Silver Spanish Realism Analysis

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Minted in 1792, our anthropogenic artifact is the silver Spanish Reales, a constituent of the first global currency, and one of several thousand coins in the famous Byron Reed collection. The Reales and its origins rooted in expansive 16th century silver mining and trade, bear direct responsibility for ushering a new era of production oriented commodification of nature. Commodification of nature is essentially treating nature as purely an object of trade instead of something that has value in its natural existence. This ideology indoctrinated the entire world and still does to this day, including in that history Omaha and the 19th century American western front. This story begins in the 16th century when imperialistic tendencies encouraged the kingdom of Spain to travel far and wide in search of natural resources, laying claim to a number of new territories including Potosi, Bolivia. Potosi, was unique amongst other South American …show more content…

Driven by a failing home economy and immense Chinese demand, the Spanish quickly transformed the makeup of the small mining community. Neglecting sustainable practices, the whole of Potosi became consumed by a production oriented economy, at the direct expense of the local community and ecosystem. In the face of this ecological destruction, wealth flowed from the veins of Cerro Rico, providing the world the first widely available and universally acknowledged system of value, the Spanish silver Reales. Suddenly creditors and debtors alike were able to finance and expand their businesses to new frontiers, where un-commodified land and labor provided the perfect opportunity for wealth

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