explanations follow. Tenochtitlan: Typical estimates for the whole conurbation range from 1 to 1.5 million, with Tenochtitlan assigned, somewhat arbitrarily, a fifth to a quarter of the total (see, e.g., Smith 2002:57–59; Sanders 1992). Qosqo: Population numbers are even more uncertain, but recent estimates are between 100,000 and 200,000, based on Spanish colonial accounts (typically higher numbers) and archaeological surveys (typically somewhat lower). See, e.g., D’Altroy 2002:114 (100–150,000); Cook 1981:217–19 (150–200,000); Agurto Calvo 1980:122–28 (125,000). Gao: Data are poor, but a late-sixteenth-century census of compound houses in the central city came up with a population of forty to eighty thousand; presumably as many or more surrounded the central zone. “Such a size and population may sound exaggerated.… But we must remember that Gao was the epicenter of an empire that extended over 1,400,000 sq. km (500,000 square miles)” (Hunwick 1999:xlix). The nineteenth-century traveler Henry Barth, who saw the ruins in relatively undisturbed condition, estimated that Gao “had a circumference of about six miles” (Barth 1857–59:vol. 3, 482). Paris: Bairoch, Bateau, and Chévre estimate it at 225,000 in 1500 (cited in DeLong and Shliefer 1993:678). Chandler (1987:159) estimates Paris in 1500 at 185,000 by multiplying a 1467 estimate of the number of men who could bear arms (28–30,000) by 6 to obtain 174,000, which rises for unexplained reasons (migration?) to 185,000 in 1500. The factor of 6 seems high—indeed, Chandler uses 5 for Paris on a similar estimate a century before.

83 Change in cities: Acemoglu et al. 2002.

CHAPTER 2 / The Tobacco Coast

1 Introduced earthworms: Author’s interviews, Hale, Reynolds, Bohlen; Frelich et al. 2006; Hendrix and Bohlen 2002:esp. 805–06, table 4; Reynolds 1994; Lee 1985:156–59.

2 Rolfe: Price 2005:154–58; Townsend 2004:88–96; Haile ed. 1998:54–56; Robert 1949:6–9. Occasionally St. John’s, Newfoundland, is cited as the first long-lasting English colony, but most historians believe it had no permanent population before 1610.

3 “Drinking” tobacco: Ernst 1889:141–42; Apperson 2006:6.

4 Types of tobacco: Horn 2005:233; Robert 1949:7–8; Arents 1939:125; Strachey 1625:680 (“biting taste”). N. rustica was often so strong as to be hallucinogenic, which some colonists clearly enjoyed. Smoking, Thomas Hariot said, led to “manie rare and wonderful experiments” (Hariot 1588:n.p.[17]).

5 Rolfe and tobacco: Arents 1939:125. See also, Hamor 1615:820, 828 (“sweet, and strong”); Velasco, A. d. 1611. Letter to King of Spain, 26 May. In Brown 1890:vol. 1, 473.

6 English tobacco mania: Laufer 1924b:3–48; “C. T.” 1615:5 (silver); Rich 1614:25–26 (seven thousand tobacco houses).

7 Tobacco exports: For export figures, see below. Size of barrels: author’s visit, Jamestown archaeological site.

8 Ballast: Given that ship ballast is now viewed as a prime source of biological introductions (e.g., Bright 1988:167), it is surprisingly little studied. According to one nineteenth-century nautical textbook, ballast usually consisted of “iron, stone, or gravel, or some similar material,” though “in some Colonial and other ports sand only is to be had” (Stevens 1894:75–76).

9 Earthworms as engineers: Darwin 1881 (“organized creatures,” 313); Edwards 2004:4 (mass of worms, turnover rate).

10 Ice Age and worms: James 1995. The Ice Age didn’t kill all northern American worms. But all common earthworms in North America today are imports, mostly from Europe and Japan.

11 Ecological impacts of introduced earthworms: Author’s interview, Hale; Frelich et al. 2006:1239 (see fig. 1), 1236, 1238 (soil density), 1237 (impact on nutrients), 1241 (litter), 1241 (understory plants); Bohlen et al. 2004a:8 (nutrients); Bohlen et al. 2004b:432 (clears understory); Migge-Kleian et al. 2006 (declines in invertebrates, mammals, birds, lizards). Specific impact of L. terrestris: Proulx 2003:18; Tiunov et al. 2006. Impact of L. rubellus: Bohlen et al. 2004b:432; Tiunov et al. 2006:1226. Earthworms may promote invasions by exotic species (Heneghan et al. 2007).

12 Goal of colony: Horn 2005:41–42, 55–56, 80–81; Price 2005:21–22, 75–76. The colonists’ instructions commanded them to hunt for “any minerals” and to set up camp on a river flowing from the northwest, “for that way you shall soonest find the other sea.” (Haile ed. 1998:19–22). The company charter (McDonald ed. 1899:1–11) concerns itself with only three things beyond survival and defense: converting the natives (¶II); obtaining “Gold, Silver, and Copper” (¶IX); and trading with “any other Foreign Country” (¶XVI). In part the English believed there was gold and silver because of the claims of a previous English visitor to North America (Ingram 1883; DeCosta 1883).

13 First representative body, first slaves: See below.

14 Jamestown landing: Bernhard 1992:600–01; Billings 1991:5; Kelso 2006:14. The number of colonists is disputed. Bernhard and Kelso, agreeing with George Percy (Haile ed. 1998:98), argue for 104 (105 sailed, 1 died en route). But Kelso and Straube (2004:18) and Kupperman (2007:217) use 108; Price (2005:15) calls it at “105 or so.”

15 Jamestown settlers: Visitors to the Jamestown archaeological site find lists of “Jamestown settlers.” The same language turns up in Wikipedia and newsmagazine headlines (Lord 2007).

16 Tsenacomoco: Variant spellings include Tsenacomacah, Tsenacommacah, and Tsenacommacoh. I use “empire” following Fausz 1977:68–70.

17 Began with six villages: Strachey 1612:615. For accounts of Powhatan’s empire building, see Rountree 2005:chap. 4 and Fausz 1977:56–68.

18 Powhatan domain boundaries: Hatfield 2003:247; Rountree 2005:40; Turner 1993:77.

19 Tsenacomoco’s size and population in 1607: Subject to scholarly debate since Thomas Jefferson (1993:220) made the first population estimate (8,000 mi², 8,000 people). Recent estimates include Feest 1973 (14,300–22,300 people); Turner 1973 (18,550 km² [7,160 mi²], 10,400 people); Fausz 1977:60 (“in the neighborhood of twelve thousand”); Turner 1982 (16,400 km² [6,332 mi²], 12,940 people); Rountree 1990:15 (16,500 km² [6,370 mi²], 13,000–14,300 people); Rountree and Turner 1994:359 (“slightly less than 6,500 square miles”; “some 13,000 persons”); McCord 2001 (“sparse” population); Hatfield 2003:fig. 1 (about 6,200 mi²); Turner 2004 (13,000–15,000 people); Horn 2005:16 (“perhaps 15,000 people”); and Rountree 2005:13 (“about 15,000”), 40. I follow Rountree and Horn.

20 “of western Europe”: Williams 1989:33.

21 Powhatan as man and domain: Rountree 1990:7; Rountree 2005:33. Allen (2003:64–67) explains the derivation of the name. His subjects addressed him by his common name, Wahunsenacawh (Strachey 1612:614).

22 Powhatan’s capital, residence, appearance: Author’s visit, archaeological site; Gallivan et al. 2006 (geography, fig. 3.1); Gallivan 2007 (town map, fig. 2); Smith 2007a:17, 22 (“expresse”), 53–54; Smith 2007b:270 (“a vault”), 296–97 (pearls, divan); Strachey 1612:614–19 (“king’s house” 615); Rountree 2005:29–35.

23 Lack of domesticated animals: Strachey 1612:637; Crosby 1986:172–94; Diamond 1999:160–75. The Powhatan, like other Indians in eastern North America, had only dogs and hawks, the latter of which were not domesticated so much as tamed (Anderson 2004:34–37).

24 Criteria for domestication, tally of domesticated animals: E. O. Price 2002; Mason ed. 1984. The number of birds is disputed, one issue being whether caged birds like parakeets and canaries are domesticated.

25 English landscapes: Anderson 2004:84–90.

26 Native agriculture methods: Smith 2007b:279; Strachey 1612:676–77; Spelman 1609:492.

27 Indian maize field size: Maxwell 1910:73; Smith 2007b:284 (“their fields or gardens [are] some 20 acres, some 40. some 100. some 200”). Strachey (1612:626) noted that “so much ground [in one town] is there cleared and open” that with “little labor” the colonists could plant corn “or make vineyards of two or three thousand acres.” Edward Williams argued (1650:13) that colonists need not fear the labor of opening up the forest, because of the “immense quantity of Indian fields cleared already to our hand.” Scholarly summaries include Rountree et al. 2007:34–35, 41–42, 153. Citing another figure by Strachey (1612:636), Rountree (1990:280, note 22) argues that most fields were one to two hundred feet on a side. Strachey also reported that plants were separated from each other by “4 or 5 foot” and “commonly” bore two small ears, which would indicate that a 150’ x 150’ household field would yield about three thousand ears—food for a month or two for the “six to twenty” residents of each house (1612:636, 676). (Native maize ears were less than half the size of typical modern ears.) In anthropological annals one rarely encounters people who take the trouble to clear land for cereals but not enough to use them as staples, as Strachey’s second, smaller estimate suggests.

28 Palisades, absence of fencing: Rountree 2005:42; Rountree and Turner 1998:279; Rountree et al. 2007:38.

29 Meaning of fences, domestic animals in England: Anderson 2004:78–90.

30 Use of “abandoned” fields and plants on them: Rountree, Clarke, and Mountford 2007:42; Rountree 2005:9, 56; Rountree 1993a:173–74.

31 Impact of beaver: Hemenway 2002; Naiman et al. 1988. There is a European beaver, but it had been hunted to extinction in Britain.

32 Tuckahoe: Author’s visits, Jamestown; Smith 2007b:276, 391; Rountree et al. 2007:43–44, 124; Rountree 2005:12, 1990:52–53; Strachey 1625:679.

33 Smoke and fire observable from sea: De Vries 1993:22 (“it is seen”); Bigges 1589:38 (“great fire[s]…are very ordinarie all alongst this coast,” 132).

34 Indian hunting by fire: Smith 2007a:14 (“over the wood”); Mann 2005:248–52; Williams 1989:32–49; Krech 1999:104–06; Byrd 1841:80–81.

35 Effects of native burning: Miller 2001:122; Wennersten 2000:chaps. 13–15; Pyne 1999 (“into metals,” 7), 1997a:301–08, 1997b, 1991 (“corridors of travel,” 504); Pyne et al. 1996:235–40; Rountree 1993b:33–38 (paths); Hammett 1992; Williams 1989:32–49; Byrd 1841:61 (“all before it”); White 1634:40 (“without molestation”). Like White, John Smith insisted that “a man may gallop a horse amongst these woods” (2007b:284), as did a seventeenth-century chronicler from Maryland (“The Woods for the most part are free from underwood, so that a man may travel on horsebacke, almost any-where” [Anon. 1635:79]). So commonly was the Virginia forest understood to be open that William Bullock, before his first visit there, explained (1649:3) that in Virginia people can see “above a mile and a half in the Wood, and the Trees stand at that distance, that you may drive Carts or Coaches between the thickest of them, being clear from boughs a great height.” (Bullock 1649:3). Among the first sights that greeted the Jamestown colonists was a big fire-created clearing (Percy 1625?:90–91).

36 Jumble of ecological zones: Rountree 1996:4–14.

37 Smith tales in True Travels: Smith 2007c (early years, 689–94; “to Rome,” 693; “Stratagem,” 696; “such like,” 703; single combats, 704–06; slavery, 717–18; “his necke,” 720; “braines,” escape and flight, 730–33; African piracy, 741–43). See also, Kupperman ed. 1988:introduction.

38 Skepticism, support of Smith: Adams 1871; Fuller 1860:vol. 1, 276 (“proclaim them”). Adams’s motives: Rule 1962 (“aristocracy,” 179). Refutations of skeptics: Striker 1958; Fishwick 1958; Striker and Smith 1962 (“Al Limbach,” 478); Barbour 1963; Kupperman ed. 1988:2–4. A popular satirical poem, The Legend of Captaine Jones, appeared in 1630, mocking Smith’s boastfulness.

39 Smith irritates social betters: Like a modern populist, Smith mocked the milieu of “Parliaments, Plaies, Petitions, Admiralls, Recorders, Interpreters, Chronologers, Courts of Plea, [and] Justices of peace” (2007c:329) inhabited by politically connected gentlemen like the colony leaders. In return, they denounced him (Wingfield 1608?:199–200; Percy 1625?:502; Ratcliffe [in Haile ed. 1998:354]; and Archer [ibid.:352–53]). Attempts to pass new sumptuary laws are described in Kuchta 2002:37–39. Percy’s trunk is described in Nicholls ed. 2005:213–14.

40 Smith’s version of capture: Smith 2007b:316–23 (“from death,” 321; “with hunger,” 323).

41 Skepticism on Pocahontas story: The two varying accounts are from 1608 (Smith 2007a) and 1624 (Smith 2007b). Rountree (2005:76–82) argues, convincingly to my mind, that at most Pocahontas was playing a part in a ritual whereby Powhatan made Smith his vassal (Horn 2005:66–71; Kupperman 2007a:228; Allen 2003:46–51; Richter 2001:69–78). The lovelorn women who succored Smith are cataloged by Townsend (2004:52–54) and Smith himself (2007b:203–04). Films include The New World (2005), Pocahontas (1995), and Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (1953). Popular accounts are divided on accepting the story (Price 2005:59–69, 241–45; Horwitz 2008:334–37).

42 Smith story obscures real story: Kupperman 2007a.

43 English monarchy’s debts, forced loans: Homer and Sylla 2005:122; Croft 2003:71–82; Scott 1912:vol. 1, 16–27, 52–54, 133–40.

44 “Slave of Wickedness”: Barlow 1681:2–6 (all quotes). This is the most common seventeenth-century translation of the encyclical Regnans in Excelsis (1570).

45 Spanish colonies: Pre-Jamestown Spanish incursions included San Miguel de Gualdape (founded in 1525, probably in South Carolina [see Chap. 8]), Santa Rosa Island (1559, off the Florida panhandle), San Agustín (1565, now the city of St. Augustine, Florida), Guatari (1566, in South Carolina), San Antonio (1567, in southwestern Florida), Tequesta (1567, in southeastern Florida), Ajacán (1570, near Jamestown), San Pedro de Mocama (1587, on an island near the present Georgia-Florida border), Santa Catalina de Guale (early 1590s, on another Georgia island), Tolomato (1595, on the Georgia coast), Santa Clara de Tipiqui (1595, on the same coast), Talapo (1595, on the same coast), Santo Domingo de Asao (1595, on the same coast), San Pedro y San Pablo de Puturiba (1595, on the same island as San Pedro de Mocama), San Buenaventura de Guadalquini (1605, on another Georgia island), and San Joseph de Sapala (1605, on yet another). This list is not complete; in some cases sources differ on the proper spelling and exact date of founding. For details on Ajacán, see Lewis and Loomie 1953. Many more were founded after Jamestown, among them Santa Fe.

46 Colonies in New France: Charlesbourg-Royal (founded 1542, on the St. Lawrence River), Charlesfort (1562), Fort Caroline (1564), Sable Island (1598), and Port-Royal (1605). Quebec was founded in 1608, a year after Jamestown.

47 Hakluyt: Hakluyt 1584:chap. 4 (“daily piracies”), chap. 1 (all other quotes).

48 Closeness of Americas and China: See below.

49 Joint-stock companies: A standard history is Scott 1912. Succinct explanations of the companies’ origins as a means for spreading risk include Kohn forthcoming:chap. 14; Brouwer 2005. Importantly, joint-stock companies let investors negotiate with the crown as a group when seeking the necessary royal permission for foreign trade. As individuals, single investors had little leverage; banded together, they were less vulnerable to royal whim. I thank Mark Plummer for many useful conversations.

50 Landes and North: Landes 1999 (“patience, tenacity,” 523); North and Thomas 1973 (arrangements, “phenomenon,” 1). Other works in this sometimes polemical tradition include Gress 1998, Lal 1998, and Jones 2003.

51 Ten joint-stock companies before Jamestown: The count is the companies discussed in Scott 1912:vol. 2. I do not include mining partnerships but do include Ralegh’s colonial ventures (see below). Most large-scale European trade then was controlled by merchant families and royal monopolies; an example is the Merchant Guild, the state-affiliated association of Seville merchant families that long dominated Spain’s America trade. A partial exception was the Dutch East India Company, a consortium of six merchant firms supervised by a board of overseers chosen by the governments of the Netherlands’ five provinces. For brief accounts of the Merchant Guild and the rivalrous English and Dutch East India Companies see, respectively, Smith 1940:chap. 6 and Bernstein 2008:chap. 9.

52 Four previous colonies: Humphrey Gilbert’s venture (canceled by Gilbert’s ship sinking during a reconnaissance mission in 1583); the Popham colony in Maine (1607–08); and the two efforts at Roanoke (1586–1587; 1587–?). For Roanoke, Ralegh did not create a joint-stock company but raised the money through an informal but similar arrangement (Trevelyan 2004:54, 81, 114, 138). The Popham colony began soon after Jamestown, but I include it as its prime mover was also an organizer of the Virginia Company.

53 Roanoke colony: Horn 2010; Kupperman 2007b; Oberg 2008; Donegan 2002:chap. 1; Fausz 1985:231–35; Quinn and Quinn eds. 1982. Quinn 1985 remains the history on which all others are built. Popular accounts include the enjoyable Horwitz 2008:chap. 11.

54 Roanoke introduces tobacco to England (footnote): Laufer 1924b:9–11 (“smoak,” 10).

55 Virginia Company view of Spain, Tsenacomoco: Billings ed. 1975:19–22 (quotes, 19–20).

56 Tassantassas: Rountree 2005:6. See its usage in, e.g., Hamor 1615:811.

57 Jamestown peninsula, problems with site: Author’s visit; author’s interviews, William Kelso, Greg Garman; Smith 2007b:389 (well); Barlow 2003:22–25 (crater) Rountree 1996:18–29 (Indians occupied best land); Earle 1979:98–103 (“salt poisoning,” 99); Strachey 1625:430–31; Percy, G. 1607(?). Observations Gathered out of a Discourse of the Plantation of the Southern Colony in Virginia by the English, 1606. In Haile ed. 1998:85–100 (“filth,” 100). The reputation for picking the best land lasted. “Wherever we meet an Indian old field or place where they have lived,” the clergyman Hugh Jones wrote of Virginia in 1724, “we are sure of the best ground” (quoted in Maxwell 1910:81).

58 Droughts: Stahle et al. 1998. A team of archaeologists and dendrochronologists (scientists who study tree rings) examined long-lived Virginia cypress trees. Because rainy years create wider tree rings than do dry years, the scientists could show that the 1606–12 drought was the worst in centuries.

59 Thirty-eight left alive: Smith 2007b:323, 406; Bernhard 1992:603; Earle 1979:96–97; Kupperman 1979:24.

60 Powhatan’s attitude: Rountree 2005:143–47; Fausz 1985:235–54; Fausz 1990:12 (“ignorance”); Percy 1625?:505 (“fox”); Strachey 1625:419 (stragglers). Powhatan made the threat of withholding food explicit through an intermediate (Smith 2007b:388). The Council of Virginia clearly understood the peril (1609:363). See also, West et al. 1610:457.

61 Smith takes charge: Smith 2007b:314–96 (“good hope,” 341); Horn 2005:59–100. As Smith (2007b:392) notes, only seven men died on his watch.

62 Colony rose to two hundred: Two groups came in 1608, the “first supply” in January (100 or 120 people, Horn 2005:75; “neare a hundred men,” Smith 2007b:324); and the “second supply” in, depending on the source, September or October (seventy men, Horn 2005:104; a few more than seventy, Smith 2007b:358). The first supply brought the total to 138–58, but deaths that summer reduced the number to about 130; the second supply lifted it to about 200 (Bernhard 1992:603).

63 Smith blows self up: Smith 2007b:402; Percy 1625?:502. Horn (2005:169–70) speculates that it was attempted murder, but this seems unlikely; Smith’s enemies depended on him. His lack of children is often linked to the severe powder burns on his groin.

64 Arrival of convoy, Smith’s replacement: Glover and Smith 2008:chap. 4; Smith 2007c:chap. 12; Horn 2005:chap. 6; Archer, G. 1609. Letter to ——, 31 Aug. In Haile ed. 1998:350–53; Ratcliffe, J. 1609. Letter to R. Cecil, 4 Oct. In idem:354–55.

65 First Indian War: Smith 2007c:chap. 12; Morgan 2003:79 (Smith’s views); Fausz 1990 (“first Indian war”); Percy 1625?:503–04 (all quotes).

66 “starving time”: Glover and Smith 2008:chap. 7; Smith 2007b:411–12 (Powhatan stops providing food); Horn 2005:174–77; Price 2005:126–29 (ruffs, 127–28); Donegan 2002:144–75; Shirley 1942 (Percy’s clothing, 237–38); Percy 1625?:502–08 (all quotes, 505); “Ancient Planters” 1624:894–95. The term “starving time” comes from Smith (2007b:411). Winter 1609 death toll: Kelso 2006:90; Bernhard 1992:609–13; Kupperman 1979:24. The total number of colonists dropped from 245 to eighty or ninety. See also, Governor and Council in Virginia. 1610. Letter to Virginia Company, 7 Jul. In Haile ed. 1998:456–57.

