The Transatlantic Copper Route and the First Global Economy

Trade Routes That Changed Human History Forever — Fexingo History · Oct 3, 2026 · 12m · transcript

We often hear about gold, silver, and spices as the drivers of early global trade, but copper was the metal that truly bound continents together in the eighteenth century. This episode explores how British merchants, working with colonial enterprises in the Americas, created a complex network to move millions of tons of copper from Chilean mines to European markets. We follow the journey of ships sailing from Valparaíso to London, navigating the treacherous Cape Horn route while avoiding Spanish monopolies and privateers. The story centers on key figures like the merchant John Fothergill and…