Political-Ecology Perspectives on New World Loza (Majolica)

Political ecology, with its focus on twenty-first century power relations and resource access, also provides a perspective on commodity production in the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century emergent global economy. The focus here is on majolica pottery (tin-enameled ware; loza) and the spread of its technology from Spain to the Americas. Topics discussed include: the formation of business clusters and cluster regions, and their shifting patterns of decline, survival, and adaptability; access to resources used in making the vessels, the enamel, and decorative pigments (especially cobalt); the role of Muslim artisans; and the sources of innovation and entrepreneurship in loza production.