67 Chesapeake fish: Author’s interviews, Kelso (sturgeon bones); Wennersten 2000:5–7, 12–13 (underwater), 23–27; Pearson 1944.

68 Gentlemen: Smith 2007b:404 (retainers); Morgan 2003:63, 83–87 (“in England,” 84).

69 Rolfe’s voyage, attempted abandonment of Jamestown: Glover and Smith 2008:chaps. 3–8; Horn 2005:157–64, 177–80; Price 2005:130–39; Strachey 1625:383–427 (quotes from 384, 387); “Ancient Planters” 1624:895–97 (“not less than,” 897); Somers 1610; West, T. (Baron de la Warre). 1610. Letter to Earl of Salisbury, Jul. In Haile ed. 1998:465–67; West et al. 1610.

70 Total immigrants and deaths 1607–24: See sources for chart, esp. Kolb 1980, Hecht 1969, Neill 1867, Thorndale pers. comm. A summary can be found in Kupperman 1979:24, though a ship-by-ship count suggests that her figure of six thousand for the 1607–24 influx is too low. I am grateful to William Thorndale for his kindness in discussing this material with an amateur.

71 Accounts of Jamestown deaths: KB 4:148 (“extreamities”); KB 4:160 (“left alive”); KB 4:175 (“3000 p[er]sons”); KB 4:22 (“delivered”); Percy 1625?:507 (“out of his body”); KB3:121 (are dead); KB 4:238 (“servants are dead,” Rowsley arrived in spring 1622 [KB 4:162, Thorndale pers. comm.] and the note reporting the deaths was written in June); KB 4:234 (“leave the Contrey”); KB 4:235 (“well out of it”).

72 Berkeley Hundred: Dowdey 1962:chap. 2; KB 3:230 (date, number of arrival), 3:207 (“Almighty god”), 3:197–99 (list of dead). In general, see KB 3:195–214, 3:271–74. “Hundred” refers to the number of acres supposedly granted to each partner in the enterprise. I am grateful to Jamie Jamieson for giving me a tour of Berkeley.

73 “from the investment”: Craven 1932:24.

74 Failed ventures at Jamestown: Hecht 1982:103–26.

75 Pocahontas bio, abduction, marriage: Smith 2007c:423–27; Rountree 2005 (lack of clothing, Mataoka, 37), 2001; Horn 2005:217–18; Townsend 2004:100–06; Price 2005:153–58; Dale 1615:845–46; Hamor 1615:802–09; Rolfe 1614; Argall, S. 1613. Letter to “Master Hawes,” Jun. In Haile ed. 1998:754–55; Strachey 1612:630 (“all the fort over”).

76 English counterattack: Kupperman 2007a:255–59; Horn 2005:180–90; Morgan 2003:79–81 (oatmeal); Fausz 1990:30–34; Percy 1625?:509–18; Strachey 1625:434–38.

77 Initial refusal to negotiate over Pocahontas, subsequent pact: Smith 2007c:424–26 (“had stolne,” 424); Horn 2005:212–16; Rountree 2005:chap. 12; Fausz 1990:44–48; Hamor 1615:802–09; Dale 1615:843–44. Argall (1613:754–55) says Powhatan did negotiate, but Horn’s argument (2005:213) that he would not have wanted to seem weak by negotiating seems plausible—Argall may have been inflating the success of his disagreeable tactic.

78 Pocahontas in captivity: Rountree 2005:chap. 12; Townsend 2004:chap. 6; Hamor 1615:803 (“discontented”); Rolfe 1614.

79 Pocahontas’s first marriage: Rountree 2005:142–43, 166; Townsend 2004:85–88.

80 Cease-fire and Opechancanough plan: Rountree 2005:chap. 15; Fausz 1977:320–50; Fausz 1981; Fausz 1990:47–49 (“formal winner,” 48). Many English thought Opechancanough had taken charge well before Powhatan’s death (Hamor 1615:808; Dale 1615:843). Powhatan did not create an orderly succession plan. Lear-like, he retired to a faraway village, dividing his kingdom among his younger brothers. Initially, another brother had the most formal power (Smith 2007c:447). Infighting was inevitable (KB 3:74, 3:483). Finally Opechancanough emerged as first among equals (KB 2:52, 3:550–51, 4:117–18; Smith 2007c:437–47 passim, 478; Rolfe 1616:868–69). Notching stick: Smith 2007c:442.

81 James and tobacco: Laufer 1924b:17–19; James I 1604:112 (“braine”).

82 Virginia tobacco in England: Morgan 2003:107–10 (servant pay, productivity), 192–98 (taxes); Hecht 1982:175–93, esp. table VII:4 (1,000 percent, 188); Laufer 1924b (debts); see also, Horn 2005:246–47, 280–83; Price 2005:186–87; Wennersten 2000:40–41; Gray 1927.

83 First representative body: Horn 2005:239–41; Price 2005:189–94; KB 3:482–84 (charter).

84 Jamestown slaves: Kupperman 2007a:288; Price 2005:192–97; Sluiter 1997; Rolfe, J. 1619. Letter to Sandys, E. In KB 3:243 (“20. and odd”). An intriguing investigation is Hashaw 2007; the basic source is Rolfe (KB 3:241–48).

85 Virginia tobacco mania, near starvation: Smith 2007c:443–44 (“with Tobacco”; the quotation is attributed by Smith to Rolfe and Deputy Governor Samuel Argall); Morgan 2003:111–113 (taverns); Rolfe 1616:871 (Dale’s orders); KB 1:351, 1:566, 3:221, 4:179. (The colonists, the Virginia Company treasurer said in December 1619, “by this misgovernemt [sic] reduced themselves into an extremity of being ready to starve” [KB 1:266].)

86 Clergy on Virginia: Glover and Smith 2008:62–67, 221–23; Horn 2005:137–41; Donegan 2002:3–4, Fausz 1977:256–65; Crashaw 1613 (“take it?,” 24–25); Symonds 1609. See also the Crashaw sermon in Brown 1890:(vol. 1) 360–75.

87 Later rounds of financing: Hecht 1969:279 (known first investors: six people, £209 [no complete list survives]), 280–310 (1609–10 investors); Brown 1890:vol. 1, 209–28, 466–69 (1609–10); KB 3:79, 98, 317–39 (1610–19 investment rounds). Not every listed investor actually paid (Glover and Smith 2008:115).

88 1622 attack and company finances: Rountree 2005:chap. 16; Horn 2005:255–62; Fausz 1977:chap. 5; Waterhouse, E. 1622. A Declaration of the State of the Colony and Affaires in Virginia. In KB 3:541–71; 2:19 (debt); 3:668; 4:524–25.

89 Lack of planting, onslaught of unfed new colonists: Morgan 2003: 100–02 (captains’ incentives); Hecht 1982:appendix 2; KB 4:13, 41, 74, 186 (fear of planting maize), 451, 525 (abandonment of planting). In Fausz’s summary: “[J]ust as in the colony’s early days, the English were dependent upon the [Indians], now their implacable enemies, for the most basic, most crucial human need” (Fausz 1977:473).

90 Second “starving time”: KB 4:25, 41–42, 62 (“of the Ground”), 65 (“bury the dead”), 71–75, 228–39, 263, 524–25 (more than one thousand dead, i.e., two out of three). Figures cannot be precise, as emigrants kept arriving and dying throughout the year.

91 Poisoning (footnote): Rountree 2005:219–20; KB 4:102, 221–22 (“ther heades”); others put the number of dead at 150 (KB 2:478). Such treachery was common (Morgan 2003:100).

92 English inability to attack successfully: KB 2:71, 4:10 (“they retyre”). Although they did not want to leave their tobacco fields (KB 4:451), they did destroy some Indian food stores (KB 3:704–07, 709).

93 “their Countries”: Smith 2007b:494.

94 Company demise: Horn 2005:272–77; Morgan 2003:101–07 (“their deaths,” 102); Rabb 1966:table 5 (£200,000); Craven 1932:1–23; KB 2:381–87; 4:130–51, 490–97.

95 Traditional tobacco growing: Percy 1625?:95; Archer 1607:114 (describing one farm as “bare without wood some 100 acres, where are set beans, wheat [maize], peas, tobacco, gourds, pompions [pumpkins], and other things unknown to us”).

96 Tobacco and soil depletion: Morgan 2003:141–42 (and cited sources); Craven 1993:15 (“In the tobacco regions of the South,…the planters seldom counted on a paying fertility lasting more than three or four years”), 29–35. Colonists observed that the “ground will hold out but 3 yrs” (KB 3:92; see also 220). Some aspects of Craven’s thesis (that tobacco’s capacity to exhaust the soil ultimately caused an agricultural collapse) have been contested (Nelson 1994), but not the exhaustive capacity of tobacco agriculture itself.

97 English take best land and keep it: Rountree 2005:152, 188, 228 (see also 154, 187, 200, and 260, note 23); Morgan 2003:136–40; Wennersten 2000:46–47 (“centuries”). By the 1620s some English regarded this idea—taking over previously cleared land with the best soil—as a plan of action (Martin 1622:708; Waterhouse 1622:556–57).

98 Deforestation, erosion: Craven 2006:27–29, 34–36; Williams 2006:204–16, 284–308 (“spared,” 294) Wennersten 2000:51–54.

99 Animals imported, eat Indian harvests: Anderson 2004:101–03, 120–23, 188–99; Morgan 2003:136–40.

100 Impact of pigs on tuckahoe: Crosby 1986:173–76; Kalm 1773:vol. 1, 225, 387–88 (“extirpated”); KB 2:348, 3:118 (“into the woods”), 221.

101 Biological imports, honeybee invasion: Crane 1999:358–59; Crosby 1986:188–90 (“in all minds,” 190); Grant 1949:217 (pollination discovery); Kalm 1773:vol. 1, 225–26 (“English flies”); KB 3:532 (list of imports).

102 Fruit that needs pollination: Flowering plants are either open pollinated or biotic pollinated, which means that either they can pollinate themselves via the wind or they can’t; most mix both methods. Apples and watermelon are close to the purely biotic end of the spectrum; some (but not much) pollination of peaches can occur in the absence of insects. As a practical matter, all require bees. Apples originated in Central Asia, peaches in China, watermelons in North Africa. I am grateful to the farmers in Whately, Mass., who explained this to me.

103 Nicholas Ferrar: Skipton 1907:22–25, 61–63; KB 3:83, 324, 340 (investments).

104 Ferrar reads Bullock, longing for China: Thompson 2004. Summarizing Ferrar’s reaction to tobacco, the Oxford historian Peter Thompson called it “an inedible crop whose monetary value to the state could be construed as being inversely related to its detrimental effect on the nation’s morals and reputation.” (121). All quotes from online transcription. See also, KB 3:30; 4:109–10. Spain thought the English were building a chain of forts in Virginia to protect the China route: Maguel, F. 1610. Report to the King of Spain, 30 Sep. In Haile ed. 1998:447–53, at 451–52.

105 Worldwide spread of tobacco: Brook 2008:117–51 (“to buy tobacco,” 137); Céspedes del Castillo 1992:22–48ff.; Goodrich 1938 (daimyo ban, 654); Laufer et al. 1930 (Sierra Leone, 7–8); Laufer 1924a (Japan, 2–3; Mughals, 11–14); Laufer 1924b (pope, 56; Ottoman bribes, 61). See also Chap. 5. Three years after the khan’s ban the Chinese emperor also banned the foreign plant, decreeing that all tobacco vendors “shall, no matter the quantity sold, be decapitated, and their heads exposed on a pike” (Goodrich 1938:650).

CHAPTER 3 / Evil Air

1 Discovery of copybook: Varela and Gil eds. 1992:69–76.

2 Translation of account of second voyage: Colón, C. Letter to the Sovereigns, Feb. 1494. In Taviani et al. eds. 1997:vol. 1, 201–39 (“tertian fever,” 233); Gil, J., and Varela, C. Memorandum to Centro Nacional de Conservación y Microfilmación Documental y Bibliográfica, 29 Dec. 1985. In idem:164–65 (“revelations,” 164).

3 Tertian fever: A less common type of malaria is associated with a seventy-two-hour cycle: quartan fever.

4 Cook and malaria: Cook 2002:375.

5 Lack of malaria in Americas: Rich and Ayala 2006:131–35 (monkey malaria); De Castro and Singer 2005; Carter and Mendis 2002:580–81; Wood 1975; Dunn 1965.

6 “had trouble”: Colón, C. 1494. Relation of the Second Voyage. In Varela and Gil eds. 1992:235–54, at 250. My thanks to Scott Sessions for helping me with this translation.

7 Definitions of çiçiones: Author’s interviews, Sessions (Cook also discusses the issue); Covarrubias y Orozco 2006: fol. 278v; Vallejo 1944; Real Academia Española 1726–39:vol. 2, 342. See also M. Alonso, Diccionario Medieval Español (Salamanca: Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, 1986), 2 vols.; J. Corominas and J. A. Pascual, Diccionario Crítico Etimológico Castellano e Hispánico (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1980–91), 6 vols.

8 “marshy emanations”: Real Academia Española 1914:753.

9 Malaria toll: World Health Organization 2010 (death, morbidity estimates, 60); Gallup and Sachs 2001 (economic burden).

10 Extractive states: Acemoglu and Robinson: forthcoming; Acemoglu et al. 2001; Conrad 1998:84 (“disease and starvation”).

11 Evolution of malaria: Rich and Ayala 2006; Carter and Mendis 2002:570–76. Half a dozen other Plasmodium species occasionally attack people, but the vast majority of human malaria is due to P. vivax and P. falciparum, with some from P. malariae and P. ovale.

12 Malaria life cycle: Interviews and e-mail, Andrew Spielman; Baer et al. 2007; Morrow and Moss 2007 (ten billion, 1091); Sturm et al. 2006; Rich and Ayala 2006; Carter and Mendis 2002:570–76. I ignore many, many complications here.

13 Jeake’s attacks: Hunter and Gregory ed. 1988:210–25 (all quotes, 215).

14 Differences between vivax and falciparum: Mueller et al. 2009; Packard 2007:23–24. The two species have different reproductive strategies. Vivax infects only very young red blood cells, about 2 percent of the total, but does so for a long time. Mosquitoes are unlikely to pick it up at any one feeding, but have a lot of time to do it. Falciparum attacks all red blood cells, but for less time. Mosquitoes are more likely to pick it up at any one feeding, but have less time to do so.

15 Temperature sensitivity: Roberts et al. 2002:81. I drastically simplify the issue; for a careful calculation, see Guerra et al. 2008:protocol S2.

16 Anopheles maculipennis: Ramsdale and Snow 2000; Snow 1998; White 1978; Hackett and Missiroli 1935. The maculipennis species in coastal England, A. atroparvus, seems resistant to P. falciparum, an additional reason that falciparum was rare there.

17 Draining wetlands and mosquitoes: Thirsk 2006:15–22, 49–78, 108–41; Dobson 1997:320–22, 343–44. Although rarer, malaria was likely present before drainage; Hasted, for instance, reports that Archbishop John Morton died of “quartan ague” in 1500 (1797–1801:vol. 12, 434).

18 Improved drainage: (footnote): Dobson 1997:320–22, 343–44 (“pigsties,” 321); Kukla 1986:138–39 (cattle).

19 English malaria misery: Packard 2007:44–53; Hutchinson and Lindsay 2006 (causes of death); Dobson 1997:287–367 (Aubrey, 300; burial ratio, 345); 1980 (mortality rates, 357–64); Dickens 1978:1 (“brothers”); Defoe 1928:13 (“certainly true”); Wither 1880:139 (“had there”); Hasted 1797–1801:vol. 6, 144 (“twenty-one”). The 1625 death figure is from the Collection of Yearly Bills of Mortality. My description is based heavily on Dobson’s work.

20 Emigrants from malaria zone: Author’s interviews and e-mail, Robert C. Anderson (Great Migration Project), Preservation Virginia (Jamestown colonists), William Thorndale; Dobson 1997:287 (Sheerness); Kelso and Straube 2004:18–19 (Jamestown, Blackwall); Fischer 1991:31–36; Bailyn 1988:11. Anderson told me that “about 15 percent” of the English migrants to New England came from Kent alone; Thorndale (pers. comm.) is cautious about the precision of the individual Preservation Virginia biographies, which have not been formally published.

21 Vivax hiding: Mueller et al. 2009. Worse still, victims can become carriers. By fighting off the disease, people acquire immunity—of a peculiar, dispiriting sort. If they are bitten by an infected mosquito, the “immunity” greatly reduces the symptoms of malaria. But it does not stop the infection itself, which can be passed on.

22 A. quadrimaculatus: Reinert et al. 1997. A. quadrimaculatus is strikingly similar to A. maculipennis (Proft et al. 1999). Indeed, their ranges almost overlap—A. maculipennis can be found in the northern fringes of the United States (Freeborn 1923).

23 Malaria transmissibility: Author’s interviews, Spielman. In August 2002, two teenagers in northern Virginia were hospitalized with malaria. The victims, near neighbors, lived less than ten miles from Dulles International Airport. County and state officials came to believe that an asymptomatic traveler on an international flight at Dulles had been bitten by a mosquito, which passed on the infection to the teenagers. It was the tenth such case in a decade (Author’s interview, David Gaines [Va. Dept. of Health]; Pastor et al. 2002).

24 Malaria by 1640: Author’s interview, Anderson. See also Fischer 1991:14–17. The vice director of the Dutch colony on Delaware Bay suffered a classic malaria attack in 1659 (“confined to my bed between 2 and 3 months, and so severely attacked by tertian ague, that nothing less than death has been expected every other day.… All the inhabitants of New Netherland are visited with these plagues” [Letter, Alrichs, J., to Commissioners of the Colonie on the Delaware River, 12 Dec. 1659. In Brodhead ed. 1856–58:vol. 2, 112–14]). See also, Letter, idem, to Burgomaster de Graaf, 16 Aug. 1659. In ibid.: 68–71. Ships came to New England after 1640, but their temporary visits were less likely to spread malaria.

25 Quads and dry weather: Author’s interviews, Gaines; Chase and Knight 2003.

26 Malaria by 1620s: Historians generally maintain that malaria was present in the Chesapeake by the 1680s and possibly by the 1650s (Cowdrey 1996:26–27; Rutman and Rutman 1976:42–43; Duffy 1953:204–07). Kukla (1986:141) suggests that “by 1610 it may have been present to greet Governor De La Warr, who ‘arriv[ed] in Jamestowne [and]…was welcomed by a hot and violent ague.’ ” But this is little more than speculation, as is my own.

27 Seasoning: Morgan 2003:180–84 (later improvement); Kukla 1986:136–37; Kupperman 1984:215, 232–36; Gemery 1980:189–96 (improvement); Blanton 1973:37–41; Rutman and Rutman 1976:44–46; Curtin 1968:211–12; Duffy 1953:207–10; Jones 1724:50 (“Climate”); Letter, George Yeardley to Edwin Sandys, 7 Jun. 1620. In KB 3:298 (“seasoned”). See also KB 3:124; 4:103, 191, 4:452; Morgan 2003:158–62, 180–84.

28 Sukey Carter: Carter 1965:vol. 1, 190–94 (all quotes; I omit extraneous material), 221 (death).

29 Costs of servants and slaves: Morgan 2003: 66, 107 (servant pay); Menard 1977:359–60, table 7; U.S. Census Bureau 1975:vol. 2, 1174. Using similar figures, Coelho and McGuire (1997:100–01) estimate that a servant would have to return £2.74 a year to justify the purchase price, but a slave would have to return £3.25. To be sure, the servant would eventually be able to leave his master’s employ (Menard looked only at servants with more than four years remaining on their contracts). But the advantages of the slave’s permanence wouldn’t manifest themselves for years—and Chesapeake Bay with its high mortality rate was not a place where people sought long-term advantages. Such calculations ignore the profits from selling or working slave children. Little evidence exists, though, that slave owners initially understood this potential (Menard 1977:359–60).

30 Adam Smith and slavery: Smith 1979:vol. 1, 99 (“by slaves” [bk. 1, chap. 8, ¶41]); vol. 1, 388 (“domineer” [bk. 3, chap. 2, ¶130). See also vol. 1, 387 (bk. 3, chap. 2, ¶9); vol. 2, 684 (bk. 4, chap. 9, ¶47).

31 English slaves: Guasco 2000: 90–127 (slave censuses, 102, 122). Northwest Africa had a European slave population of about 35,000 in 1580–1680 (Davis 2001:117). Using a mortality estimate of 24–25 percent a year, Davis derived a total European catch of 850,000 in this period. A guess of an average annual total of two thousand seems conservative. Using Davis’s mortality ratios, this leads to 48,571 English captives in 1580–1680, hence “tens of thousands.” Hebb (1994:139–40) estimates that 8,800 English were enslaved in 1616–42, which would translate into ~25,000 during this period. Many more Italians and Spaniards than English were taken. Plymouth: Laird Clowes et al. 1897–1903:vol. 2, 22–23 (“Between 1609 and 1616, no fewer than four hundred and sixty-six British vessels were captured by [corsairs], and their crews enslaved”).

32 Rare but legal English slavery: Guasco 2000:50–63; Friedman 1980. Slaves, mainly prisoners, were sent to England’s few galleys.

