At the Crossroads of Globalization: Universal Currency, and Metric Measures in 19th Century North America

• In Event: 035 - Section on Global and Transnational Sociology Paper Session. Negotiating Universal Standards and Norms in Local Contexts

Abstract

During the second half of the nineteenth century, economic and political actors in the United States and Mexico struggled to define what standards of currency and measurement would benefit them the most. This paper analyzes the disputes over the metric system and monetary policy which were interweaved with the issue of establishing a “universal currency,” either through the defense of already existing currencies like the Mexican silver peso (widely used in America, Europe, and China) or through the design of a new metric-based international currency. These debates took place in the context of the disintegration of the Spanish empire, the international emergence of the United States, and the role of China as a massive consumer of precious metals.

Author

• Hector Vera, UNAM