Silver, Blackness, and Fugitive Value, “from China to Peru”

This essay treats two related historical phenomena, the Chinese demand for silver and the Black Legend idea of “Spanish cruelty” in early modern English ideologies of slavery, empire, and free trade. Comparisons between circulating silver and runaway slaves inscribed fugitivity with a type of black aesthetic and market value that can be seen across theatrical performances, economic treatises, travel writing, and chinoiserie art.