33 Indentured servants: Galenson 1984 (one-third to one-half, 1); Gemery 1980:esp. table A-7. Most went to Virginia, so the figure there was higher, perhaps “more than 75 percent” (Fischer 1991:227). See also, Tomlins 2001; Menard 1988:105–06.

34 Slaves in 1650: McCusker and Menard 1991:table 6.4; U.S. Census Bureau 1975:vol. 2, 1168.

35 Turn to slavery in 1680s, emergence of England as biggest slaver: Author’s interviews, Anderson, Thornton. Numbers: Berlin 2003:table 1; U.S. Census Bureau 1975:vol. 2, 1168. Economics: Menard 1988:108–11, 1977; Galenson 1984:9–13. See also, Eltis and Richardson 2010; Eltis et al. 2009–.

36 Size and profitability of slave trade: Eltis and Engerman 2000 (“tonnage,” 129; percent of GDP, 132–34; raw materials, 138). Eltis and Engerman argue that the profits were not oriented toward industrial investment, so the industry had no special role in the Industrial Revolution (136). This contradicts Blackburn’s conclusion that “exchanges with the slave plantations helped British capitalism to make a breakthrough to industrialization and global hegemony” (1997:572).

37 Free land and slavery: Smith 1979:vol. 2, 565 (“first master” [bk. 4, chap. 7, §b, ¶2]), Domar 1970. “Wide-open spaces exhibit a bimodal distribution: lots of freedom or coerced labor” (J. R. McNeill, pers. comm.). Morgan (2003:218–22) observes that farmers “solved” the problem by buying vast tracts of land.

38 Price rise in indentured servants as slavery cause: Morgan 2003:chap. 15; Galenson 1984. Morgan locates an effective price rise in increasing trouble with indentured servants in Virginia, Galenson an actual price rise from labor shortages in England.

39 Little Ice Age impact in Scotland: Lamb 1995:199–203; Gibson and Smout 1995:164–71; Flinn ed. 1977:164–86.

40 Scots in Panama: I rely on the fine account in McNeill 2010:106–23 (“of Panama,” 123—I have, with McNeill’s permission, slightly altered his words). Earlier studies are useful but, in McNeill’s phrase, “epidemiologically unaware” (106).

41 “the world”: Bannister ed. 1859:vol. 1, 158–59.

42 Founding Carolina: Wood 1996:13–20.

43 Mississippians become confederacies: Snyder 2010:chap. 1; Gallay 2002:23–24.

44 Slavery in Powhatan, confederacies, and colonists: Smith 2007b:287–88, 298 (examples); Rountree 1990:84, 121 (Powhatan); Snyder 2010:35–40 (Southeast); Woodward 1674:133 (Indians who sell slaves to Virginia). See also, Laubrich 1913:25–47.

45 Flintlocks vs. matchlocks: Snyder 2010:52–55; Chaplin 2001:111–12; Malone 2000:32–35, 64–65.

46 Spanish attack on Carolina: Bushnell 1994:136–38.

47 Carolina slave trade: I am summarizing the argument in Gallay 2002; see also Snyder 2010; Bossy 2009; Laubrich 1913:119–22.

48 Economics of trade: Snyder 2010:54–55 (160 deerskins, “Extreamly” [quoting Thomas Nairne]); Gallay 2002:200–01 (census), 299–308 (export estimate), 311–14 (prices).

49 Massachusetts and New Orleans (footnote): Gallay 2002:308–14 (France); Laubrich 1913:63–102 (France), 122–28 (Massachusetts).

50 Bans on slave imports: Gallay 2002:302–03 (all quotes).

51 Carolina and malaria: McNeill 2010:203–09; Packard 2007:56–61; Coclanis 1991:42–45 (more than three out of four); Wood 1996:63–79 (population, 152); Silver 1990:155–62; Dubisch 1985 (differential mortality, 642); Merrens and Terry 1984 (“ague,” 540; “hospital,” 549); U.S. Census Bureau 1975:vol. 2, 1168; Childs 1940 (arrival of malaria, chaps. 5–6); Ashe 1917:6 (“Complexions”); Archdale 1822:13. A somewhat similar process occurred in Georgia, which began in 1733 as a free colony (slavery was banned). Scurvy, beriberi, and dysentery, all related to inadequate or contaminated food, were common. Infectious disease was not. The colony became the crown’s property in 1752. Slavery was permitted. Malaria and yellow fever quickly followed. Soon it became hard to farm without slaves. The disparity in death rates shrank as Europeans survived and acquired immunities. But it didn’t go away. In the 1820s whites in South Carolina were still dying of intermittent, remittent, bilious, and country fevers—the terms then used for malaria—at rates more than four times higher than blacks (Cates 1980).

52 Indian disease deaths: Snyder 2010:65 (Chickasaw), 101–02 (Chakchiuma), 116 (“distressed tribes”); Gallay 2002:111–12 (Quapaw); Laubrich 1913:285–87; Archdale 1822:7 (“answer for”).

53 Duffy negativity: E-mail to author, Louis Miller; Webb 2009:21–27; Seixas et al. 2002; Carter and Mendis 2002:572–74; Miller et al. 1976.

54 Sickle-cell: Interviews and e-mail, Spielman; Carter and Mendis 2002:570–71; Livingstone 1971:44–48.

55 Immunities as pivot for slavery: Webb 2009:87–88; Coelho and McGuire 1997; Wood 1996:chap. 3; Dobson 1989; Menard 1977. Some economists have argued that there was little economy of scale in crops climatically suited for New England. But wheat was grown in Piedmont Virginia on big plantations with lots of slaves. Still others have argued that Africans couldn’t run away, because their appearance was too distinctive. The obvious retort is that slaves did run away all the time—and that in any case indentured servants could have been branded or tattooed, something already done for criminals. Ultimately, disease counted. “The decimation of a native labor supply in the face of disease, the weakness of the Europeans in their new disease environment and the apparent resistance of blacks to diseases of hot climates led to the massive importation and exploitation of African slaves” (Dobson 1989:291).

56 Arrival of falciparum: Rutman and Rutman 1980:64–65; idem 1976:42–45.

57 Comparisons of mortality rates: Curtin 1989; 1968:203–08 (48–67 percent, 203; “of the European,” 207); Hirsch 1883–86:vol. 1, 220 (malaria in Antilles). Many of the original figures are in Tulloch 1847, 1838.

58 Geography of malaria: My discussion follows McNeill 2010; Webb 2009:chap. 3; Packard 2007:54–78.

59 Falciparum line: Author’s interview, National Weather Service (temperatures); Strickman et al. 2000:221.

60 Plantations and South: The debate is summarized in Breeden 1988:5–6. Tara was supposedly in Georgia.

61 Intractable malaria regions: Duffy 1988:35–36; Faust and Hemphill 1948:table 1. Texas had more malaria cases, but also more people.

62 Quadrimaculatus habitat and housing: Author’s interview, Gaines; Goodwin and Love 1957. The hills don’t have to be tall; medical researcher Walter Reed observed that people in the uplands of Washington, D.C., just 200–250 feet above the Potomac, rarely contracted malaria, while “those who live on the low plateau bordering both the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers are affected annually by malarial diseases” (Gilmore 1955:348). See also, Kupperman 1984:233–34.

63 Malaria and culture: Rutman and Rutman 1980:56–58 (all quotes); Dubisch 1985:645–46. Fischer (1991:274–389 passim) makes an extended characterization of Virginia mores.

64 No initial awareness of immunity: Arguing that malaria resistance “must have done a great deal to reinforce the expanding rationale behind the enslavement of Africans,” Wood (1996:83–91, quote at 91) and Puckrein (1979:186–93) try to show that Carolina colonists regarded Africans in this way. By contrast, Rutman and Rutman “found no evidence in Virginia to substantiate Wood’s thesis” (1976:56). Most historians follow the Rutmans and believe that colonists’ views of African immunity came after the turn to slavery, not before.

65 Massachusetts disease, slavery: Romer 2009 (8 percent, 118); Dobson 1989:283–84 (health); Massachusetts Body of Liberties (1641):art. 91 (available in many places online).

66 Slavery compared in Argentina and Brazil: Eltis et al. 2009– (2.2 million); Chace 1971 (220,000–330,000 slaves, 107–08; lack of establishment of African culture in Argentina, 121–22; half Argentina African, 126–27); Alden 1963 (half Rio, São Paulo African). Eltis et al. give 75,000 as the number of slaves entering the ports of the Rio Plata; Chace makes clear this is only the registered “pieces,” which ignores the much bigger number of illegally imported slaves. By the end of the nineteenth century, Brazil’s great writer, Euclides da Cunha, was celebrating his nation’s mixed heritage (Hecht: forthcoming); meanwhile, Argentina’s ruling “Generation of Eighty” was boasting that Argentina was the “only great white nation of South America” (Chace 1971:2).

67 Yellow Jack: Much in this section comes from McNeill 2010.

68 Sugar comes to Barbados: McNeill 2010:23–26; Emmer 2006:9–27; Davis 2006:110–16; Blackburn 1997:187–213, 239–31 (slave prices, 230); Sheridan 1994:chap. 7, esp. 128–30; Beckles 1989; Galenson 1982 (slave prices, table 4). I am grateful to the plantation owners in Brazil who let me visit their land to see sugar work.

69 First yellow fever epidemic: McNeill 2010:35, 64 (“populations”); Beckles 1989:118–25; Findlay 1941 (six thousand dead and quarantine, 146); Ligon 1673:21, 25 (“dead,” 21).

70 Spread of sugar, ecological ravaging of Caribbean: McNeill 2010:23–33 (“for cultivation,” 29); Watts 1999:219–31, 392–402; Sheridan 1994 (production and population figures, 100–02, 122–23); Goodyear 1978:15 (Cuba). Ligon (1673) reported that when the first Europeans landed on Barbados the island was “so overgrown with Wood, as there could be found no Champions [fields], or Savannas for men to dwell in” (23).

71 A. albimanus: Grieco et al. 2005 (susceptibility to falciparum); Rejmankova et al. 1996 (algal habitat); Frederickson 1993 (habits). Frederickson suggests that it has a preference for cattle “1.6 to 2.1 times greater than that for humans” (14). The gradual replacement of Caribbean cattle by sugar thus increased the risk of malaria.

72 Fourth voyage: During Colón’s fourth voyage to the Americas (1502–04) the admiral’s nautical career effectively came to an end when he was forced to ground his worm-eaten, sinking ships on Jamaica. To obtain help from Santo Domingo, he asked a trusted lieutenant, Diego Mendez, to canoe 120 miles to Hispaniola. After a brutal journey in the Caribbean summer, Mendez’s party made it to shore. Most of the group was too sick to continue to Santo Domingo, Colón’s son Hernán wrote later. Mendez nonetheless “left in his canoe to go up the coast of Hispaniola, though suffering from quartan fever” (Colón 2004:322).

73 Environmental changes favor malaria and yellow fever: McNeill 2010:48–50, 55–57; Webb 2009:69–85ff.; Goodyear 1978:12–13 (pots).

74 Caribbean as lethal environment: McNeill 2010:65–68; Webb 2009:83 (“non-immunes”); Curtin 1989:25–30, fig. 1.2, table 1.5. Ligon, who came to Barbados two decades after the first English colonists, found (1673:23) that “few or none of them that first set there, were now living.” This may exaggerate. Not many colonists lasted more than a few years, as Ligon said. But that was not only because they died. Many fled to healthier places—Virginia, for one (Sheridan 1994:132–33).

75 Introduction of malaria into Amazon: Cruz et al. 2008 (Madeira survey); Hemming 2004a:268–70; Requena, F. 1782. Letter to Flóres, M. A. d., 25 Aug. In Quijano Otero 1881:188–97, at 191–95 passim; Orbigny 1835:vol. 3a, 13–36; Edwards 1847:195 (“one case”).

76 Guyane: Hecht forthcoming; Ladebat 2008 (coup deportees); Whitehead 1999. I am grateful to Susanna Hecht for drawing this history to my attention.

77 Sugar despotisms: Acemoglu et al. 2001, 2003. “Differences in mortality are not the only, or even the main, cause of variation in institutions. For our empirical approach to work, all we need is that they are a source of exogenous variation” (Acemoglu et al. 2001:1371). The counterargument is exemplified by Sheldon Watts’s claim that the turn to slavery was determined by the “general stagnation of Europe’s population growth.” In his view, “what really mattered were developments in the cosmopolitan core rather than the presence of the frightful country disease, yellow fever, in the Caribbean periphery” (1999:230–34, at 233). But he simply demonstrates that England’s population was increasing slowly in the late seventeenth century, not whether the resultant price increase for servants was actually big enough to have any impact. In my view, the contrary has been shown convincingly.

78 Fear of independent institutions: Acemoglu and Robinson forthcoming. After slavery ended in 1834, many sugar planters sold abandoned, marshy land to freed slaves at exorbitant prices. In the next decade, freed Africans created a series of prosperous, self-governing freeholds. Unhappily, they had never learned the techniques, pioneered by Guyana’s Indians, to drain the land for long-term cultivation. Because the “Village Movement” deprived British plantations of labor, the colonial government refused to provide the technology and engineering skills for building and maintaining dams and channels that it made available to elites. Unable to keep sugar fields dry, the Village Movement lost its economic base; the freed slaves were forced to return to their plantations (Moore 1999:131–35). Similarly, the wealthy elites feared the small shops opened by many freed slaves. To drive them back into the fields, they imported Portuguese merchants and financed their enterprises with low-interest loans, meanwhile denying all credit to ex-slaves. The ex-slaves soon went under (Wagner 1977:410–11).

79 Stagnation of extractive states: Acemoglu et al. 2002:1266–78 (discouraging settlement, 1271; “entrepreneurs,” 1273).

80 British Guyana and Booker Brothers: Rose 2002:157–90 (exports, 186–86); Hollett 1999:chap. 5 (Booker brothers); Moore 1999:136–37 (“their station”); Bacchus 1980:4–30, 217–19 (university); Daly 1975 (fear of education, 162–63, 233–34). On trial in 1823 for fomenting insurrection by teaching slaves the Bible, the missionary John Smith decried plantation owners who believed “that the diffusion of knowledge among the negroes will render them less valuable as property” (Anon. 1824:78). Indeed, he was charged with informing slaves about “the history of the deliverance of the Israelites” (ibid.:157) and teaching them to read.

81 Disease in U.S. Civil War: Barnes et al. 1990 (35 percent, table 6; 233 percent, table 30; 361,968, table 71; proportion of deaths, xxxviii).

82 “established institutions”: The Crittenden-Johnson resolution was adopted in July 1861 by a House vote of 119–2 and in slightly different form by a Senate vote of 30–5.

83 Malaria in American Revolution: Author’s interviews, McNeill; McNeill 2010:209–32 (“nearly ruined,” 215; “unhealthy swamp,” 220; troop levels, 226).

CHAPTER 4 / Shiploads of Money

1 Zheng He: Mote 2003:613–17; Levathes 1994 (suppression, 174–81); Finlay 1991 (survey of historians’ views, 297–99); Needham et al. 1954–:vol. 4, pt. 3, 486–528ff. (suppressed records, 525). In two books published in 2002 and 2008 a retired submarine commander named Gavin Menzies claimed that Chinese fleets went beyond Africa, reaching the Americas and Europe, dramatically changing world history along the way. Few historians have endorsed this thesis.

2 Chinese “insularity”: Author’s interviews, Goldstone, Kenneth Pomeranz; Jones 2003: 203–05 (“self-engrossment,” 205; “from the sea,” 203); Goldstone 2000:176–77 (“such voyages,” 177); Landes 1999 (“curiosity,” 96; “success,” 97); Finlay 1991. See also, Braudel 1981–84:vol. 2, 134, vol. 3, 32 (“In the race for world dominion, this [inward turn] was the moment when China lost her position in a contest she had entered without fully realizing it, when she had launched the first maritime expeditions from Nanking in the early fifteenth century”), 485–86, 528–29. Diamond argues that the decision exemplifies a fatal uniformity in China; in fragmented Europe, he says, such a blanket prohibition would have been impossible (Diamond 1999:412–16). As indicated below, China was hardly unified; the blanket prohibition did not stick. Landes charges that Zheng’s voyages “reeked of extravagance” (1999:97) as opposed to the more rational, bottom-line-oriented exploration of Europeans. He thus criticizes China’s rulers both for shutting down Zheng He’s voyages because they were unprofitable and for overspending on those same voyages.

3 Trade bans and tribute trade: Tsai 2002:123–24 (thirty-eight nations), 193–94; So 2000:119–20, 125–27; Deng 1999:118–28; Chang 1983:166–97 (tribute trade), 200–17 (naval decline); Needham et al. 1954–:vol. 4, pt. 3, 527–28 (orders to destroy ships); Kuwabara 1935:97–100 (suppression of foreign families). Confucianism indeed was negative about commercial gain, assigning merchants to the lowest of the “four categories of the people.” But that scorn had relatively little impact in practice, in much the same way that Christian doctrinal scorn for moneylenders and usury did not prevent the emergence of powerful banks. Thus the emperor felt free to begin “tributary” relations with the Ryukyu Islands, an archipelago between Japan and Taiwan that was well known for having good mountain horses, by sending an official to obtain horses in exchange for a “gift” of, among other things, 69,000 pieces of porcelain, one hundred bolts of damask, and almost a thousand iron pots. The tributary gifts from Ryukyu also served as a way to launder Japanese and Southeast Asian goods that were politically inexpedient to acknowledge (Chang 1983:174–78). For the tribute trade with Japan, see Li 2006c:45–47.

4 Composition of wokou: Interviews, Li Jinming, Lin Renchuan, Dai Yefeng; Li 2001: 10–13; So 1975:17–36.

5 “were merchants”: Lin was referring to a well-known remark by Tang Shu, an official in the Jiajing emperor’s court: “Pirates and merchants are both people: when trade is open, pirates become merchants, and when trade is banned, merchants become pirates” (Hu 2006:11.4a–4b; see also, Chang 1983:234). Pirates had periodically plagued the region for two thousand years (Kuwabara 1935:41–42).

6 Fujian geography as factor in maritime trade: author’s visits; interviews, Lin, Li; Yang 2002; Clark 1990:51–56 (“be tilled,” 52); So 1975:126–27; Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 15, “Local Conditions” (The yearly harvest “rarely filled [Fujianese farmers’] bamboo baskets.… Therefore calculating individuals saw waves like paths between fields, and relied on masts and sails like ploughs. The wealthy used their riches, and the poor used their bodies, transporting China’s goods to countries in foreign lands and trading local products for up to ten times profit. Thus the people were content to place little value on their lives, and one after another rowed across the sea so that it eventually became a habit, and they say there is no better livelihood than this”). To this day many Fujianese are more comfortable in one form or another of Min, an ancient offshoot of Chinese, than standard Mandarin.

7 Yuegang harbor: Author’s visits; Li 2001:chap. 1; Lin 1990:170–73; Li, Y. 1563. Request to Establish a County. In Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 21, “Writings” (“long time now”); vol. 24, “Collected Stories” (ten-family law). My thanks to Huang Zhongyi and Lin Renchuan for taking me around the remains of Yuegang; to Li Jinming for tolerating two long interviews; and to Kenneth Pomeranz for illuminating discussions.

8 Wokou crisis begins: Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 18, “Bandit Incursions”; vol. 24, “Collected Stories” (ten-family policy).

9 Zhu Wan: Li 2001:12–13, 24–25; Chang 1983:254–55; So 1975:50–121 (fine, 63); Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 18, “Bandit Incursions.” I have approximately rendered Zhu’s title of “grand provincial coordinator” as “governor.”

10 “them to leave”: Chang 1983:242.

11 More than twenty thousand died: Chang 1983:246.

12 “hilly ruins”: Luo 1983:vol. 2, n.p. (“Records of Eastern Barbarians: Japan”).

13 “to the town”: Zhuge 1976:n.p. (“Sea Pirates”).

14 Twenty-four Generals and end of piracy in Yuegang: Li 2006c (Wu Island, 50); Chang 1983:200–17 (hiring smugglers), 230–34 (officials in smuggling families), 251–58 (battles with Yuegang pirates); So 1975:151–53; Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 18, “Bandit Incursions”; vol. 21, “Writings” (“itself moaned”). Li (2001:16) says that Shao actually beheaded Hong.

15 Motives for rescinding ban: One Fujianese official argued that after legalizing international trade the “good people” from Yuegang who were now “scattered abroad” would “return permanently to their homeland and live amongst the rebels. Should any unlawful behavior begin to sprout up, the public will learn of it first and report it to local officials, who could then make a concerted effort to wipe them out” (Li, Y. 1563. Request to Establish a County. In Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 21, “Writings”).

16 Chinese coins and paper money: Von Glahn 2010 (export coins, 467–68); 2005 (“short-string,” 66; huizi value, 75); 1996:51–55; Ederer 1964:91–92; Tullock 1957.

17 First European banknotes: Mackenzie 1953:2. They were issued in Sweden, which previously had used heavy copper coins. Very heavy—weighing about forty-three pounds—the Swedish ten-dollar coin is said to be the heaviest ever made. England first tried paper money in 1694.

18 Cowry shells: Johnson 1970. Commodity money like gold is also problematic because if inflation occurs the government has to worry about the ostensible value of the coin becoming less than the actual value of the gold it is made of, which leads to people melting down their change and selling the metal. To forestall this possibility, governments can debase their coins by mixing in less valuable materials. But that creates, in effect, two parallel currencies: a valuable old currency and a less valuable new currency.

