The Medieval and Early Modern Cornish Stamping Mill

Abstract

The exhaustion of the richest alluvial tin deposits led to development of lode tin. Stamping mills were developed to crush the ore and although considerable archaeological and documentary work had been carried out in neighbouring Devon, little research had been undertaken in Cornwall. The excavation of two mills at Colliford, the survey of further examples at Retallack and an extensive search of documentary evidence has allowed an appraisal of this aspect of the early Cornish tin industry. Much work still remains, but now it is possible to be much more positive about the character of the surviving field evidence, the potential for excavation and the need to develop a research strategy.     

Industrial Archaeology: Its Place Within the Academic Discipline,the Public Realm and the Heritage Industry

Abstract

This paper presents a review of industrial archaeology literature and offers some initial thoughts on how this literature relates to my research on public perception and experience of Cornish mining landscapes. A brief summary of the development of industrial archaeology is given, which reflects on its amateur origins, its 'identity crisis' and its slow integration into university archaeology departments. The reasons for the transformation of industrial sites into industrial heritage is then examined and temporal models of change presented which relate to both an acceleration of the past into the commodity heritage as well as an affective progression from disdain to acceptance. The public's attitude to industrial archaeology is then discussed — which raises complex questions over the nature of such sites including, the importance of time and aesthetics as well as the phenomenological nature of perception and experience.     

Virgin Gorda Copper Mine 1839–1862

Abstract

The small Caribbean island of Virgin Gorda, in the Virgin Island group of the Leeward Islands, was heavily mineralized with copper and molybdenum ores which were worked at irregular intervals from the island's first discovery by Columbus in 1493 through to the mid-nineteenth century. The major workings were undertaken in two separate phases by British based companies, 1839–1841 and 1859–1862. The latter were promoted by the family partnership of John Taylor and Sons, which was already well known in the major non-ferrous mining districts of England and Wales and was pioneering British involvement in developing areas throughout the world. In both cases the companies found rich deposits of ore but the workings proved short lived because of a lack of funds, the difficulties of communications and transportation to and from England, and the financial burdens placed on their operations by local taxes. With apparently valuable deposits still awaiting exploitation the story of mining on the island may yet see a concluding chapter but in the meantime the remains of earlier activity provide a fascinating example of Cornish mining technology transplanted almost unchanged several thousand miles from its native shores.     

Writing the region: Jonathan Couch and the Cornish fauna

Abstract

The county of Cornwall was the subject of an early nineteenth century attempt to compile an exhaustive regional fauna, Jonathan Couch's three volume A Cornish Fauna (1838–44). Although the Fauna was part of a much broader contemporary impulse to document the natural history of Britain, it was a very early example of a zoological study organised by geography rather than faunal group. It therefore required the author to make an explicit defence of its geographical approach and focus. According to Couch the region was the best place from which to build a better understanding of nature and, ultimately, of nature's creator. In particular, careful observations of a naturalist's local fauna could contribute to mid-nineteenth century debates over the distribution and migration of animals, their extinction, and their value to human industry. According to Couch, the county of Cornwall was especially suited to this sort of investigation. Indeed, although little had been done on the Cornish fauna before Couch's own study, his work was the catalyst for a number of other Cornish naturalists over the latter half of the century.     

Defying God and the king: A 17th-century gold rush for ‘megalithic treasure’

Abstract

At the beginning of the 17th century, the priest Vázquez de Orjas received from the Spanish King Philip III a franchise that allowed him to excavate the mámoas or megalithic barrows of Galicia (northwest Iberian Peninsula). His task would be to recover for the Royal Treasury all the gold supposedly held in them. However, the priest's activities and claims gave rise to a widespread gold rush that resulted in hundreds of looted monuments and ended in a long series of trials. This paper is based on the legal case file resulting from that lawsuit and presents the translation of several fragments. The origins and development of the event are explained, together with discussion of the human and legal aspects regarding ownership and management of this heritage. In addition, the symbolic role played by the monuments at this time is explored: as hidden places for treasures, the megaliths represented salvation for many people. This gave rise to episodes involving mythical creatures and to resorting to the help of magic and religion, as reported in the interrogations. Finally, archaeologists are encouraged to pay attention to this stage of the life histories of the monuments when undertaking excavations.     

