Global CommoditiesThis project looks at fifteen significant commodities whose stories are often intertwined: chocolate, coffee, cotton, fur, oil, opium, porcelain, silver & gold, spices, sugar, tea, timber, tobacco, wheat, wine & spirits. Each commodity is documented through a wide range of manuscript materials, maps, posters, paintings, photographs, ephemera, objects and rare books so that the student can explore the origins of the commodity, their first uses, the trade that developed and the ways in which these items were marketed. The project covers themes such as exploration and discovery; imperialism and attempts at monopoly; trade wars; translocation and economic geography; slavery; mass production; luxury; taste; and the evolution of global branding.