19 Cycles of paper and silver: Von Glahn 1996:43–47, 56–82 (“economic realities,” 72); Chen et al. 1995; Tullock 1957. Silver use varied widely by location (Pomeranz, pers. comm.).

20 “ring out”: Gao Gong, quoted in Quan 1991b.

21 “It never ends”: Runan Gazetteer (1608), quoted in Quan 1991b:598; see also, Von Glahn 1996:168.

22 Zhangpu County and Jiajing coins: Von Glahn 1996:86–88, 96–102, 143–57 (Wanli coins not accepted); 220–22 (Gu’s economic ideas); Quan 1991b:597 (Gu quote).

23 Kanyinshi: Interviews, Li Jinming, Lin Renchuan, Dai Yefeng.

24 Silver in one-tenth: Quan 1991b:573–74. The writer was Jin Xueyan in 1570.

25 Tax reform: Von Glahn details the slow change from a paper-money to a coin to an uncoined silver tax system (1996:75–161 passim). See also, Flynn and Giráldez 2001:262–65; Huang 1981:61–63; Atwell 1982:84–85; Quan 1972b.

26 Decline of silver mining: Von Glahn 1996:114–15; Quan 1991c, 1972b. See also, Atwell 1982:76–79.

27 China seeks silver overseas to finance government: Guo 2002; Qian 1986:69–70; see also, Von Glahn 1996:113–25.

28 Trade-driven diaspora: Guo (2002) says more than 100,000 may have gone out.

29 Chinese in Philippines: Anon. Relation of the Conquest of the Island of Luzon, 20 Apr. 1572. In B&R 3:141–72, at 167–68 (150 in Manila). A lower number—eighty couples, plus, one assumes, children—occurs in Anon. (Martín de Goiti?). Relation of the Voyage to Luzon, 1570. In B&R 3:73–104, at 101. The Ming Shi claims that before Legazpi Fujianese “traders of abundant means, several tens of thousand in number,” lived in the Philippines. They “took up a long residence there, and did not return home until their sons and grandsons had grown up” (MS 323.211.8370). “Tens of thousand” should be understood figuratively, as “a great number, perhaps as many as ten thousand.” My thanks to Devin Fitzgerald for this translation.

30 Discovery of Potosí: Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 33–39; Gaibrois 1950:11–22; Capoche 1959:77–78; Acosta 1894:308–10; Baquíjano y Carrillo 1793:31–32.

31 Indian metallurgy and smelters: Mann 2005:82–83 (and references therein); Acosta 1894:324–26; Cieza de Léon 1864:388–89 (chap. CIX).

32 Potosí population: Dressing 2007:39–41 (migration restriction); Chandler 1987:529 (list of American cities by population); Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 43 (more than fourteen thousand in 1546), vol. 3, 286 (160,000 in 1611); López de Velasco 1894:502 (1560s); Acarete du Biscay 1698:2–5 (restrictions); Anon. 1603:377–78; Baquíjano y Carrillo 1793:37–38 (160,000). Potosí’s only competitor was Mexico City, which in 1612 had about 145,000 inhabitants (Beltrán 1989:216). At this time, “Seville barely housed 45,000 residents; Paris, 60,000; London and Antwerp, 100,000; and Madrid, 6,000 souls” (Pacheco 1995:274). All these figures are debatable, but they give an idea of relative sizes.

33 Potosí opulence: Author’s visit (coat of arms); Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 250 (“strands of pearl”); Acarete du Biscay 1698:61 (silver paving); Quesada 1890:vol. 1, 178–80 (courtesans), vol. 2, 420 (bidding war). A single peach could cost one hundred pesos (Baquíjano y Carrillo 1793:38).

34 Dependence on imports: Cobb 1949:30–31; López de Velasco 1894:503; Acosta 1894:306; Anon. 1603:373.

35 Mercury amalgamation: Whitaker 1971 (“mountain of Potosí,” 105, note 21). My thanks to Bryan Coughlan for helping me with the chemistry.

36 Four thousand a week: Brown 2001:469–70 (Huancavelica); Cole 1985:12 (Potosí). The numbers fluctuated over time; I give typical numbers for the beginning of the program.

37 3–8 million deaths: E.g., Galeano 1997:39. The historian David Stannard (1993:89) wrote that the life span of a mine worker was “about the same as that of someone working at slave labor in the synthetic rubber manufacturing plant at Auschwitz.” The actual death rate, though still horrific, seems to have been much smaller (Cole 1985:26).

38 Huancavelica conditions: Brown 2001; Whitaker 1971; Lohmann Villena 1949. A fine summary is Reader 2009: 10–14.

39 Potosí schedule, conditions: Cole 1985:24–25; Acosta 1894:321–23; Acarete du Biscay 1698:50 (“After Six days constant work, the Conductor brings ’em [sic] back the Saturday following.” As the laborers staggered to bed, the Potosí governor “causes a review to be made of ’em, to make the owners of the Mines give ’em the Wages that are appointed ’em, and to see how many of ’em are dead, that the [native leaders] may be oblig’d to supply the number that is wanting”); Loaisa 1586:600–03 (“Saturday,” 602).

40 Violence in Potosí: Padden 1975:xxviii (bodies in walls); Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 192–93 (first birth); Quesada 1890:vol. 1, 387 (city council); Lodena, P. d. Letter to Audiencia de La Plata, 29 Apr. 1604. In Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 258 (tailors). See also, Valenzuela, J. P. d. 1595. Letter to Crown, 8 Apr. In Dressing 2007:38.

41 Montejo and Gudínez: Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 75–92 (all quotes, 75–76).

42 Basque dominance of Potosí: Dressing 2007:65–78, 104–06, 144–45 (Basque gangs as enforcers); Crespo 1956:32–39; Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 186, 249. According to Dressing (2007:128), eleven of the twenty-four members of the city council were Basques.

43 Martínez Pastrana’s audit: Dressing 2007:112–31 (council debtors, 128; corruption claims, 130–31); Crespo 1956:39–64 (“not Basque,” 39; salary, 48; royal order banning tax cheats, 49–54; council debtors, 50; revolt begins, 63–64).

44 Insurrection in Potosí: Dressing 2007:143–252 (Basque Spanish challenge, 146; saving Verasátegui, 151–53; Manrique’s Basque sympathies, fiancée, 164–65, 198–209, 248–49, 285–88; burning down home, 211; “arrogant manner,” 230; ransacking homes, 232); Crespo 1956:65 (“cuckolds,” 66; saving Verasátegui, 71–73; burning Manrique home, 97–99; riots, 109–12); Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 328–407 (hands and tongue, 330; attempt to kill Manrique, 359–64; viceroy’s harsh position, 387–88).

45 Martínez Pastrana, Manrique leave: Dressing 2007:207, 248–49, 277; Crespo 1956:96, 132–33 (“the Basques,” 133), 156.

46 Lack of disruption to mines: Dressing 2007:161.

47 1549 shipment: Cobb 1949:30.

48 Silver production: Barrett 1990:236–37 (150,000 tons); Morineau 1985:553–71; Soetbeer 1879:60, 70, 78–79, 82–83 (145,000 tons); Cross 1983:397 (80 percent). Garner says it was “more than 100,000 tons” (1988:898).

49 Inflation and instability: This is the “price revolution” of the late sixteenth century and the “general crisis” of the next, both discussed in Chap. 1.

50 Fall in silver price consequences: Flynn and Giráldez 2008; 2002; 1997. See also below.

51 Yuegang today and past harbor perils: Author’s visits; interviews; Li 2008 (“fish scales,” 65); Lin 1990:170–73; Deng et al. eds. 1968 (early map of area).

52 Yuegang-Manila trade: Author’s interviews, Li Jinming; Li 2001:chap. 7 (number of ships, 86–87); Qian 1986:74 (number of ships); Chaunu 2001:453 (leave in June); Schurz 1939:77 (smuggling); Dampier 1906:vol. 1, 406–07 (description of junk); Morga 1609:vol. 16, 177–83 (“his Majesty,” 181); Salazar, D. d. 1588. Relation of the Philipinas Islands. In B&R 7:29–51, at 34. The trade exploded: “In the 64 years from 1580 to 1643, 1,677 Chinese trading vessels went to Manila; an average of 26.2 entered the port each year. Excluding the three years for which there are no records (1590, 1593, 1595) and calculating based on the 61 known years, the actual annual average number of ships entering the port of Manila was 27.5, approximately 13.5 times that prior to the opening of the seas” (Guo 2002:95).

53 Piracy in China Sea: Cevicos, J. 1627. Inadvisability of a Spanish Post on the Island of Formosa. In B&R 22:168–77 (galleys, 168–69); Sotelo, L. 1628. A Synopsis of Juan Cevicos’s Discourse Regarding the Dutch Presence in the Seas of Japan and China. In Borao ed. 2001:54–56, at 54–55. See also the letters to the king in idem:57–58.

54 Sangley (footnote): Sande, F. d. 1576. Relation of the Filipinas Islands. In B&R 4:21–97, at 50; Cevicos, J. 1627. Inadvisability of a Spanish Post on the Island of Formosa. In B&R 22:175 (“heathen sangleys”).

55 Parián founding, description: Ollé Rodríquez 2006; Schurz 1939:79–82; Bañuelo y Carrillo 1638:69–70; Morga 1609:vol. 16, 194–99; Salazar, D. d. 1583. Affairs in the Philipinas [sic] Islands. In B&R 5:210–55, at 237; idem. 1590. The Chinese, and the Parián at Manila. In B&R 7:212–38, at 220–30. Parián buildings were thrown together from reeds, bamboo, and scraps of wood and tile. Inevitably, the ghetto burned to the ground. It was rebuilt again, in a different place. A few years later it was again consumed by fire and again rebuilt in another location. And again. Each new Parián was bigger than its predecessor.

56 Spanish plans to conquer China, acquiescence to Parián: Ruiz-Stovel 2009 (gobernadorcillo, 57); Ollé Rodríquez 2006:40–46 (acquiescence), 2002:39–88 (plans); Guo 2002.

57 King tries to shutter Chinese shops: Felipe II. 1593. Letter to Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, 17 Jan. In B&R 8:301–11, at 307–08; idem. 1593. Decree on Chinese shops, 11 Feb. In B&R 8:316–18.

58 Chinese drive Spaniards out of business: Bobadilla, D. d. 1640. Relation of the Filipinas Islands. In B&R 29:277–311, at 307–08 (“wooden noses”). Salazar, D. d. 1590. The Chinese and the Parián at Manila. In B&R 7:212–38 (“Spanish tradesman,” 226–27).

59 Parián population: Estimates range from ten thousand (1587) to “four to five thousand” (1589) to four thousand (1589) to two thousand (1591) to about one thousand (1588) (in order: Vera, S. d., et al. 1587. Letter to king, 25 Jun. In B&R 6:311–21, at 316; Anon. 1589. Instructions to Gómez Pérez Desmariñas. In B&R 7:141–72, at 164; Vera, S. d. 1589. Letter to king, 13 Jul. In B&R 7:83–94, at 89; Desmariñas, G. P. 1591. Account of the Encomiendas in the Philippine Islands. In B&R 8:96–141, at 96–98; Salazar, D. d. 1588. Relation of the Philipinas [sic] Islands. In B&R 7:29–51, at 34). Discrepancies may be due to not distinguishing between Chinese inside and outside the Parián. One cleric suggested there were three to four thousand in the Parián, four to five thousand on Luzon, and two thousand more during trading times (Salazar, D. d. 1590. The Chinese and the Parián at Manila. In B&R 7:212–38, at 230). See also, Guo 2002:97.

60 Malaria in Manila: DeBevoise 1995:143–45.

61 Chinese silver prices: Ollé Rodríguez 2006 (“for free,” 26); Boxer 2001:168–69; Flynn and Giráldez 2001:432–33; Von Glahn 1996:127; Atwell 1982:table 4; Quan 1972d.

62 “very rich”: Bañuelo y Carrillo 1638:77. (Emphasis mine.)

63 Taxes, levies, freight charges, etc.: Ronquillo de Peñalosa, G. 1582. Letter to Philip II, 16 Jun. In B&R 5:23–33, at 30–31; Salazar, D. d. 1583. Affairs in the Philipinas Islands. In B&R 5:210–55, at 236–40; See also, Letter to M. Enriquez. In B&R 3:291–94.

64 Cartel: Schurz 1939:74–78; Philip II. 1589. Royal Decree Regarding Commerce. In B&R 7:138–40.

65 One-third to one-half silver to China: Flynn and Giráldez 2001:434–37; Quan 1972d. For a dissenting view, see Garner 2006:15–17.

66 Galleons increase in size: Chaunu 2001:198 (“administration itself”); Quan 1972c:470–73; Schurz 1939:194–95.

67 More than fifty tons of silver: Quan 1972d:438–40.

68 Smuggling: Flynn and Giráldez 1997:xxii-xxv (San Francisco Javier); Cross 1983:412–13; Schurz 1939:77, 184–87; Álvarez de Abreu, A., ed. 1736. Commerce Between the Philippines and Neuva España. In B&R 30:53–56 (see also 54, note 7); Bañuelo y Carrillo 1638:71 (“been registered”); Garcetas, M., et al. 1632. Letter from the Ecclesiastical Cabildo to Felipe IV. In B&R 24:245–62, at 254–55.

69 Import quotas: Chaunu 2001:198–200. Their gradual tightening is seen in B&R 6:282, 284; 7:263, 8:313, 12:46, and 30:50–52.

70 Mulberry trees: MS 78.54.1894 (“bolt of silk”); Quan 1972c:453. A somewhat analogous shift took place in Guangdong (Marks 1998:119–21, 181–84).

71 China silk industry: Quan 1972c.

72 Chinese make Spanish fashions: Álvarez de Abreu, A. 1736. Commerce of the Philippines with Nueva España, 1640–1736. In B&R 44:227–313, at 255.

73 Spanish merchants complain of Chinese goods, seek regulatory redress: Álvarez de Abreu, A. 1736. Commerce of the Philippines with Nueva España, 1640–1736. In B&R 44:227–313, at 253–58, 293–95, 303–04.

74 Maluku mutiny: Borao 1998:237–39; MS 323.211.8370–72; Argensola, B. L. d. 1609. Conqvista de las Islas Malvcas. In B&R 16:211–318, at 248–61 (“Europa,” 258); Morga 1609:vol. 15, 68–72; Dasmariñas, L. P., et al. 1594. Letter to Japanese emperor, 22 Apr. In B&R 9:122–37, at 126–27, 133.

75 Expelling Chinese: Morga, A. d. 1596. Letter to king, 6 Jul. In B&R 9:263–73, at 266; Tello, F. 1597. Letter to Felipe II, 29 Apr. In B&R 10:41–45, at 42; idem:1597. Letter to Felipe II, 12 Aug. In B&R 10:48–50.

76 Benavides: Benavides, M. d. 1603. Letter to Felipe III, July 5. In B&R 12:101–12 (“will remain,” 110). Benavides was just a bishop, but he occupied the archbishopric after Salazar’s successor died of disease.

77 Gold mountain expedition: Borao 1998:239–42; Morga 1609:vol. 15, 272–76; Salazar y Salcedo, G. d. 1603. Three Chinese Mandarins at Manila. In B&R 12:83–97 (Chinese letter, 87–94); Benavides, M. 1603. Letter from Benavides to Felipe III, 5–6 Jul. In B&R 12:101–26, at 103–06. Beijing officials’ suspicions and anger about the incident are detailed in the Ming Shi-lu (Wade ed. trans. 2005): Year 30 (Wanli reign), Month 7, Day 27 (12 Sep. 1602); Year 31, Month 11, Day 12 (14 Dec. 1603); Year 32, Month 11, Day 11 (31 Dec. 1604); Year 32, Month 12, Day 13 (31 Jan. 1605).

78 1603 massacre: Chia 2006; Guo 2002; Borao 1998:239–42; Zhang 1968:59–60 (all quotes); Horsley 1950:159; Schurz 1939:86–90; Laufer 1908:267–72; Philips 1891:254; Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 18, “Disasters and Achievements” (“In the 31st year of the Wanli reign, 25,000 Chinese were killed in Luzon, eight of every ten from Yuegang”); Wade ed. trans. 2005: Year 32 (Wanli reign), Month 12, Day 13 (31 Jan. 1605); Year 35, Month 11, Day 29 (16 Jan. 1608); Morga 1609:vol. 16, 30–44; B&R 12:138–40, 142–46, 150–52, 153–60, 167–68.

79 Aftermath of massacre: Ollé Rodríguez 2006:44–46 (“Parián,” 46); Chang 2000:221–30 (widow suicides); Schurz 1939:91–93; Philips 1891:254; Anon. (Xu Xueju?). 1605. Letter from a Chinese Official to Acuña. In B&R 13:287–91, at 290–91; Laufer 1908:272 (“grow once more”). By 1640 royal officials were again griping that Manila’s Spaniards “are always in anxiety about the Chinese, or Sangleys, who number more than 30,000 in Manila” (B&R 30:34).

80 Repeated massacres in Parián: Ruiz-Stovel 2009; Ollé Rodríguez 2006:28–29, 44–45; Chia 2006 (esp. 1686 massacre). In 1709 and 1755 all the Chinese were expelled, but with less bloodshed; the death toll may have been as low as several hundred. The 1820 massacre occurred during a Filipino uprising against foreigners. Firsthand accounts include B&R 29:201–07, 208–58; 32:218–60; 44:146.

81 “nomadic horsemen”: Findlay and O’Rourke 2007:xviii.

82 Trade as source of Chinese elite power: Atwell 1982:84–86; Flynn and Giráldez 2002:405; Schell 2001:92.

83 Trade-fueled economic boom: Flynn and Giráldez 2002; Frank 1998:108–11, 160–61; Atwell 1982, 1977; Quan 1972e.

84 Imperial anxieties about Yuegang merchants: Author’s interviews, Li; Von Glahn 1996: (merchants as independent power); Qian 1986:75 (merchant cheating); Angeles, J. d. l. 1643. Formosa Lost to Spain. In B&R 35:128–63, at 150 (cheating).

85 China silver prices fall to world level: Flynn and Giráldez 2001:270–72; Pomeranz 2000:272.

86 Mistake of taxing silver weight, not value: Flynn and Giráldez 1997:xxxv–vi. Von Glahn (1996:238) points out that it worked the other way, too—higher silver prices equaled a higher tax burden.

87 Dispute over whether silver helped end Ming: Atwell 2005, 1982; Moloughney and Xia 1989. China also used Spanish silver to buy ginseng and furs from the Manchus, thus funding their enemies (Pomeranz, e-mail to author).

88 Costs to China of silver: Flynn and Giráldez 2001.

CHAPTER 5 / Lovesick Grass, Foreign Tubers, and Jade Rice

1 Spread of tobacco in China: Benedict 2011:chap. 1; Brook 2008, 2004 (Wang Pu, 86); Zhang 2006:48.44a–44b (“morning until night”); Jiang and Wang 2006; Lu 1991 (names); Yuan 1995:48–50 (1549 pipes); Goodrich 1938 (“that country,” 649); Laufer 1924b. My thanks to Josh D’Aluisio-Guerrieri and Devin Fitzgerald for translations from Chinese sources in this section. Ho (1955:191) says the peanut was the first American introduction, but tobacco caught on faster.

2 Chinese tobacco etiquette: Benedict 2011:chaps. 3, 5; Brook 2004:87–89 (“imagine,” 89); Cong ed. 1995:7.1a (poem, attributed to “Mr. Wu”); Lu 1991:1.4a–1.4b (“everywhere,” list). My thanks to Prof. Benedict for sending me an early copy of her book.

3 Snuff and Brummell: Laufer 1924b:39–42 (“century,” 40); Kelly 2006:110 (Brummell’s snuffboxes), 158–61 (one-handed technique), 256 (tea).

4 “hydraulic societies”: A clear but harshly critical summary is Blaut 1993:78–90.

5 “staple in Fujian”: Crosby 2003:199.

6 China as sweet potato, maize producer: Figures from Food and Agriculture Organization (faostat.fao.org).

7 Introduction of sweet potatoes: Zhang et al. 2007:159 (1590s famine); Song 2007; Shao et al. 2007; Cao 2005:177 (slices); Wang 2004:19–20 (80 percent, 20); Atwell 2001:60–61 (famine); Chen 1980:190–92; Ho 1955:193–94; Goodrich 1938; Xu 1968:vol. 27, 20–21; Chen 1835? (“ground,” “a threat”); Anon. 1768? (“length”); Wang 1644:14. Song (2007) and Zhang (2001) discuss the almost simultaneous introduction of maize.

8 Central American origin: D. Zhang et al. 2000.

9 Lin Huailan (footnote): 1888 Dianbai County gazetteer (vol. 20, “Miscellaneous Records”), quoted in Song 2007:34.

10 Rice double-cropping: Ho 1956.

11 Ming-Qing wars, emptying coast: Mote 2003:809–40; Zheng 2001:213–17 (all quotes); Cheng 1990:239–43.

12 Fall in Manila trade: Qian 1986:74; Quan 1972d:445.

13 Zheng Chenggong and Manila: Busquets 2006 (“eight thousand horses,” 410); Clements 2004:234–38; Anon. 1663. Events in Manila, 1662–63. In B&R 36:218–60.