Uses of Gold in Jewellery

Abstract

Gold plays a dominant role in the jewellery market. This is to a large extent due to the intrinsic value of gold, its beauty and its unique resistance to tarnish and corrosion. In 1990 the amount of gold used in jewellery was about 2000 t worldwide, reaching about 75% of the total demand for gold. The demands on gold materials for jewellery, its applications in the form of bulk material for wrought and cast jewellery and as gold solutions for electrodeposition and electroforming as well as activities to introduce powder materials for the manufacture of jewellery are described. Today's conventional carat gold alloys are reviewed; coloured gold alloys based on the Au–Ag–Cu system, as well as the white gold alloys, based on Au–Ni or Au–Pd alloys. Additionally, the development of special gold alloys is mentioned, for instance that of a very high carat gold alloy, 990 gold–titanium.     

The Monetary Role of Gold

Abstract

After a brief introduction to the role of gold as a monetary agent in history, the classical gold standard and the Bretton Woods agreement and its failure are discussed. Since then the price of gold has fluctuated widely and has only recently steadied. The monetary role of gold at present is then considered. Gold stocks, their supply and demand and various economic factors playing a role in price formation are mentioned in detail. Inflation and countercyclicality in relation to the Morgan Stanley Index of World Equities are the final subjects of this review.     

Mining and Tourism in Southern Australia

Abstract

This article describes a selection of tourist mines and working mines with tourist interest, mining in museums, mine railways and ghost mine towns in southern Australia including Tasmania. Most of the sites were visited during a Churchill Fellowship Study Tour in September 1987. The writer maintains a folder on the sites and should further information be required on, for example, opening times and general accessibility, he would be pleased to assist. A detailed report of the study has been prepared for the Churchill Trust but as yet this has not been published.     

David Evans & Co. The Last of the Old London Textile Printers

Abstract

The Glasgow 'Tobacco Lords' were the subject of a classic study, but there has been no overall survey of their successors, the Scottish cotton masters. This article draws on a rich and surprisingly underused source, the wills and probate inventories of Scottish cotton merchants and manufacturers, to give a fuller picture of a group, which played a key role in Scotland's early industrialisation. It also casts light on the early decline of the cotton industry in Scotland by demonstrating how, as profits declined, the cotton masters, who had always had diverse business interests, began to move into more lucrative areas of investment, such as coal mining, iron manufacturing, railways, shipping and overseas trade.     

Productive Forces and Productive Territorial Complexes in the Northeast of the USSR

The author analyzes the present spotty pattern of areal development of the Northeast around isolated mining districts extracting gold, tin, tungsten, diamonds, and other minerals, separated from one another by vast virtually uninhabited territories where fishing, reindeer raising, and trapping are the principal economic activities. The role of transport routes in regional development is stressed. Future prospects of industrial growth are linked to iron-steel, oil-gas, and chemical industries.     

Gold,its Alloys and their Uses in Dentistry

Abstract

The historical and contemporary role of gold as a restorative material in dentistry is reviewed. The fabrication of fixed restorations by precision casting is described. The various applications and the resulting medical and technical requirements are discussed. Different gold alloy types are presented and described with reference to their composition, mechanical and physical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. Techniques new to dentistry such as powder metallurgy, electroforming and the use of pure gold direct filling are also discussed.     

The Other Side of the Tamar: A Comparison of the Pixies of Devon and Cornwall

Abstract

A consideration of pixy traditions of Devon and Cornwall reveals similarities and differences. Although people from both places described the supernatural beings in similar ways, examples of migratory legends diverge, particularly when comparing those from the far west of the peninsula with those from Devon. A method employing Reidar Christiansen’s index demonstrates that differences in these narratives reflect the isolation of far western Cornwall. This analysis indicates that nineteenth-century Cornish folklore should be seen as distinct from English traditions.     

The Design of Gold Jewellery Stimulation and Promotion by the World Gold Council

Abstract

As with any work of art or industrial product, good design of jewellery is essential if it is to appeal to its owner. In the field of gold jewellery, the World Gold Council is playing a leading role and its efforts are here reviewed by commenting on the taste in British and Continental design of gold jewellery. Consumer preference, whether organic, symbolic or elementary jewellery is preferred, and the growth of the market are here discussed.     

Do we need more economics in Australian economic diplomacy?

ABSTRACT

Economic diplomacy—that is, informal and formal processes and links between states and non-state actors on international economic issues—is a current focus of Australian foreign policy. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s stated economy diplomacy aims are liberalising trade, boosting economic growth, encouraging investment and assisting business. If Australia is to embrace a genuine and effective notion of economic diplomacy there are two problems to be overcome. First, DFAT’s economic diplomacy framework is incomplete and misses the bigger economic picture, particularly the role of Australia’s key economic agencies, Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Australia. Second, DFAT does not consistently apply economic principles to foreign affairs issues including trade, foreign aid and the global investment agenda. Going forward, Australia should abandon the focus on the four narrow pillars and instead focus on developing a clear, coordinated international economic strategy that articulates Australia’s core international economic objectives and priorities.     

