The Oxford Handbook of Commodity History

The Oxford Handbook of Commodity History is an authoritative, panoramic guide to the substances and markets that have shaped world history — from spices and sugar to oil, cotton, coffee, metals, and modern digital commodities. Edited and published by Oxford Handbooks, this volume brings together leading scholars to chart the economic, social, and environmental journeys of the goods that built empires, fueled industrialization, and continue to drive global trade.

Discover richly contextualized essays that trace commodities across regions and eras: indigenous exchanges in the Americas, spice routes across Asia, African trade networks, European industrial supply chains, and contemporary commodity finance in global markets. Each chapter combines rigorous research with accessible storytelling, making complex subjects like price formation, labor regimes, colonialism, and ecological change understandable and compelling.

Ideal for historians, economists, policy makers, students, and curious readers, this handbook offers comparative case studies, thematic overviews, and policy-relevant insights that illuminate how commodities shape politics, culture, and everyday life. Its global perspective — covering Latin America, Europe, Africa, South and East Asia, and the Middle East — makes it especially useful for courses in world history, economic history, and development studies.

Whether you’re building a university syllabus, expanding a research library, or seeking a comprehensive reference on trade and material culture, The Oxford Handbook of Commodity History is an indispensable resource. Engage with the forces that have moved goods, people, and capital across continents — and gain a deeper understanding of the commodities that continue to define our world. Order your copy today.

Note: eBooks do not include supplementary materials such as CDs, access codes, etc.