14 “from its flow”: Mu, T. 1681. Memorial Requesting the Lifting of the Ban on Maritime Trade. Quoted in Quan 1972e:499.

15 Hakka migrate, become shack people: Richards 2005:124–31; Yang 2002:47 (“land left,” “to the next”); Leong 1997:43–54, 97–101, 109–25 (“the Hakka cultural group was predominant among the pengmin, especially from the Qing,” 125); Osborne 1989:esp. 142–52.

16 Tolerance of sweet potato, maize for bad conditions: Author’s interviews, Jiangsu Xuzhou Sweetpotato Research Centre; Song 2007; Mazumdar 2000:67–68; Marks 1998:310–11; Osborne 1989:48–49, 159–60; Ho 1955; Xu 1968:vol. 27, 21 (“them there”—the original has chi, which I render as “feet” [1 chi = 13.6 in. = 34.5 cm]).

17 Dominance of sweet potatoes and maize: Mazumdar 2000:67; Osborne 1989:188–89; Rawski 1975:67–71; David 1875:vol. 1, 181–95 (“tubers,” 188). Shack people also spread tobacco (Benedict 2011:chap. 2).

18 Numbers of shack people: Wang 1997:320–21.

19 Migration wave to west: Rowe 2009:91–95; Richards 2005:112–47ff.; Osborne 1989:240–45; Rawski 1975:64–65.

20 Migrants, American crops help lead to boom: Tuan 2008:138–44; Song 2007; Shao et al. 2007; Lan 2001 (Sichuan); Mazumdar 2000:70; Vermeer 1991 (Shaanxi); Rawski 1975; Ho 1955.

21 China population jump: Lee and Wang 2001:27–40; Wang 1997; Ho 1959:94–95, 101. See also, Frank 1998:167–71.

22 Sweet potato dispersal into Oceania: Montenegro et al. 2008; Ballard et al. eds. 2005; Zhang et al. 2000.

23 Factors increasing population: Rowe 2009 (granaries, 55–57; taxes, 65–69; trade, 55–57, 127–32); Shiue 2005 (disaster relief); Lee and Wang 2001:52–56 (infanticide); Needham et al. 1954–:vol. 6, pt. 6, 128–53 (inoculation). Rowe’s well-written, concise book summarizes current understanding about the Qing empire.

24 Hong Liangji bio: Jones 1971 (quotes, 4).

25 Qing occupy Guizhou, push out Miao: Richards 2005:131–37; Elvin 2004:216–44.

26 “flood, drought and plagues”: “China’s Population Problem” (1793), quoted in DuBary et al. eds. 2000:vol. 2, 174–76.

27 Malthus and reactions: These paragraphs are adapted from Mann 1993:48–49; Malthus 1798:13 (“for man”). See also Standage 2009:126–29.

28 Hong’s letter, exile: Jones 1971:156–202. The insurrection was the White Lotus rebellion, set off by a religious movement among China’s subalterns, prominent among them Hakka shack people (Hung 2005:164–66).

29 World population and harvest: I am simplifying. World population went up by a factor of 2.16, and wheat, rice, and maize production by, respectively, 2.75, 3.05, and 3.84 (Food and Agricultural Organization data from 2007).

30 Rice price rise: Quan 1972e (Suzhou prices, 485); Marks 1998:232–34 (granaries).

31 Tobacco planting, official concern: Benedict 2011:chap. 2; Tao 2002a (“nearly half,” 69), 2002b; Myers and Wang 2002:607–08; Marks 1998:311 (tobacco-planting ban in south China).

32 Rising crop area in 1700–1850: Williams 2006:264; Richards 2005:118. Estimates differ, but the overall trend seems not in dispute.

33 Deforestation through logging (footnote): Yang Chang 2003:44–45; Marks 1998:319–20.

34 Shack people’s deforestation leads to erosion: Richards 2005:128–31; Leong 1997:chap. 8; Osborne 1989.

35 Overall ecological risks in lower Yangzi hills: Richards 2005:128–31; Osborne 1989:37–56, 184–86 (“tortoise’s back,” 49; “future drainage,” 87). My thanks to the Chinese farmers who spoke to me about the challenges of rice agriculture.

36 Extra burden of maize: Song 2007:156–58; Osborne 1989:168.

37 “into ravines”: Mei 1823:vol. 10, 5a–6a. See also, Osborne 1989:214–15.

38 Rise in floods: Li 1995; Osborne 1989:318–24; Chen 1986; Will 1980:282–85. Marks (1998:328–30) depicts a similar pattern in the south.

39 Flood maps: Central Bureau of Meteorological Sciences 1981.

40 Zhejiang fails to stop clearing, erosion: Osborne 1989:246–57 (“native places,” 249); Wang 1850 (“Why?”).

41 General failures to stop clearance, erosion: Song 2007:158–60; Osborne 1989:23–24, 175, 198, 209–10, 225–26, 257–62. In forty-nine flood-battered counties surveyed by Osborne, twenty-seven blamed shack people for their plight. Of those twenty-seven, twenty-three named the crop responsible for deforestation. Twenty of those twenty-three blamed maize; the other three blamed sweet potatoes (ibid.: 318–24). Some provinces more effectively fought erosion, but were eventually overwhelmed (Will 1980:278–82).

42 Dazhai: Zhao and Woudstra 2007 (slogans, 193); Shapiro 2001:95–114, 137 (calluses, 99; slogans, 96, 107). Zhao and Woudstra credit Dazhai more than Shapiro. Several China scholars—and some Chinese provincial officers—told me that Dazhai had been a fraud from the beginning. None offered proof, though.

43 20 percent: Author’s interview, Zhang Liubao (village leader in Zuitou, Shaanxi).

44 Loess Plateau: Mei and Drengne 2001. It covers ~720,000 km²; the nations, ~620,000 km².

45 Soil layers: Author’s interview, David Montgomery; Montgomery 2007:21–22.

46 Silt and buildup of Huang He: Mei and Dregne 2001 (one to three inches, forty feet, 12); Will 1980.

47 Huang He management: Pomeranz, e-mail to author; Davids 2006; Elvin 2004:128–40; Dodgen 2001:esp. chaps. 1–3 (Great Wall comparison, 3).

48 1780–1850 floods: Central Bureau of Meteorological Sciences 1981.

49 Erosion boom in Loess Plateau: Wei et al. 2006:13 (one-third, fig. 4—I am approximating). In addition, the level of soil organic matter fell below 1 percent in many areas; typical figures for U.S. farmland are 5 to 8 percent (author’s interview, Zhang Zhenzhong, Shaanxi Provincial Institute for Loess Plateau Control).

50 Erosion causes Zuitou migration: Author’s interviews, Zuitou.

51 Anti-deforestation programs: Author’s interview, Lu Qi, Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry; Yu et al. 2006:236; Levin 2005.

52 “3-3-3” system: Author’s interviews, Lu; Gaoxigou officials; Liu Guobing, Research Institute of Water and Soil Conservation in Northwest China, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Xu et al. 2004.

53 Problems with tree planting: Author’s visits; Normile 2007; Yu, Yu, and Li, 2006.

CHAPTER 6 / The Agro-Industrial Complex

1 Introductory potato facts: Spooner and Hijmans 2001:2101 (species and types [but see later discussion]); Clarkson and Crawford 2001:70–73 (12.5 lbs.); Zuckerman 1998:83 (Marie Antoinette [but see below]); Bourke 1993:90–100 (potato consumption, table 4); Salaman 1985:572–73 (potato war); Kon and Klein 1928 (167-day diet); Gerard 1633: 752 (“knowledge of them”), 925 (“Virginia potato,” “common potatoes”). Production rankings from Food and Agriculture Organization (faostat.fao.org). Laufer (1938:15) dismisses the story of Marie Antoinette/Louis XVI as “a good historiette.” McNeill (1999:78), Salaman (1985:599), and Langer (1975:55) accept the tale. Cuvier (1861:vol. 2, 15), who knew Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the supposed provider of the potato flowers, reports that Louis XVI wore the plant in his buttonhole, inspiring the vogue.

2 Giant potato: Anon. 2008. “Lebanese Finds ‘Heaviest’ Potato,” British Broadcasting System, 8 Dec. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7771042.stm).

3 Potato as Europe’s savior: Standage 2009:120–29; Reader 2009:95–117; McNeill 1999:69 (“and 1950”); Zuckerman 1999:220–28 (his book’s subtitle is “How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World”).

4 Drake statue: Reddick 1929.

5 Andean societies: Good overviews include Silverman ed. 2004, D’Altroy, 2002, and esp. Moseley 2001. A popular summary is Mann 2005:chaps. 6–7. See also Gade 1992 (“sophistication,” 461), 1975. Eruptions: Siebert and Simkin 2002–.

6 Evolution of S. tuberosum: Zimmerer 1998:446–49ff.; Brush et al. 1995:1190; Grun 1990 (four species); Ugent et al. 1987 (thirteen thousand); Ugent et al. 1982 (2000 B.C.).

7 Clay and solanine: Guinea 2006; Browman 2004 (licking); Johns 1986 (adsorption); Weiss 1953. My thanks to Clark Erickson for telling me about these sources.

8 Andean potato treatments: Author’s visits; e-mail, Clark Erickson; Yamamoto 1988; Gade 1975:210–14. My thanks to Susanna Hecht for pointing out the parallel between chuño and gnocchi.

9 Twenty degrees: Mayer 1994:487.

10 Terraces: Sarmiento de Gamboa 2009:132 (“andenes”); Denevan 2001:17–18, 170–211 (extent of terracing, 175); Donkin 1979. My thanks to Clark Erickson and Bill Denevan for helpful discussions.

11 Raised fields: Denevan 2001:24–25, 219, 264–65; Erickson 1994.

12 Wachos: Author’s interviews and e-mail, Erickson and Denevan; Wilson et al. 2002; Sánchez Farfan 1983:167–69; Bruhns 1981. Wacho and wachu are the Quechua and Aymara terms; they are known in Spanish as surcos.

13 Farming methods: Author’s visits; Gade 1975:35–51, 207–10; Rowe 1946:210–16.

14 Potato variety: Brush et al. 1995; Zimmerer 1998 (“United States,” 451). The potato center landrace database is at singer.cgiar.org/index.jsp.

15 Potato genetics: Jacobs et al. 2008 (“to accept”); Spooner and Salas 2006:9–23 (overview); Huamán and Spooner 2002 (four species); Spooner and Hijmans 2001 (eight groups); Hawkes 1990. Spooner and Hijmans basically relabeled Hawkes’s taxonomy, which described all but one of the cultivars as separate species.

16 Path of potato to Europe: Reader 2009:81–93; Hawkes and Francisco-Ortega 1993 (Canary Islands); Salaman 1985:69–100 (conquistador’s revulsion, 69); Laufer 1938:40–62 passim; Roze 1898 (Bauhin, 85–88).

17 Drake: Salaman (1985:144–58), Roze (1898:63–64, 70–74), and, to a lesser extent, McNeill (1999), credit the story. Drake did pick up some potatoes in the Pacific in 1577 (Salaman 1985:147).

18 Potato fears, support: Reader 2009:111–31 (Frederick, 119); Salaman 1985 (“provoke Lust,” 106; disease, 108–14; Orthodox, 116; “Popery!,” 120); Roze 1898 (establishment, 98; fears, 99, 122–23; “peasants and laborers?,” 143). Beeton 1863:585 (potato water). My thanks to Ted Melillo for drawing the last to my attention.

19 Parmentier and France: Standage 2009:121–22; Reader 2009:120–22 (Jefferson, 121); Bouton 1993 (summary of Flour War, xix-xxi); Laufer 1938:63–65; Anon. 1914 (captured five times); Roze 1898:148–82ff. (“Nourish Man,” 149; “other countries,” 152); Cuvier 1861.

20 European famines, Malthusian trap: Clark 2007:1–8, 19–39; Komlos 1998 (“At least until 1800, but in some places even thereafter, the European demographic system was in a Malthusian homeostatic quasi-equilibrium,” 67); Bouton 1993:xix-xxi (food riots); Braudel 1981–84:vol. 1, 74–75 (forty famines, Florence), 143–45 (other quotes); Appleby 1978:102–25ff. (England); Walford 1879:10–12, 266–68 (England).

21 Young’s observations: Young 1771:vol. 4, 119–20 (“promoted”), 235–36 (grain), 310 (“in it”). Vandenbroeke (1971:37) cites similar figures for the Netherlands.

22 Four to one (footnote): Atwater 1910:11 (wheat dry matter); Langworthy 1910:10 (potato dry matter). Contemporary breeding has increased the dry matter in both crops a bit.

23 Potato and food supply: Radkau 2008:6 (“interruptus”); Vanhaute et al. 2007:22–23 (10–30 percent); Malanima 2006:111 (calorie supply doubles); Crosby 2003:177 (complementing existing crops), 1995; Clarkson and Crawford 2001:59–79 (40 percent, 59); McNeill 1999 (one-third to one-half land, 79); Komlos 1998; Zuckerman 1999; Masefield 1980:299–301; Langer 1975; Vandenbroeke 1971:38–39 (“food problem”); Connell 1962:60–61. Potato country: According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (faostat.fao.org), the top twelve potato consumers, all in the Eastern Hemisphere, stretched in a band from Ireland to the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Thanks to Ted Melillo for drawing my attention to Radkau.

24 Increased reliability: Reader 2009:99 (summer), 118–19 (army); Vandenbroeke 1971:21 (army), 38 (summer crop); McNeill 1999:78 (army); Young 1771:vol. 4, 121–23.

25 Potato as healthy diet: Zuckerman 1999:6, 31. My sentence about vitamins is a rewritten version of a sentence in Nunn and Qian (2010:169).

26 Smith quotes: Smith 1979:vol. 1, 176–77 (bk. 1, chap. 11, §n, ¶39). Potatoes and maize were, Smith thought, “the two most important improvements which the agriculture of Europe—perhaps, which Europe itself—has received from the great extension of its commerce and navigation” (vol. 1, 259 [bk. 1, chap. 11, §n, ¶10]).

27 Potato as cause of population increase: Standage 2009:124–28; Reader 2009:127–29; Clarkson and Crawford 2001:29, 228–33; Zuckerman 1999:220–28; Livi-Bacci 1997:30–34 (doubling); Salaman 1985:541–42; Langer 1975; McKeown et al. 1972; Vandenbroeke 1971:38; Wrigley 1969:162–69; Drake 1969:54–66, 73–75, 157 (Norway). The idea is not new: Alexander von Humboldt said (1822:vol. 2, 440, 449) the potato “has had the greatest influence on the progress of population in Europe.… [N]o plant since the discovery of cerealia, that is to say, from time immemorial, has had so decided an influence on the prosperity of mankind as the potato.” Livi-Bacci (1997:77–78) argues that this view is “countered by a number of considerations,” mainly a decline in grain consumption and real wages. But these declines occurred because farmers were growing more potatoes, which provide better nutrition, and because there were more farmers, which drove down wages. Fogel (2004:3–11) summarizes the debate.

28 Potato examples: Cinnirella 2008:esp. 253–54 (Saxony); Viazzo 2006:182–92, 212–15, 289–92 (Alps); Pfister 1983:esp. 292 (Alps); Brandes 1975:180 (Spain). See also, Reader 2009: 94–95.

29 Agricultural revolution: A summary history is Overton 1996.

30 Clover: Kjærgaard 2003. Turnips, too, were important as a fallow crop, because their broad leaves smothered weeds.

31 One-eighth of increase: Nunn and Qian 2010 (“conservative,” 37).

32 Chincha Islands and birds: Cushman 2003:56–59; Hutchinson 1950:9–26; Peck 1854a:150–225 (150 feet, 198).

33 Need for nitrogen: Smil 2001:chap. 1. A fine summary in Standage 2009:199–214.

34 Guano on Chinchas: Hutchinson 1950: 14–43 (147 islands, birds, thirty-five pounds), 79–83 (chemical composition).

35 Pre-European use of guano: Julien 1985; Garcilaso de la Vega 1966:vol. 1, 246–47 (pt. 1, bk. 5, chap. 3). Julien and Gade (1975:44) say guano was brought to the highlands; Denevan (2001:35) believes its use was “limited and localized,” because of the difficulty in transporting it.

36 Von Humboldt and guano: Fourcroy and Vauquelin 1806 (“they approached,” 370).

37 Bone market: Walton 1845:167–68 (lack of interest in guano); Anon. 1822 (“daily bread”), 1829, 1832.

38 Guano mania and Liebig: Cushman 2003:60–62, appendix 1 (export figures); Mathew 1970:112–14; House of Commons 1846:377–78 (“Account of the Number and Tonnage of Vessels … engaged in the Guano Trade”); Anon. 1842a (role of Liebig); 1842b:esp. 118, 138–40, 142–44, 146–47 (view of Science); Johnson 1843; Liebig 1840 (“of maize,” 81–82). See also, Smil 2001:42. Other sources give somewhat different figures for British guano imports, but there is no dispute about their rapid rise. I have seen four editions of Liebig’s book.

39 Beginning of input-intensive agriculture: Melillo 2011; Cushman 2003:37. I have adapted one of Cushman’s sentences.

40 Working conditions: Skaggs 1994:chap. 2; Mathew 1977:44–51; Peck 1854a:205–13; Anon. 1853 (“coated with guano,” 555).

41 Elías’s life: Blanchard 1996.

42 Importing Chinese to Peru: Meagher 2009:94–100 (warehouses), 176–77 (mutinies), 221–24 (more than 100,000, 222); Wu 2009 (“were killed,” 47); Skaggs 1994:162–63; Schwendinger 1988:23–26; Mathew 1977:36–43 (eight years, 43); Stewart 1970:82–98. Melillo (2011) sets the context.

43 Mistreatment of Chinese: Meagher 2009:224–29 (cemetery, 226); Wu 2009; Mathew 1977:44–51 (five tons); Stewart 1970 (see, e.g., 21–23, 90–97); Anon. 1856 (torture); Peck 1854a:170, 207–08, 214–16; 1854b (“were digging”).

44 Guano monopoly and protest: Skaggs 1994:10–15, 21–30; Mathew 1968:569–74; Markham 1862:308–09 (scorn for Peru); Anon. 1854 (“lower price,” 117). Typical U.S. editorials included “The Guano War” (NYT, 14 Aug. 1853), “The Guano Question” (NYT, 12 Aug. 1852), and “The Guano Question in England” (NYT, 29 Sep. 1852).

45 “economic success”: Miller 2007:149. I have borrowed Miller’s comparison to OPEC, too.

46 Guano Islands Act: Skaggs 1994:172–97 (Navassa), 213, 230–36; Letter, R. S. Bowler to S. Wike, 16 Sep. 1893. In Magoon 1900:15–16 (official list of islands).

47 Industrial monoculture: Pollan (2006:41–48) evocatively describes this transformation.

48 First Green Revolution: Melillo 2011.

49 Comparison of Europe to African nations: Clark 2007:40–50. I am violently simplifying a complex comparison, but the point is valid. Komlos (1998:68) gives higher figures for European consumption than Clark, but the difference does not alter the comparison.

50 Impact of fertilizers: Smil 2001 (two out of five, xv). Population change: Livi-Bacci 1997:31, World Bank Development Indicators (http://data.worldbank.org/).

51 Guano averts disaster (footnote): Pomeranz 2000:223–25 (“century,” 224), 240, appendix B.

52 Two million dead: Zadoks 2008:20–27; Ó Gráda 2000:84–95. Zadoks estimates 750,000 dead in continental Europe, Ó Gráda argues that most estimates of the Irish tally are “one million, or slightly above it” (85). Vanhaute et al. (2007:26) suggest a tally for Europe of “a few hundred thousands” but are not as thorough as Zadoks.

53 Life cycle of blight: Mizubuti and Fry 2006:450–58 (dispersal, 454–55); Judelson and Blanco 2005; Sunseri et al. 2002 (zoospore travel); Jones et al. 1914:11–13, 30–37.

54 Peru initially viewed as blight source: Abad and Abad 2004:682; Andrivon 1996; Bourke 1993:148–49.

55 Mexico as center of diversity, origin: Abad and Abad 2004:682; Grünwald and Flier 2003 (oospores, 174–75); Goodwin et al. 1994 (Mexico to U.S., 11594); Fry et al. 1993:653–55; Hohl and Iselin 1984 (discovery of other type of blight in Europe).

56 Lack of potato in Mexico: Ugent 1968; Humboldt 1822:vol. 2, 76, 399, 439–40, 443–50.

57 Ristaino studies: Gómez-Alpizar et al. 2007 (“the famine,” 3310–11); May and Ristaino 2004.

58 Guano ships: Mathew 1977:49; Peck 1854a:159.

59 Blight appears in Europe: Zadoks 2008:9–17 (order more potatoes, 16); Vanhaute et al. 2007:22; Bourke 1993:129–30, 141–49; Decaisne 1846:65–68 (1844 observation); Dieudonné et al. 1845:638 (1845 appearance).

60 Spread of Irish blight: Donnelly 2001:41–47 (one-quarter to one-third loss); Ó Gráda 2000:21–24 (2.1 million acres); Kinealy 1995:31–35 (mid-October), 42–43; Salaman 1985: 291–93.

61 Ireland as post-apocalyptic landscape: O’Donnell 2008 (murder rate, 81); Donnelly 2001 (disease, 171–76); Ó Gráda 2007 (rape, 46), 2000 (“jail,” 40–41; disease, 91–95; theft, 187–91); Zuckerman 1999:187–219 (lining roads, 193; mantraps, 194–95; diet, 195); Kinealy 1995 (dogs, 173; “creatures,” 198).