Who should pay for pollution? The OECD,the European Communities and the emergence of environmental policy in the early 1970s

Abstract

Environmental policy emerged as a new European and global policy field within a very brief period of time during the early 1970s. Notably in Europe, international organizations played a central role in defining core principles for this new policy domain. This article argues that inter-organizational connections were crucial in this context: the exchange and transfer of policy ideas facilitated the rise of environmental policy across different international organizations. Focusing on the co-evolution of the polluter-pays principle enshrined almost simultaneously both at the OECD and the European Communities, the article assesses the multiple routes along which policy ideas travelled, the role inter-organizational competition played and the selective nature of transfers. While expertise played a key role in determining which policy concepts were selected, institutional conditions and the politics of the recipient institution determined how they were adapted to the respective new context.     

The Industrial Landscape of Rio Tinto,Huelva, Spain

Abstract

Rio Tinto has the largest deposits of pyrite and copper pyrite and associated minerals in Europe. It was exploited by the pre-Roman Iberians for silver and copper, and later by the Romans. The greatest change to the landscape came with open-pit mining or quarrying by the British Rio Tinto Company in the late nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century for pyrite for sulphur and copper. Even this will be obliterated by current mining projects — the Cerro Colorado project of 1973 was started by the Spanish successor company, Rio Tinto Minera (though still associated with the RTZ multi-national company), and more recently there has been an intensification of gold and silver extraction from the gossan which overlies the pyritic deposits. Damage to the industrial archaeology is also resulting from a large scale reclamation programme, and an attempt to develop a Museum Park on the site largely failed. This report briefly considers the remains at Rio Tinto, and includes photographs recording pre-1950 features of the mines.     

A good international citizen? Australia at the World Summit on Sustainable Development

Australia has often been identified as a middle power in foreign policy terms. This article assesses the worth of the concept in understanding the role of Australia in global environmental governance. Using a case study of the role played at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, it assesses whether Australia conformed to a classic middle power role, building coalitions as a ‘good international citizen’ or whether its role was more like a veto state, preventing positive change. This is done via a reflection of Australia's Summit priorities and an assessment of its impact over the Summit outcomes. The article shows that Australia was able to offer leadership in certain specific areas, but overall domestic policy preferences, a growing mistrust of multilateralism, and a strong defence of the national interest meant that Australia played the role of a veto state, often in coalition with the United States of America.     

Structural Adjustment and Subsistence Industry: Artisanal Gold Mining in Ghana

Since the implementation of Ghana's national Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), policies associated with the programme have been criticized for perpetuating poverty within the country's subsistence economy. This article brings new evidence to bear on the contention that the SAP has both fuelled the uncontrolled growth of informal, poverty‐driven artisanal gold mining and further marginalized its impoverished participants. Throughout the adjustment period, it has been a central goal of the government to promote the expansion of large‐scale gold mining through foreign investment. Confronted with the challenge of resuscitating a deteriorating gold mining industry, the government introduced a number of tax breaks and policies in an effort to create an attractive investment climate for foreign multinational mining companies. The rapid rise in exploration and excavation activities that has since taken place has displaced thousands of previously‐undisturbed subsistence artisanal gold miners. This, along with a laissez faire land concession allocation procedure, has exacerbated conflicts between mining parties. Despite legalizing small‐scale mining in 1989, the Ghanaian government continues to implement procedurally complex and bureaucratically unwieldy regulations and policies for artisanal operators which have the effect of favouring the interests of established large‐scale miners.     

Christianity and Justice in the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission: A Case Study in Religious Conflict Resolution

Abstract

Historically, international conflict resolution theorists have largely adopted the position that organized religion is an instigator of violence. As a result, these theories have tended to exclude religion as a force for peacebuilding. Recently, however, scholars have suggested that religion can contribute constructively to a theory of conflict resolution. Their general thesis is that, if religion played a significant part in people's lives, and if religion played a part in fuelling the conflict, then when resolving the conflict, religion must be at least taken into account. An example of a conflict resolution process in which religion, specifically Christianity, played a central role was South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). In dialogue with leading critics of the TRC process, particularly Richard Wilson, this article examines the ambiguous role that Christianity played in influencing concepts of justice in the TRC.