62 Emigration: Donnelly 2001:178–86 (“in heart,” 180); Ó Gráda 1999:104–14, 228–29; Kinealy 1995:chap. 8.

63 English aid, culpability: Reader 2009:176 (“re-established”); Donnelly 2001:233 (Mitchel); Ó Gráda 2000:122–25 (export figures, argument). I am grateful to Charles McAleese for good discussions about this issue.

64 Population impacts: Donnelly 2001:178 (emigrant total); Ó Gráda 2000:5 (worst in history), 229–30.

65 Limits of spores and Irish weather: Aylor 2003:1996 (thirty miles); Sunseri et al. 2002 (5 percent, 444; seventy miles, 449). Not a drop of rain fell in northern Ireland between August 28 and September 13 (Butler et al. 1998). Because the spores could not have survived the sunlit crossing of the Irish Sea, they must have traveled by night.

66 Lumpers and clachans: Donnelly 2002:8–10; Zuckerman 1999:141–42; Myers 1998:293, 300–01; Ó Gráda 1994 (about half); Bourke 1993:21 (distribution), 36–42; Salaman 1985:292. Historical descriptions of the Lumper complain of their poor taste; modern descriptions extol their “excellent and rich flavor” (Myers 1998:293). Either tastes have changed or, as one farmer suggested to me, modern plant breeding has produced such tasteless spuds that they are superseded by even the worst past varieties. Using nineteenth-century techniques, Lumpers outproduce modern hybrids (ibid.: 363).

67 Ridged “lazy-bed” fields: Omohundro 2006; Doolittle 2000:chap. 12; Myers 1998 (dimensions, 65; erosion, 88–90); Salaman 1985:232–36, 524 (“lazy root”), 586; Denevan and Turner 1974:27 (temperature difference). I am grateful to Bill Doolittle for many useful talks.

68 Attack on ridged fields: Myers 1998:44, 55–60, 85–86.

69 Disappearance of lazy-beds: Myers 1998:61–66; Murphy 1834:556 (“more clearly”).

70 Myers’s experiments: Myers 1998 (water in furrows, 153–56; setup, 235–36; blight units, 360; temperature/humidity effects, 365–66, 379–84). Grass grew on the sides of the ridges without interfering with the potatoes; it acted as a kind of fallow, recharging the land even as it was farmed (ibid.: 369–72). Although the furrows are “wasted” space, they allow light to reach the plant understory and provide air circulating; meanwhile, the loss is offset by increased productivity on the ridges.

71 Guano and blight (footnote): Porter 2007 (spore survival); Mizubuti and Fry 2006:451 (survival of sporangia); Aylor 2003:1996 (“through the atmosphere”); Inagaki and Kegasawa 1973 (nematode). The eleven counties were Kerry (Anon. 1842. “Spring Show of the Kerry Farming Society.” British Farmer’s Magazine 6:178–93); Kilkenny (Anon. 1843. Review of The Irish Sketch Book. The Dublin University Magazine 21:647–56); Meath, Cork (Johnson 1843); Down, Armagh, Louth, Monaghan, Cavan, Kilkenny, Roscommon, Antrim (all from Anon. 1843. On the Celebrated Peruvian Manure Called “Guano.” British Farmer’s Magazine 7:111–24). Another possible explanation for the unusual speed of the blight’s spread would be that it was actually introduced a year or two earlier (Bourke 1993:147–48).

72 Myers’s conclusions: Myers 1998 (fourteen failures, 63; decline of lazy-bed and failures, 473–75).

73 Failure of scientific explanations: Matta 2009; Zadoks 2008:16–20; Bourke 1993:130–39; Wheeler 1981:321–27 (“our senses,” 324); Large 1940:14–19, 27–33, 40–43; Jones et al. 1914:23–33, 58–60. Some historians propose that the potato failures of 1845–47 inflamed already existing discontent, thus contributing to the revolutions of 1848 (Zadoks 2008).

74 Murphy’s beetles: Murphy, T. 1862. Letter to Valley Farmer, 22 May. Quoted in Tower 1906:26.

75 Spread of beetle in United States: Hsiao 1985:44–45, 71; Tower 1906:25–36; Foster 1876 (“train of cars,” 234); Riley 1869:102–03; Walsh 1866. Foster quotes the train story as from the New York Times (19 Jul. 1876), but this is incorrect; the source must be another account.

76 Beetle spreads to Europe: J. F. M. Clark 2007:113–16 (trade war, 114); Hsiao 1985:55; Tower 1906:39.

77 Path of beetle to potato: Lu and Lazell 1996; Jacobson and Hsiao 1983; Tower 1906:21–25.

78 “the beetles”: Anon. 1875. “The Potato Bug,” NYT, 2 Jun. Sixteen million: Female fecundity can exceed four thousand, and there are typically two generations in a year (Hare 1990:82–85).

79 Failed efforts to fight beetle: Casagrande 1987:143–44; Riley 1869 (“destroy them,” 108); Walsh 1866 (horse-drawn remover, 15).

80 Insect plagues: Essig 1931.

81 Paris Green: J. F. M. Clark 2007:120–24; e-mails to author, Casagrande; Casagrande 1987:144–45; Lodeman 1896:59–69 (London Purple, 65–67); Riley 1869:116.

82 Copper sulfate (discovery, mix with Paris Green): Casagrande 1987:145–46; Large 1940:225–39, 277–79; Lodeman 1896:25–33, 47, 55, 100, 122–23.

83 Beetle resistance: E-mail to author, Casagrande; Alyokhin et al. 2008 (“management,” 400, “production,” 407); J. F. M. Clark 2007:124 (first DDT test); Hare 1990:89; Casagrande 1987:146–47; Jacobson and Hsiao 1983 (heterozygosity).

84 “clean fields”: Pollan 2001:218.

85 Resurgence of blight: Mizubuti and Fry 2006 448–49; Garelik 2002.

CHAPTER 7 / Black Gold

1 Dispute over Indians’ status: A good summary is Hanke 1994:chap. 1. I discuss this more fully in Chap. 8.

2 Navagero biography: Cicogna 1855 (list of publications, 209–10). The garden may have been inspired by early accounts of the botanical gardens in central Mexico.

3 Team sports in Europe: The sole potential exception was a soccer-like game in Italy, calcio fiorentino, recorded as far back as 1530. Europe’s second-oldest team sport, polo, was not introduced to Europe until the nineteenth century. Odds are that the Mesoamerican ball game is the world’s oldest continuously played team sport. The court in Paso de la Amada, in the southern tip of Mexico, was constructed in about 1400 B.C. (Hill et al. 1998), whereas polo apparently dates to the time of Christ (Chehabi and Guttmann 2003:385). Lacrosse, indigenous to North America, may also be very old.

4 “Great speed”: Navagero 1563:15v–16r; see also, Navagero, A. Letter to G. B. Ramusio, 12 May 1526. In Fabié 1879:378–90, at 389–90.

5 “so elastic”: Anghiera 1912:vol. 2, 204–05; Navagero, A. Letter to G. B. Ramusio, 12 Sep. 1525. In Fabié 1879:368–76, at 368–69 (friendship with Martire d’Anghiera).

6 “rather heavy”: Oviedo y Valdés 1851:165–66 (pt. 1, bk. 6, chap. 2); Covarrubias y Orozco 2006 (lack of word for “bounce,” see entries for, e.g., botar and bote). The first volume of Oviedo’s work appeared in 1535; later parts remained unpublished until the nineteenth century.

7 First scientific studies: Condamine 1751a, b.

8 Rubber heats when stretched (footnote): Gough 1805 (“lips,” 290).

9 Native rubber uses and methods: Author’s interviews and e-mail, John Hemming, Susanna Hecht; Woodroffe 1916:41–46 (tapping, processing); Pearson 1911:59–71 (description of tapping, processing); Johnson 1909:chap. 9 (description of tapping); Spruce 1908:vol. 1, 182–85, 511–15 (tapping); Warren 1851:16 (clothes).

10 Rubber fever: Anon. 1890; Johnson 1893; Coates 1987:29–31; Coslovsky 2005 (import figures, 14, 27).

11 Webster, “effective character”: Parton 1865:66.

12 Goodyear and vulcanization: Slack 2003 (“on the spot,” 107); Coates 1987:31–33, 36–37. Goodyear’s own account (1855) is unreliable.

13 Hancock and vulcanization: Woodruff 1958:chap. 1; Coates 1987:22–28, 33–38; Hancock 1857:91–110 (“little bits,” 96). Woodruff quotes two contemporaries who say that Hancock did analyze Goodyear’s samples. It is certainly true that Hancock was ungenerous—his otherwise useful autobiography (1857) doesn’t even mention Goodyear. Goodyear’s patent (No. 3633) and Hancock’s patent (No. 10027) are available at the websites of, respectively, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the British Library.

14 Expositions and Goodyear’s death: Slack 2003:161–63, 203–10, 230–37; Coates 1987:39–42 (“a postage stamp,” 41–42); Bonaparte ed. 1856:542–43.

15 Staudinger: Author’s interview, Coughlin; Ringsdorf 2004; Mülhaupt 2004; Morawetz 2002:86–98 (“propaganda,” 97).

16 Vulcanization chemistry: A good introduction is Sperling 2006:chaps. 8–9. My thanks to Bryan Coughlin for introducing this book to me.

17 H. brasiliensis quality, location: Ule 1905. Four other Amazonian species were also harvested: H. benthamiana, H. guianensis, Castilla (or Castilloa) elastica, and Castilla ulei. Except for C. elastica, they were less significant than H. brasiliensis. Some writers have suggested that for this reason one must talk of “rubber booms” in the plural, with Hevea and Castilla exerting different ecological and economic effects (Santos-Granero and Barclay 2000:chap. 2).

18 Overland vs. river route, rapids: Markham 1871. The waterfalls and rapids could only be negotiated by canoes, and even these frequently capsized, with great loss of life (Anon. 1901).

19 Neville Craig: Fleming 1922:118–19. My thanks to Jamie Owen and Julie Carrington of the Royal Geographic Society for looking up the date of his death and to Robert Charles Anderson for helping me with his Yale alumni records.

20 Craig on the Madeira: Craig 2007 (“theory,” 177; “cities,” 226; “Parentintins,” 237); Hemming 2008:201 (Parentintins). To be fair to Craig, the nasty anti-Italian crack was from a newspaper article; he just quoted it approvingly.

21 Keller’s feasts: Keller 1874: 74–77 (turtle), 80–81 (pirarucu and manatee, quote on 81).

22 Agricultural heartland: Mann 2008.

23 Fishing with strychnine: My thanks to Susanna Hecht for a description of this procedure, which is still used today.

24 Overexploitation of rubber trees: Schurz et al. 1925:17–21 (yield); Whitby 1920:5–6 (yield); Labroy 1913:39–47 (average daily production, 47); Pearson 1911:43–44 (overtapping); Smith 1879:108 (killing Belém trees). Average yield figures disguise the high variability among trees. The sources above measured unselected trees; yields are higher today. Belém do Pará means “Bethlehem of the Pará River,” the latter being the southern of the two main mouths of the Amazon. Until the twentieth century the city was generally called Pará; Belém is the modern name.

25 1877–79 drought: Davis 2002:79–90, 377–93; Greenfield 2001 (death tally, 45–46). The drought was an El Niño event.

26 Rush into rubber: Santos 1980:66, 83–84 (25,000 estates); Spruce 1908:vol. 1, 507 (rush upstream), 518 (“obtain it”).

27 Migrant-driven rise in malaria: Hemming 2004b:268–72 (background); Keller 1874:8 (prevalence in mid-1860s), 40–42 (decreasing on Madeira); Chandless 1866:92 (prevalence in mid-1850s).

28 Malaria and Craig’s railroad: Craig 2007:271 (incapacitates half, see also note on 304); 381–83 (refusal of payment); 382–88 (two-thirds, three-quarters sick); 407 (120, more than half sick); 408 (“complete collapse”); 387–403 passim (struggle home).

29 Rubber boom: Overviews include Hemming 2008:175–231, 2004b:261–301; Souza 2001:163–88; Barham and Coomes 1996; Dean 1987; Weinstein 1983; Batista 1976:129–41; Collier 1968.

30 Rubber production, exports, prices: Barham and Coomes 1996:30–32 (New York prices, exports); Santos 1980:52–55, 208–20 (exports, Brazil prices, speculation); Batista 1976:129–40 (Brazil prices); Pearson 1911:214–15 (exports); Anon. 1910 (speculation, “silver”); Fernandes 2008:fig. 2 (London prices); Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Brazil) n.d. (exports, available at www.ipeadata.gov.br); U.S. Energy Information Administration n.d. (U.S. oil prices, www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/BPCrudeOilPrices.xls). Oil prices in 1999 dollars, as per EIA.

31 Colonial Belém: Author’s visits; Hemming 2008:48–49, 66, 97–99; Souza 2001:46–47, 61, 91–93; Pearson 1911:20–42 (“smell of it,” 22). I am grateful to Susanna Hecht for touring me through the city.

32 Louche Manaus: Author’s visits; Hemming 2008:179–83 (“bubbly,” 182); Jackson 2008:113–15, 252–55; Collier 1968:18–27; Burns 1965; Pearson 1911:93–111.

33 Labor conditions in lowlands: Hemming 2008:198–204; Barham and Coomes 1996:29–71; Dean 1987:36–41; Woodroffe 1916:49–54; Craig 2007:248–63 (“peons,” 251). Some recent scholars argue that past accounts of universal brutality in the rubber zone are exaggerated and unfair. But there is little doubt that conditions often were appalling by modern standards.

34 Caucho gathering: Santos-Granero and Barclay 2000:23–29; Barham and Coomes 1996:37–42; Schurz et al. 1925:21; Hardenburg 1913:181–84; Pearson 1911:156–58; Feldman 2004 (“sajaduras,” entry under quik, the rubber tree). My thanks to Lawrence Feldman for drawing my attention to his dictionary and to Scott Sessions for help with translation. Santos-Granero and Barclay argue that conditions worsened ca. 1900, when upper-Amazon firms switched from Castilla to other Hevea species. Because these could be tapped, rubber barons forced native workers to stay in one place and walk regular, routinized courses—a violation of cultural norms. To maintain control, the companies abducted families, using female hostages as prostitutes.

35 “they left”: Da Cunha, E. 1909. “Os Caucheiros,” trans. S. B. Hecht. In Hecht forthcoming. Fitzcarrald was the subject of Fitzcarraldo, a 1982 film by Werner Herzog that is as wondrous artistically as it is unreliable historically. A more reliable biography is Reyna 1941.

36 Rise of Arana: Hecht forthcoming; Goodman 2009:36–41; Hemming 2008:204–07; Jackson 2008:257–61; Lagos 2002 (the most complete biography I have seen); Santos-Granero and Barclay 2000:34–35, 46–55; Stanfield 2001:103–14, 120–23; Collier 1968:27–64; Schurz et al. 1925:364 (22,000 square miles).

37 Abducted Americans in Putumayo: Goodman 2009:17–25; Hardenberg 1913:146–49, 164–81, 195–99 (“syndicate,” 178; “the river,” 180–81).

38 Hardenburg’s crusade, Casement, Arana’s fate: E-mail to author, Marie Arana, John Hemming; Hecht forthcoming; Goodman 2009 (Casement); Hemming 2008:207–30; Lagos 2002:68–103ff. (Hardenburg), 301–51 (Casement), 364–65, 377–79 (Arana’s death); Stanfield 2001:125–34; Hardenberg 1913:215–64.

39 Scramble for Amazon: Author’s visits to Acre, Cobija; interviews, Hecht; Hecht forthcoming; Dozer 1948 (“that valley,” 217).

40 Golden Triangle and rubber trees as poppy replacement: Kramer et al. 2009; Shi 2008:23–28; author’s interviews, Klaus Goldnick (GTZ, Luang Namtha), Tang Jianwei (Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden), Nicholas Menzies (Asia Institute), Horst Weyerhaeuser (ICRAF, Vientiane).

41 1,325 acres: Contract between Ban Namma village and Huipeng Rubber, shown to author.

42 Wickham’s life: Jackson 2008; Lane 1953–54 (later appearance, pt. 9:7). Jackson, who found Wickham’s wife’s journal, movingly recounts the family’s sufferings.

43 Markham and cinchona: Honigsbaum 2001.

44 Markham, Wickham, and rubber seeds: Jackson 2008:chaps. 8–9 (abandoning relatives, 187; cold reception, 199–202); Hemming 2008:191–95; Dean 1987:7–24 (Wickham’s carelessness, 24); Baldwin 1968; Markham 1876 (“permanent supply,” 476).

45 Wickham as thief (text and footnote): Jackson 2008:188–93; Dean 1987:22–24 (“century and a half,” 23; “human species,” 22); Santos 1980:230 note (“international law”), 232.

46 Rubber in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia: Jackson 2008:204–05, 265–73; Dean 1987:26–31; Lane 1953–54:pt. 7, 6–7; Large 1940:196–207; Nietner 1880:3 (Sri Lanka coffee industry), 23 (“escaped it,” quoting G. H. K. Thwaites); Berkeley 1869 (“three acres,” 1157). For simplicity’s sake I use modern names—Sri Lanka instead of Ceylon, Malaysia instead of Malaya, and so on.

47 Creation of Fordlândia: Grandin 2009:77–119; Hemming 2008:265–67; Jackson 2008:291–98; Costa 1993:13–17, 21–24, 59–65; Dean 1987:70–76; Davis 1996:338–39. Strictly speaking, Ford did not buy the land but an exclusive concession on it plus a fifty-year tax exemption. Including tires, every car had about eighty pounds of rubber (Costa 1993:133).

48 M. ulei.: Money 2006:83–100; Lieberei 2007. I am grateful to Charles Clement for taking me to see some infected trees. The life cycle of the fungus is more complex than my brief summary indicates. For a typical view of the blight at the time, see Schurz et al. 1925:101.

49 Weir, blight, end of Ford’s project: Grandin 2009:304–31; Costa 1993:102–06, 127 (Asian percentages); Dean 1987:75–86, 104–07; Agreement for the Regulation of Production and Export of Rubber, 7 May 1934. In International Labour Office 1943:104–12 (“plant,” 110).

50 Natural vs. synthetic rubber: Author’s interviews, Rubber Manufacturers Association, Bryan Coughlin; author’s visit (condom factory); Davis 1998:134–36.

51 Xishuangbanna: Author’s interviews, Tang Jianwei (XTBC), Hu Zhaoyang (Tropical Crops Research Institute); Nicholas Menzies (UCLA); Mann 2009; Sturgeon and Menzies 2008; Stone 2008; Visnawathan 2007; Xu 2006; Shapiro 2001:171–85 (“criticism meetings,” 176); Zhang and Cao 1995 (biodiversity). Tang estimates that the planted area in 2008 was about 2,500 square miles. As Spurgeon and Menzies note (2008), the government regarded the Dai and Akha as irrational, backward, and potentially disloyal. The “educated youth” were Han Chinese, who were thought to have the necessary cultural advancement to produce a modern industrial good like latex. By importing Han workers, the government hoped both to produce needed rubber and to “settle” a crucial border with loyal citizens.

52 Expansion into Laos: Author’s interviews and e-mails, Jefferson Fox (East-West Center, Hawaii), Yayoi Fujita (University of Chicago), Horst Weyerhaeuser (National Agricultural and Forestry Research Institute, Vientiane), Klaus Goldnick and Weiyi Shi (GTZ, Luang Namtha), Yunxia Li (Macquarie University). Shi 2008 (subsidies); Fujita 2008 (Sing District); Vongkhamor et al. 2007 (2010 total, 6); Fujita et al. 2006; Rutherford et al. 2008:15–16. Sing District covers more than six hundred square miles, but most of it is unusably steep and roadless.

53 Increase in runoff, erosion, water depletion: Ziegler et al. 2009; Guardiola-Claramonte et al. 2008; Stone 2008; Cao et al. 2006 (fog); Wu et al. 2001. See also, Mann 2009.

54 Flights, highway: Fuller 2008; author’s visit, interviews with airlines in Bangkok and Vientiane. The road is only two lanes, but that’s more than ever before in the region.

55 Potential M. ulei disaster, lack of progress on blight: U.S. Department of Defense 2008 (biological weapon); Lieberei 2007 (“dieback of trees,” 1); Onokpise 2004 (collection from Brazil); Garcia et al. 2004 (potentially resistant clones); Vinod 2002 (narrowness of genetic base, difficulties of improvement); Weller 1999:table 2 (biological weapon); Davis 1998:123–41 (“synthetic tires,” 136).

CHAPTER 8 / Crazy Soup

1 Chapel: Alegría 1990:71–77 (first church); Porras Muñoz 1982:130, 399 (Eleven Thousand Martyrs); Gerhard 1978:453–55; Herrera y Tordesillas 1601–15:vol. 1, 344–45 (Dec. 2, bk. 10, chap. 12; Herrera confusedly calls him “Juan Tirado”).

2 Garrido’s upbringing, time in Iberian Peninsula: Alegría 1990:15–22; Icaza 1923:vol. 1, 98.

3 Restall is skeptical: E-mails to author, Restall; Restall 2000:174, 177. As evidence, Alegría cites Saco’s history of American slavery (1879:44), but Saco simply observes that one Portuguese adventurer who made two trips to Africa in the 1480s brought some free Africans to Lisbon. In addition Portugal did not permit free non-Christians to enter the country, so Garrido would have had to convert, probably from Islam. See also, Blackburn 1997:78–79.

4 Tens of thousands of slaves: The classic estimate by Domínguez Ortiz (1952:9) is at most 100,000 for the whole peninsula, “a phenomenon of considerable size, with notable sociological, economic and even ethnic consequences”; later Cortés López estimated about 58,000 in Spain alone (1989:204).

5 Garrido’s arrival: Garrido’s probanza (testament) of 1538 says “more or less twenty-eight years ago I crossed over to the island of Hispaniola,” implying an arrival in 1510, too late to accompany Ponce de León to Puerto Rico in 1508. Alegría believes it most likely that he came between 1503 (the beginning of larger-scale slave importation) and 1508 (the conquest of Puerto Rico). My thanks to Scott Sessions for providing me with a copy of the probanza and his translation. A transcription appears in Alegría 1990:127–38.

6 Garrido in Caribbean: Alegría 1990 (Puerto Rico, 29–30; Florida, 37–41; punitive expeditions, 46–47; Cortés, 59–65). Alegría suggests that Garrido sailed with Pánfilo de Narváez, who came to Mexico a year after Cortés; Garrido may be the African called “Guidela” whom Díaz del Castillo (1844:vol. 1, 327) recalls supporting Cortés’s takeover of Narváez’s force.

7 Attack on Tenochtitlan: The best modern history I have come across is Hassig 2006 (failure of first assault, 111–19; 200,000 native allies, 175). Of the four contemporary accounts, the most important is Díaz del Castillo (1844).

8 Smallpox (text and footnote): Hassig 2006:124–30, 186–89; Mann 2005:92–93, 127–29; Crosby 2003:45–51 (a classic account); Restall 2000:178 (“scapegoating”); Durán 1994:563. The evidence for the role of Eguía or Baguía is examined skeptically in Henige 1986.

9 Ambush: Hassig 2006:165–66; Durán 1994:552–54 (“upon it,” 553; “then and there,” 554); Díaz del Castillo 1844:vol. 2, 82–90 (“distance,” 84).

10 Garrido’s chapel as graveyard: Díaz del Castillo 1844:vol. 2, 102.

11 Garrido’s jobs: Restall 2000:191 (“guard”); Alegría 1990:92–97, 105–07 (expedition); Porras Muñoz 1982:109–10.

12 Garrido’s wheat: Alegría 1990:79–85; Gerhard 1978:455–56; López de Gómara 1870:vol. 2, 365 (“much benefit”); Tapia 1539:vol. 2, 592–93 (three kernels); González de León, J. 1538. Statement, 11 Oct. (?). In Alegría 1990:132–33 (experimental farm); Salvatierra, R. 1538. Statement, 4 Oct. (?). In ibid.:134–36 (Garrido’s wheat as foundation of Mexican crop). Tapia’s figures are different from those of López de Gomara, but the idea is the same. My thanks to Scott Sessions for the translations; I added the exclamation point, which seemed to me to express the chronicler’s tone.

13 Folk knowledge: Farmers in central and southern Mexico have told me this several times. I have not seen evidence to prove it.

14 Humankind mixing: I take this point from Crosby (1986:2–3).

15 Migration figures: Eltis et al. 2009–; Horn and Morgan 2005:21–22 (European totals); Eltis 2001; Eltis 1983 (“nineteenth century,” 255; European totals, 256). If one includes indentured servants, the ratio of free to unfree becomes even more lopsided (Tomlins 2001:8–9). For a review of Indian numbers, see Denevan 1992a, b; a popular description is Mann 2005.

16 Foundational institution: Here I summarize ideas from a host of scholars, among them Ira Berlin, C. R. Boxer, David Brion Davis, Eugene Genovese, Melville Herskovits, Philip Morgan, Stuart Schwartz, Robert Voeks, Eric Wolf, and Peter Wood (to name only English-language researchers). As Davis (2006:102) puts it, “[B]lack slavery was basic and integral to the entire phenomenon we call ‘America.’ ”

17 Garrido’s last years: Alegría 1990:113 (1640s), 127–38 (Garrido’s probanza); Icaza 1923:vol. 1, 98 (poverty, three children).

18 Military leaders leave Jerusalem as fighting ends: Albert of Aachen 1120:374–75.

19 Crusaders take Muslim sugar plantations: Ouerfelli 2008:38–41; Ellenbaum 2003; Boas 1999:81–83; Mintz 1986:28–30; Phillips 1985:93–95.

20 Sugarcane genetics: Irvine 1999.

21 Early sugar processing: Galloway 2005:19–21; Daniels 1996:191–92 (500 B.C.), 278–80, 284–96.

22 Sugar in Middle East: Ouerfelli 2008:31–37; Galloway 2005:23–27.

23 “life to it”: Pollan 2001:18.

24 Crusaders love sugar, decide to sell it: Ouerfelli 2008:3, 75–76 (sugar in Europe); William of Tyre (A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea [1182]), quoted in Phillips 1985:93 (“of mankind”); Albert of Aachen 1120:305–06 (“its sweetness”).

25 Plantation definition: Craton 1984:190–91.

26 Wage-earning workers: Ouerfelli 2008:287–306 (Sicily, 302–04); Blackburn 1997:76–78. Captive labor was only used in fifteenth-century Cyprus, where Muslims captured by pirates were put in the fields (Ouerfelli 2008:290).

27 Colón’s marriage: Colón 2004:32–33.

28 Rabbits in Porto Santo: Zurara 1896–99:245–47 (“owing to the multitude of rabbits, which are almost without end, no tillage is possible there,” 247).

29 Donkey slaughter: Abreu de Galindo 1764:223.

30 Madeira fire: Ca’ da Mosto 1895:26 (two days); Frutuoso 1873:61 (seven years), 353, 460–71.

31 Refashioning Madeira for sugar: Vieira 2004:42–48 (factor of more than a thousand, 48; prices, 62–63); Vieira 1998:5–9; Crosby 1986:76–78; Craton 1984:208–09; Greenfield 1977:540–43.

32 Iberian slavery: Blackburn 1997:49–54; Cortés López 1989:esp. 84–88, 140–49, 237–39; Domínguez Ortiz 1952:esp. 17–23 (“sumptuary article,” 19).

33 Madeira as springboard for plantation slavery: Vieira 2004:58–74 (“starting point,” 74); Curtin 1995:24; Crosby 1986:79; Phillips 1985:149; Craton 1984:209–11 (although he argues that São Tomé and Príncipe had “the most potential as pure plantation colonies”); Greenfield 1977:544–48 (Madeira “provided the link” between sugar in the Mediterranean and the American plantations, 537); Frutuoso 1873:655. Fernández-Armesto (1994:198–200) agrees that Madeira’s growth was “spectacular” but argues that the Cape Verde Islands, which had more slaves, were where “a new model was introduced: the slave-based plantation economy.”

34 São Tomé mosquitoes: Ribiero et al. 1998.

35 São Tomé colonization: Disney 2009:vol. 2, 110–12 (female slaves, 4; Europeans, 111); Magalhães 2008:169–72; Seibert 2006:21–58 (Dutch, 29; bishop, 32; “go out,” 52); Thornton 1998:142 (exiled priests); Craton 1984:210–11; Gourou 1963 (two thousand children, 361). The Dutch took the island a third time in 1637 and managed to hang on for a decade.

36 São Tomé sugar: Disney 2009:112–13; Seibert 2006:25–27; Varela 1997:295–98; Vieira 1992:n.p. (31; in 1615 there were just sixty-five plantations); Frutuoso 1873:655–56 (I am citing notes from the editor, Alvaro Rodrigues de Azevedo).

37 Lack of yellow fever, malaria, mosquitoes: See, e.g., Capela 1981:64 (absence of vectors); Davidson 1892:vol. 2, 702 (“Malaria is entirely unknown in Madeira.… Yellow Fever has never visited this island”); La Roche 1855:141; James 1854:100.

38 Madeira switches from plantation slavery: Disney 2009:90–92; Vieira 1992:n.p.(29–32, 41–42); Rau and de Macedo 1962 (not monoculture, foreign owners, 23–25); Brown 1903:e21, e32 (“fever, etc.”).

39 São Tomé resistance: Seibert 2006:35 (thirty mills); Varela 1997:298–300. See also Harms 2002:283–92.

40 São Tomé’s fate: Disney 2009:113–15; Seibert 2006:30–58 passim; Frynas et al. 2003:52–60; Eyzaguirre 1989.

41 Cortés’s estate: Barrett 1970:fig. 1. My thanks to Peter Dana, who digitized Barrett’s map of the estate to produce the area estimates cited here. See also, Von Wobeser 1988:esp. 38–55.

42 Cortés’s activities, return to Spain: Chipman 2005:46 (king’s fear of conquistadors); Riley 1972; Barrett 1970:9–13 (mines, ranches, shipyard); Scholes 1958 (tapestries, clothes, 12; investing, 17; shopping mall, 19; gold panning, 20–21; ranches and hog farms, 23; shipbuilding, 26–27); Voltaire 1773:vol. 6, 46 (“cities”).

43 Brief Account: Las Casas 1992 (quotes, 57, 65)

44 “Catholic faith”: Inter Caetera (2). Papal Bull of May 4, 1493. In Symcox ed. 2001:34–37, at 36–37. The bull is probably postdated from the summer. The pope issued three similarly worded bulls in response to Colón’s voyage, two of which were called Inter Caetera.

45 Little interest in evangelization: Simpson 1982:14–21; Konetzke 1958. Spain’s long fight against the Moors was a fight against a government, not a religion—“the subjugated Moorish people were guaranteed the free exercise of their Mohammedan belief.” Only after Spain’s final victory over the Moors in 1492 did “the missionary idea come to the fore” (Konetzke 1958:517–18), because Fernando II and Isabel believed that enforced religious unity would serve the political purpose of unifying their fractious kingdom. Even Colón was not an evangelizer; on his later voyages, at the monarchs’ insistence, he brought clergy, but made no effort at conversion.

46 Colón’s slaves and Isabel’s actions: Simpson 1982:2–5; Las Casas 1951:vol. 1, 419–22; Herrera y Tordesillas 1601–15:vol. 1, 251 (Dec. 1, bk. 7, chap. 14) (Isabel); Cuneo 1495:188 (550); Colón, C. 1494. Memorial to the Sovereigns, Jan. 30. In Varela and Gil eds. 1992:254–73, esp. 260–61 (justifications).

47 Encomienda system founded: Guitar 1999, 1998:96–103; Simpson 1982:esp. chap. 1 (“In reality the encomienda, at least in the first fifty years of its existence, was looked upon by its beneficiaries as a subterfuge for slavery,” xiii). The system inadvertently reproduced elements from the Triple Alliance and Inka, which also took labor tribute from conquered peoples.

48 Cortés’s Indian labor: Von Wobeser 1988:42–44, 55–57, 60 (mill); Riley 1972:273–77; Barrett 1970:86–89, table 11 (two hundred acres); Scholes 1958:18 (three thousand Indian slaves). Scholes’s estimate is for the immediate post-conquest period. A 1549 inventory is the only later source for Cortés’s Indian slaves (only 186 were left, because most had died in mines).

49 “in the Indies”: Colmeiro ed. 1884:202–03.

50 New Laws and reaction: Elliott 2006:132 (Mexico); Hemming 1993:256–59 (Peru); García Icazbalceta ed. 1858–66:vol. 2, 204–19 (text of laws). The New Laws also abolished the creation of new encomiendas and made the old ones not inheritable. The Mexican viceroy proclaimed “obedezco pero no cumplo”—I obey the law but do not enforce it.

51 Cortés’s deal: Beltrán 1989:22; Riley 1972:278–79; Barrett 1970:78. Three bigger contracts were signed before Cortés’s deal, one of them for four thousand slaves. Relatively few slaves were sent across the Atlantic from these efforts (some turned up in Europe). Cortés’s deal was the first to deliver hundreds of slaves to American plantations (Beltrán 1989:20–24; Rout 1976:37–39).

52 La Isabela teeth: Author’s interviews and e-mail, T. Douglas Price; Lyderson 2009. At the time of publication, the find had not been reported in a peer-reviewed journal.

53 Instructions: King and Queen of Spain. 1501. Instructions to Nicolas de Ovando, 16 Sep. In Parry and Keith 1984:vol. 2, 255–58.

54 “cannot be captured”: Herrera y Tordesillas 1601–15:vol. 1, 180.

55 Import of Indians, desirability of Africans: Guitar 2006:46, 1998:270–74 (Indians), 278–79 (Africans); Morel 2004:103–04; Las Casas 1992:30 (Bahamas); Anghiera 1912:vol. 2, 254–55, 270–71 (Bahamas).

56 Escalating revolts in Hispaniola: Altman 2007:610–12; Guitar 2006:61–63, 1998:393–403; Boyrie 2005:79–89; Deive 1989:19–75; Scott 1985 (“weapons of the weak”); Ratekin 1954:12 (thirty-four mills); Benzoni 1857:93–95.

57 Cortés and sugar: Von Wobeser 1988:59–64; Barrett 1970:9–17 (estate). His descendants grew sugar there until the nineteenth century, when the newly independent government of Mexico forced them to sell the estate.

58 Sugar rise in Mexico: Von Wobeser 1988:64–69; Acosta 1894:vol. 1, 416 (“Indies”). At about the same time, Portugal was planting sugar in Brazil (Schwartz 1985:15–27)—the industry that went on to wipe out Madeira and São Tomé. Unlike the islands, Mexico had such a big internal market that its producers were not affected by the Brazilian onslaught.

59 Slave imports: Eltis et al. 2009–; Horn and Morgan 2005:21–22 (European totals). Roughly 350,000 went to Brazil; the Spanish Americas received about 300,000, in addition to the approximately 45,000 who had already been shipped over.

60 Africans everywhere in Americas: Peru and Chile: Restall 2000 (Pizarro licenses, 185; Valiente, 187). Chile: Mellafe 1959 (49–50, Valiente); Brazil: Hemming 2004a:140–46; Blackburn 1997:166–74; Schwartz 1988:43–45. Potosí: Assadourian 1966. Lima: Bowser 1974:339. Cartagena: Newson and Minchin 2007:65 (ten to twelve thousand), 136–47 (two thousand, 137). San Miguel de Gualdape: Hoffman 2004:60–83; Anghiera 1912:vol. 2, 258–60; Oviedo y Valdés 1852:vol. 2, 624–32; Herrera y Tordesillas 1615:vol. 2, 307–09 (Dec. 3, bk. 8, chap. 8). Rio Grande: Stern 1991:272 (“drunkenness”).

61 Esteban: Goodwin 2008 (death, 335–51); Schneider 2006 (upbringing, 27–28); Ilahiane 2000 (Morocco instability, 7–8); Adorno and Pautz 1999:esp. vol. 2, 18–19, 414–22; Logan 1940; Robert 1929; Niza 1865–68.

62 Cortés’s wives, mistresses, children: Hassig 2006:173–74 (capture of Cuauhtemoc); Chipman 2005:passim; Lanyon 2004; López de Gómara 1870:vol. 2, 376.

63 Malinche: Lanyon 1999; Karttunen 1994:1–23; Díaz del Castillo 1844:vol. 1, 84–85.

64 Cortés’s will: Cortés 1548 (other daughter, §33; provision for illegitimate Martín, §23).

65 Alessandro de’ Medici: Brackett 2005. Brackett suggests that Alessandro was the pope’s nephew, rather than a son. But Italian historian Scipione Ammirato heard the story directly from Cosimo de’ Medici, Alessandro’s successor (1873:12).

66 Cortés vs. Cortés: Lanyon 2004:138–47.

67 Mixing in Hispaniola: Guitar 1999:n.p. (4–5); Schwartz 1997:8–9; 1995:188–89.

68 Pizarro family: Hemming 1993:175–77, 259, 274–77 (“imprisonment,” 275–76); Muñoz de San Pedro 1951 (Cortés-Pizarro link).

69 Santiago conquistadors: Mellafe 1959:50–51 (offspring); Schwartz 1995:189 (fifty mestizo children).

70 Mixing in North America (footnote): Colley 2002:233–36 (“empire”); Foster et al. 1998 (Jefferson DNA test); Nash 1999 (“one people,” Houston, 11–13).

71 1570, 1640 tallies in Mexico: Bennett 2005:22–23; Beltrán 1989:201–19, esp. tables 6, 10.

72 Morelia and Puebla: Author’s visits; Martínez 2008:147 (arbitrage); Verástique 2000:87–130; Hirschberg 1979; Zavala 1947. For a dissenting view on Vasco de Quiroga, see Krippner-Martinez 2000.

73 Church books: Martínez 2008:142.

74 Racial beliefs: Martínez 2008:esp. chaps. 2, 4.

75 Restrictions on mixed-race people: Martínez 2008:147–51; Cope 1994:14–19.

76 Casta system and restrictions: Martínez 2008:142–70 (“good mixtures,” 162); Katzew 2004:39–61 (categories, 43–44); Cope 1994:24–26, 161–62; Beltrán 1989:153–75. The casta system in Argentina is described in Chace 1971:202–08.

77 Moreau de Saint-Méry’s racial scheme (footnote): Moreau de Saint-Méry 1797–98:vol. 1, 71–99 (“parts white,” 83).

78 Swapping identities: Diego Muñoz: Gibson 1950. Taxes: Schwartz 1995:186. Officials: Love 1967:92–93. Caribbean: Schwartz 1997 (“bad races,” 12; “mulattos, and blacks,” 15).

79 Mixed marriages and freedom: Mixed children free: Bennett 2005:44–49; Lokken 2001:178–79; Cope 1994:80–82; Love 1967:100–02; Davidson 1966:239–40. Three-quarters of slaves male: Love 1971:84; Carroll 2001:166 (table A.6). Bans on mixed marriages: Love 1971:83–84; Love 1967:99–103. Half of marriages interracial: Lokken 2004:14–16; Valdés 1978:34–44; Love 1971 (“One of the remarkable features of the marriage patterns of persons of African descent in the parish of Santa Veracruz was the fact that [of a total of 1,662 marriages with an African spouse] 847 individuals of non-Negroid ancestry married persons of color,” 84); 1967:102–03. Veracruz: Carroll 2001:174 (table A.15).

80 Disappearance of separate groups: Valdés 1978:esp. 57–58, 175–77, 207–09.

81 Casta paintings: Martínez 2008:226–38 (museum, 227); Katzew 2004 (more than a hundred sets, 3; quoted captions, figs. 91, 88, 89, 96).

82 Mirra/Catarina’s childhood, abduction, unwilling journey to Mexico: Brading 2009 (funeral, 1–2); Bailey 1997:42–48; Castillo Grajeda 1946:29–45 (sexual assault, 42); Ramos 1692:vol. 1, 4a-29b (birth in 1605 “more or less,” and noble, Christian childhood, 4b–16a; abduction and journey, 17b-26b). Critic Manuel Toussaint, in his introduction to Castillo Grajeda, says she was born in “1613 or 1614” (10), but gives no source for the claim. Castillo Grajeda does not specify the abuses she was subject to but says the pirate leader “unleashed against Catarina all the furies of hell” during the trip, “ordering her abuse [by his men] in bloody battles.”

83 Visions and marriage: Bailey 1997:60 (flowers); Castillo Grajeda 1946:81–83 (feast), 135–36 (staircase of “shimmering clouds,” angels); Ramos 1689–92:vol. 2, 36b (nudity).

84 Ramos’s condemnation, fate: Brading 2009:10 (“doctrines”).

85 Asians jump ship: Slack 2009:39 (60–80 percent, Espiritu Sancto); Luengo 1996:99–105 (1565); Beltrán 1989:50 (Legazpi).

86 Lima census (footnote): Cook and Escobar Gamboa eds. 1968:xiii, 524–47.

87 Asian slaves trickle in: Clossey 2006:47 (estimating six hundred a year); Beltrán 1989:49–52; Beltrán 1944:419–21.

88 Ban on Asian servants: Slack 2009:42, 55 (Jesuits).

89 Multicultural militias: Slack 2009:49–52 (samurai); Lokken 2004; Vinson 2000:esp. 91–92. See also, Chace 1971:chap. 8.

90 Catarina wedding night: Bailey 1997:48; Castillo Grajeda 1946:65–69.

91 Puebla ceramics: Author’s visits; Slack 2009:44 (“style”); Clossey 2006:45; Mudge 1985.

92 Parián and barbers: Slack 2009:14–16, 43 (“that trade”); Johnson 1998 (Chinese medicine); Anon. 1908:vol. 30, 24 (petition).

93 Confraternity processions: Slack 2009:54; Gemelli Careri 1699–1700:vol. 6, 98–99 (“wounded”).

94 Hunger for China: Clossey 2006:42–43 (distance from Mexico—I am almost directly quoting him), 49–51 (“desire,” 49).

95 “in the East”: Balbuena 2003:89. My thanks to Scott Sessions for helping me with the translation.

96 Mexico City flooding: Candiani 2004; Hoberman 1980.

CHAPTER 9 / Forest of Fugitives

1 Calabar and Liberdade: Author’s interviews, Salvador (special thanks to Ilê Aiyê). A quilombo called Curuzu was the foundation of Liberdade; Calabar, similarly, is now legally part of the larger area called Federação. For other Salvador quilombos, see Queiros Mattoso 1986:139–40; Neto 1984. I am grateful to Susanna Hecht for accompanying me to Brazil and acting as translator.

2 More than fifty in United States: Aptheker 1996:151–52.

3 “inventing liberty”: Reis 1988. “Escravidão e Invenção da Liberdade” is also the name of his postgraduate program at the Federal University of Bahia.

4 Símaran: Arrom 1983.

5 33 to 50 percent mortality in four to five years: Miller 1988:437–41, esp. footnote 221 (see second half on p. 440); Mattoso 1986:43 (6.3 percent/year = 31.5 percent/5 years); Sweet 2003:59–66 (40+ percent/3 years, 60).

6 List of autonomous places: Price ed. 1996:3–4.

7 Suriname war: R. Price 2002; Bilby 1997:664–69 (blood oaths). The first large-scale slave insurrection occurred in 1690 (R. Price 2002:51–52); the treaty was signed in 1762 (ibid.:167–81). But because rebellions dated back to 1674, it seems plausible to call it a hundred-year conflict.

8 “capitulation”: Reavis 1878:112–13.

9 Haiti as focus of terror: Reis and Gomes 2009:293; Gomes 2003.

10 Afro-Mexican acknowledgment: Hoffman 2006.

11 U.S. maroon litigation: Koerner 2005.

12 Legend of Aqualtune: Author’s visit, Palmares; see, e.g., Schwarz-Bart and Schwarz-Bart 2002:vol. 2, 3–16.

13 Founding in 1605–06: Anderson 1996:551; Kent 1965:165.

14 Palmares location, size: Location: Gomes 2005:87 (map); Orser 1994:9 (map). Size: Multiple estimates exist, partly because writers differ on what it means to control a territory; I cite an average figure, which readers should understand as merely indicative. See, e.g., Thornton 2008:775 (6,000 km² = 2,300 mi²); Orser and Funari 2001:67 (27,000 km² = ~10,400 mi² [quoting anthropologist Claudi R. Crós]); Orser 1994:9 (65 × 150 km = 9,750 km² = 3,800 mi²); Diggs 1953:63 (1695 estimate of 90 × 50 leagues = 4,500 sq. leagues = 121,680 km² = 47,000 mi² ); Ennes 1948: 212 (1694 estimate of 1,060 square leagues = 29,000 km² = 11,000 mi²); Anon. 1678:28 (60 × 60 leagues = 97.000 km² = 38,000 mi²). I assume 1 league = 5.2 km (Chardon 1980 [Spanish and Portuguese units were similar]). Thornton 2008:797 (“outside Europe”). English North America population: U.S. Census Bureau 1975:1168.

15 Macaco, Ganga Zumba: Thornton 2008:776–78; Gomes 2005:84–87; Anderson 1996:553, 559 (title); Anon. 1678:29–30, 36–38.

16 Slavery and African institutions: Thornton 2010 (attitudes of rulers, 46, 52–53); Klein 2010:57–58; Davis 2006:88–90; Thornton 1998:x (map of sixty states), 74–97 (“African law,” 74), 99–100 (slave wars as equivalent to wars of conquest). Wolf 1997:204–31 (pawning, 207–8); Smith 1745:171–90 (Lamb). Thornton (2010:44) points out that African societies had copper, ivory, cloth, and shell currency with which to buy European goods—it was not that they had nothing to sell other than human beings.

17 Purposes of slaves in Africa: Thornton 2008:87–94; Gemery and Hogendorn 1979:439–47 (conditions bad for plantation agriculture).

18 Europeans tap into existing African slave markets: Thornton 2010:42–46 (taking captives without approval, 44–45).

19 Slaves imported to Africa, African demand: Harms 2002:135–37 (imports, all quotes); Lovejoy 2000:57–58.

20 Africans supply, serve on slave ships: Klein 2010:86–87 (crews); Rediker 2008:229–30 (crews), 349; Davis 2006:90 (intermediaries); Thornton 1998:66–71.

21 European inability to raid in Africa (text and footnote): Thornton 1998:chap. 4. “In effect African strength—the capacity to retain territorial integrity—helped foster the slave trade as Europeans established their plantations in the Americas instead of Africa with an elastic supply of coerced African labor” (Eltis 2001:39).

22 Tiny European outposts: Eltis et al. 2009 (estimates); Harms 2002:139–41 (Gold Coast, fewer than ten); 156–60 (Whydah), 203; Postma 1990:62–63 (Elmina).

23 Transformation of slavery: A classic statement of this argument is Lovejoy 2000.

24 Slaves as soldiers: Thornton 1999:138–46 (“prisoners of war,” 140).

25 1521 revolt: Guitar 1999:n.p. (14), 1998:361–66; Thornton 1999:141 (military tactics); Deive 1989:33–36; Rout 1976:104–05; Oviedo y Valdés 1851:vol. 1, 108–11 (pt. 1, bk. 4, chap. 4).

26 Enriquillo: Altman 2007; Guitar 1999:n.p.; 1998:346–57, 376–86; Thornton 1999:141–42; Deive 1989:36–42; Las Casas 1951:vol. 3, 259–70 (injury to insult, 260); Oviedo y Valdés 1851:vol. 1, 140–55 (Africans join, 141). As disease cut Taino numbers, Spain imported slaves from other Caribbean islands. The influx of foreigners threatened Enriquillo’s power—they didn’t want to be ruled by strangers—a further reason for his willingness to rebel. Las Casas actually referred to the proverb “tras de cuernos, palos” (after horns, sticks—i.e., adding a beating to infidelity, indicating total victimization). My thanks to Scott Sessions for finding an English near equivalent.

27 Lemba: Guitar 2006:41, 1998:300 (administrators own mills), 396–400 (role of Lemba and other Africans); Landers 2002:234–36 (“able,” 234); Deive 1989:49–52.

28 Portuguese fears about Palmares: Lara 2010:8; Gomes 2005; Anderson 1996; Kent 1965:174–75; Blaer 1902; Anon. 1678. The Dutch also feared Palmares (Funari 2003:84).

29 Cultural jumble, including Europeans, in Palmares: Funari 1996:31, 49, note 42. See also, in general, the documents assembled in Freitas ed. 2004.

30 Palmares religion: Vainfas 1996:62–74.

31 1678 treaty: Lara 2010; Anderson 1996:562–63; Anon. 1678.

32 Jorge Velho: Hemming 2004a:362; Freehafer 1970; Board of Missions. 1697. Memorandum, Oct. In Morse ed. trans. 1965:124–26 (translator, “his lusts”); Jorge Velho, D. 1694. Letter to governor, 15 July. In idem 117–18 (“us and ours”).

33 Deal cut with Jorge Velho: Ennes 1948:205; Anon. 1693. “Condições adjustadas com o governador dos paulistas Domingos Jorge Velho em 14 de agosto de 1693 para Conquistar e Destruir os Negros de Palmares.” In Anon. 1988:65–69.

34 Jorge Velho’s march to Palmares: Oliviera 2005; Hemming 2004a:363; Ennes 1948:208; Anon. (Jorge Velho, D.?) 1693. In Morse ed. 1965:118–26 (quotes, 119).

35 Battle for Macaco: Author’s visit, Palmares; Oliviera 2005; Anderson 1996:563–64; Freitas 1982:169–88.

36 Zumbi’s fate: Anderson 1996:564; Ennes 1948:211.

37 Núñez de Balboa early life, stowing away: Las Casas 1951:vol. 2, 408–15 (“educated man,” 408); Altolaguirre y Duvale 1914:xiii–xv (“energetic spirit,” xiv); López de Gómara 1922:125; Oviedo y Valdés 1851–53:vol.2, 425–28. Oviedo says that he rolled himself up in a sail, rather than a barrel.

38 Núñez de Balboa seizes power: Araúz Monfante and Pizzurno Gelós 1997:23–27, 100–101 (Indian slavery and gold); Las Casas 1951:vol. 2, 418–31; López de Gómara 1922:vol. 1, 131–37; Altolaguirre y Duvale 1914:xv–lxxxvi; Anghiera 1912:vol. 1, 209–225; Oviedo y Valdés 1851–53:vol.2, 465–78. I have greatly simplified a complex tale of political maneuvering and multiple betrayals.

39 Visit to Comogre: Las Casas 1951:vol. 2, 572–74; López de Gómara 1922:vol. 1, 137–39; Anghiera 1912:vol. 1, 217–23 (“little boats,” 221); Oviedo y Valdés 1851–53:vol.3, 9; Núñez de Balboa, V. 1513. Letter to the King, 20 Jan. In Altolaguirre y Duvale 1914:13–25.

40 Expedition to Pacific: Tardieu 2009:43 and note (Nuflo de Olano’s reward); Las Casas 1951:vol. 3, 590–97 (“seigneury,” 591); López de Gómara 1922:vol. 1, 143–46 (slaves in village, 144); Altolaguirre y Duvale 1914:lxxxviii–xc; Anghiera 1912:vol. 1, 282–87 (an apparently garbled account); Oviedo y Valdés 1851–53:vol.3, 9–12 (partial list of participants).

41 Killing transvestites (footnote): Las Casas 1951:vol. 2, 593–94; Anghiera 1912:vol. 1, 285.

42 First Africans in Panama: Fortune 1967; López de Gómara 1922:vol. 1, 144; Anghiera 1912:vol. 1, 286 (dec. 3, bk. 1, chap. 2); Oviedo y Valdés 1851–53:vol. 3, 45 (bk. 29, chap. 10); Colmenares, R.d. 1516? Memorial against Nuñez de Balboa. In: Altolaguirre y Duvale 1914: 150–55, at 155; Ávila, P., et al. 1515. Report to King, 2 May. In: idem:70–72 (“crooked hair,” 70).

43 Abandonment of Antigua, foundation of other cities (and footnote): Araúz Monfante and Pizzurno Gelós 1997:45–46; López de Gómara 1922:vol. 1, 159.

44 Núñez de Balboa’s fate: López de Gómara 1922:vol. 1, 158; Altolaguirre y Duvale 1914:clxxv–cxc.

45 Nombre de Dios–Panamá road: Tardieu 2009:25–41; Araúz Monfante and Pizzurno Gelós 1997:74–78; López de Gómara 1922:vol. 1, 158–59; Carletti 1701:41–51 (“covers,” 43–44; corpses, 49); Requejo Salcedo 1650:78 (“my travels”). Strictly speaking, Carletti was describing the bats in Portobelo on the coast, but they were also plentiful in the forest. Benzoni (1857:142) gives a similar report of the bats.

46 Native population in Panama: Araúz Monfante and Pizzurno Gelós 1997:97; Romoli 1987:22–28; Jaén Suárez 1980 (three thousand people, 77; twenty thousand, 78); Oviedo y Valdés 1851–54:vol. 3, 38 (“uncountable”).

47 Importing Indian slaves: Saco 1882:266. See also, Tardieu 2009:46–48.

48 Seven to one: Tardieu 209:48–49; Jaén Suárez 1980:78.

49 Assaults on European colonies: Fortune (1970) collects many accounts, e.g., Benzoni 1857:121.

50 Felipillo: Tardieu 2009:61–63; Pike 2007:245–46; Araúz Monfante and Pizzurno Gelós 1997:134–35; Fortune 1970:pt. 1, 36–38.

51 Bayano’s sanctuary: Pike 2007:246–47; Araúz Monfante and Pizzurno Gelós 1997:135–36; Fortune 1970:pt. 2, 33–39; Aguado 1919:vol. 2, 200–13 (“mothers,” 201).

52 Ursúa and Bayano: The most important source is Aguado 1919: vol. 2, 200–31 (bk. 9, chaps. 11–13). Modern accounts include Tardieu 2009:chap. 2 (“sudden and sharp,” 79); Pike 2007:247–51; Fortune 1970:pt. 2, 40–50. Ursúa was rewarded with the chance to lead an expedition into the Peruvian Amazon, during which he was betrayed and murdered by his subordinates.

53 Unhealthiness of Nombre de Dios: Benzoni 1857:120; Ulloa 1807:93–98; Carletti 1701:42; Gage 1648:369 (“and mariners”).

54 Merchants and principal-agent problem: Author’s interviews and e-mail, James Boyce, Tyler Cowan, Mark Plummer (economists); Tardieu 2009:108–21; Pike 2007:247.

55 “they meet”: Quoted in Tardieu 2009:123–24. See also, Ortega Valencia, P.d. 1573. Letter to the king, 22 Feb. In Wright ed. 1932:46–47. Throwing silver in river: Nichols 1628:281.

56 Drake attacks Nombre de Dios: Fortune 1970:pt. 3, 18–20; Nichols 1628:258–67 (“hight,” 264); Nuñez de Prado, J. 1573. Depositions (probanzas), Apr. In Wright ed. 1932:54–59; Audiencia of New Granada. 1572. Report to king, 12 Sep. In ibid.:40–41.

57 Failed ambush in Venta de Cruces: Tardieu 2009:126–31; Pike 2007:256–58; Nichols 1628:280–309; Municipal Council of Panamá. 1573. Report to the king, 24 Feb. In Wright ed. 1932:48–51.

58 Attack with French: Nichols 1628:317–25 (“thirty Tun,” 318; “of Gold,” 323). Testu was wounded and fell behind, too. The pursuing Spaniards killed him on the spot.

59 Inflamed anti-maroon fears, campaign: Tardieu 2009:132–44 (Protestantism, 142); Fortune 1970:pt. 3, 22–34; Royal Officials of Nombre de Dios. 1573. Letter to Crown, 9 May. In Wright ed. 1932:68–70 (“situation promptly,” failure to report recovery); Audiencia of Panama. 1573. Report to king, 4 May. In ibid.: 62–67 (failure to report recovery).

60 Deal for freedom: Tardieu 2009:184–246 (details of offer, 185; Portobelo “capitulation,” 244–46); Fortune 1970:pt. 3, 34–40 (“the Indies,” 39). The leader of the Portobelo maroons was Luis de Mozambique. Pedro Mandinga, who tried to help Drake, was one of his lieutenants.

61 Yanga and Mexico maroons: Rowell 2008 (eleven demands, 6–7); Lokken 2004:12–14 (Guatemala militia); Aguirre Beltrán 1990:128 (origin of Yanga’s Bran ethnicity); Carroll 1977 (other examples); Love 1967:97–98; Davidson 1966:245–50 (fashions, 246); Alegre 1842:vol. 2, 10–16 (blood, 11; Bran origin, 12).

62 Miskitu kingdom: Offen 2007 (canes, 274–76), 2002 (clothing and cane, 355); Olien 1987 (racial background and claims, 281–85), 1983 (kingship); Dennis and Olien 1984 (719–20, raids; slavery, 722). My thanks to Prof. Offen for sending his work.

63 U.S. maroons: Sayers et al. 2007 (Great Dismal Swamp); Franklin and Schweninger 2001:86 (thousands in swamp); Aptheker 1996.

64 Black and Red Seminoles: Landers (2002, 1999 [creation of Mosé, 29–60]) has written superbly on the rise of African Florida. Riordan (1996; relations with Creeks, 27–29) and Mulroy (1993; 4 towns, 294) are fine short summaries.

65 Seminole Wars: The wars are far more complex than can be indicated here, and almost everything about them is subject to argument. For example, the owners of escaped slaves objected to the “capitulation,” and Jesup promised not to include recently escaped slaves in the terms, which some have argued rendered the agreement tantamount to a true surrender. Others say, convincingly in my view, that the promise was meaningless because the slaves could not effectively be separated.“No matter how mild the system of slavery practiced by the Seminoles, complete freedom was infinitely preferable” (Mulroy 1993:303); “and a half”: Giddings 1858:140–41.

66 Haiti: The literature on the revolution is vast. In English the classic studies are by C. L. R. James; Dubois (2005) is a good recent study, available in both French and English. Moreau de Saint-Méry (1797–98) is a fascinating first-hand description of St. Domingue on the eve of revolution. In emphasizing the role of disease, I follow McNeill 2010:236–65 (“graves,” 245; “earthworms,” 253). See also Davis 2006:chap. 8.

67 Suriname Africans: Price 2011:chap. 1 (25:1, 10), 2002; www.slavevoyages.org (300,000). The U.S. estimate is about 390,000.

68 A. darlingi and deforestation: Yasuoka and Levins 2007:453–55; Tadei et al. 1998:333.

69 Suriname maroon wars and treaty: Ngwenyama 2007:59–69; Price 2002:51–52, 167–81; Bilby 1997:667–69 (blood).

70 Stedman: Stedman 2010 (seasoning, 1:102–03; “numerous,” candles, 46; impossible to see people, 393; “acquaintances,” 100; killed 38, 127; “health,” 607). Stedman observed the advantages of acquired immunity: “amongst the Officers & Private men who had formerly been in the West indies, none died at all, while amongst the whole number of near 1200 together I Can only Recollect one Single marine who Escaped from Sickness” (607).

71 Logging, mining and park: tacoba.cimc.com/en/enterprise/tacoba/tacoba.cimc.com/en/enterprise/tacoba/ (CIMC website); whc.unesco.org/en/list/1017 (World Heritage site description); Price 2011 (park, 136–40); Alons and Mol eds. 2007:64 (40 percent); Anon. 1998.

72 Maroon population size: Price 2002b.

73 Lack of consultation and IACHR case: Price 2011 (filing petition, 119; Kwinti and park, 136–40). At the time of writing, many legal filings were available at www.forestpeoples.org.

74 Mazagão Velho: Author’s visit, interviews; Vidal 2005 (African history of town); Motinha 2005 (inability to repair, 12; abandonment, 25–26); Silva and Tavim 2005:2 (town design); Anderson 1999:28 (1,900).

75 Amazon land rush: This section is adapted from Hecht and Mann 2008.

76 Mojú: Author’s visit; author’s interviews, Manuel Almeida (Quilombolas Jambuaçu), anonymous informants; Anon. 2006.

CHAPTER 10 / In Bulalacao

1 “Bahay Kubo”: The plants are singkamas (jícama; Pachyrrhizus erosus); talong (eggplant; Solanum melongena); sigarilyas (asparagus/winged bean, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus); mani (peanut, Archis hypogaea); sitaw (string/yard-long bean, Vigna spp.); patani (lima/butter bean, Phaseolus lunatus); bataw (hyacinth bean, Lablab purpurea); kundol (winter melon, Benincasa hispida); patola (sponge gourd, Luffa cylindrica and acutangula); upo (wax gourd, Legenaria siceraria); kalabasa (kabocha-style squash, Cucurbita maxima); labanus (radish, Raphanus sativus); mustaza (mustard, Brassica juncea); sibuyas (onion, Allium cepa); kamatis (tomato, Lycopersicum lycopersicum); bawang (garlic, Allium sativum); luya (ginger, Zingiber officinale); lain linga (sesame, Sesamum orientale). My thanks to Leonard Co for the botanical identification and translation.

2 Impacts of Philippines exotic species: Department of Environment and Natural Resources (Philippines) and World Fish Center 2006; Lowe et al. 2004 (seven worst invasives).

3 Philippine mahogany: 16 CFR §250.3 (Federal Trade Commission rule, available at: edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2001/janqtr/pdf/16cfr250.2.pdf).

4 Ifugao as landmark: In 1996 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization saluted the area as a “priceless contribution of Philippine ancestors to humanity” and made it a World Heritage Site (whc.unesco.org/en/list/722). Ifugao is also an international engineering landmark of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

5 Apple snail: Joshi 2005; Caguano and Joshi 2002.

6 500 varieties: Nozawa et al. 2008; Concepcion et al. 2005.

7 Nine new earthworm species: Hong and James 2008; Hendrix et al. 2008:601–02.

8 “their maximum”: Quoted in Maher 1973:41.

9 Keesing: Keesing 1962:319 (“innovation”), 322–23 (“mention”).

10 First archaeological studies: Acabado 2009; Maher 1972.

11 Five months: Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement 2008:3.

12 Sweet potato in Ifugao: Brosius 1988:97–98; Scott 1958:92–93.

13 Eighth Wonder: Author’s interviews, Manila, Ifugao; Harrington 2010; Dumlao 2009. See also the project website at heirloomrice.com, esp. for the annual reports of the Revitalize Indigenous Cordilleran Entrepreneurs, the Filipino side of the project.

14 Mangyan language, culture: Postma ed. 2005.

15 Trade with China: Scott 1984:65–73; Horsley 1950:74–75.

APPENDIXES

1 Negro and preto: Heywood and Thornton 2007:chap. 6.

2 Zaytun in its heyday: Abu-Lughod 1991:212, 335–36, 350 (population); Clark 1990:46–58; Pearson et al. 2001:187–90, 204–05 (sediment, 190); Polo 2001:211–13 (“profit,” 211); Ibn Battuta 1853–58:v. 4, 269–71 (“past counting,” 269); Odoric of Pordenone (Hakluyt Goldsmid ed. 1889:vol.9, 133–34) (monks).

3 Pu Shougeng: So 2000:107–22, 301–05; Chen 1983; Kuwabara 1935 (betrayal and siege, 38–40).

4 Islam in Zaytun: Interviews, Ding Yuling, Lin Renchuan; Jin 1982 (translations, intelligibility); Kuwabara 1935:esp. 102–03; Chen 1983 (converts, syncretism, factions). My thanks to Dr. Ding for arranging a tour of Quanzhou’s Maritime Museum, of which she is the director.

5 Collapse of Zaytun: Interview, Ding Yuling; Chen 1983; Lin 1990:169 (silting); So 2000:122–29.