Page 191 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol III

1010 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

parts of the world still view international law as domi- ment, but the precious metals gold and silver long pre-
nated by the West and by the rich and powerful countries, dominated as media of exchange. Authors from Aristo-
and efforts are continuing to find ways to restructure the tle to Adam Smith noted that gold and silver had the
United Nations to reflect the world’s diversity more fairly advantages of being divisible, homogenous, storable
and to allow it to operate more efficiently. (not rusting or decaying through reaction with other ele-
The international legal system is still a work in pro- ments), and, being scarce and costly to produce, highly
gress.As the world becomes increasingly interdependent, valuable per unit of weight, so that only small quantities
international law will become more important and more needed to be transported to make payments.
complex. Countries remain reluctant to give up essential
elements of sovereignty and autonomy. But as transna- Beginnings
tional problems present themselves, transnational solu- While merchants may have made the first coins, discs
tions will continue to be devised. Through this incre- containing a specified amount of precious metal, states
mental process, international law will continue to grow. and cities in Asia Minor and the Aegean coined silver
Jon Van Dyke and electrum (a mixture of gold and silver) from the
eighth century BCE, with the earliest known gold coins
See also International Court of Justice; International
issued in the sixth century by Croesus, king of Lydia in
Criminal Court
Asia Minor. Solon, in sixth-century Athens, introduced
seigniorage, a margin of profit on coinage, by ordering
Further Reading
6,300 drachmae to be minted from each talent of silver,
Anand, R. P. (1982). Origin and development of the law of the sea—
History of international law revisited. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. even though the accepted standard of weights and meas-
Buergenthal, T., & Murphy, S. D. (2002). Public international law. St. ures equated 6,000 drachmae (60 minae) to a talent. For
Paul, MN: West Group.
Henkin, L. (1979). How nations behave. New York: Columbia University centuries, gold, silver, bronze, and copper coins of many
Press. rulers and cities circulated, trading externally at rates
Janis, M. W. (2003). An introduction to international law. New York: reflecting their varying metallic content and the changing
Aspen Publishers.
Lawrence, T. J. (1895). The principles of international law. London: relative values of the monetary metals. The seigniorage
MacMillan. from minting coins with less than full bullion content
Levi,W. (1991). Contemporary international law:A concise introduction.
Boulder, CO: Westview Press. repeatedly tempted rulers to profit from debasing the
Moore, J. B. (1924). International law and other current illusions and coinage, reducing the market value of their coins. In
other essays. New York: MacMillan. China, copper “cash” was coined, with silver ingots used
Nussbaum, A. (1954). A concise history of the law of nations. New York:
MacMillan. for large transactions, and Marco Polo was startled to
Paust, J. J., Fitzpatrick, J. M., & Van Dyke, J. M. (2000). International law discover paper currency issued by the Chinese state in
and litigation in the U.S. St. Paul: West Group.
Woolsey,T. D. (1874). Introduction to the study of international law. New the thirteenth century CE.
York: Scribner, Armstrong & Co.
The Colonial Era through
the Nineteenth Century
The inflow of silver from the newly conquered Spanish
International colonies of Mexico and Upper Peru (Bolivia) raised

price levels and lowered the purchasing power of silver
Monetary Systems in Europe during the “Price Revolution” of the sixteenth
century, but the outflow of silver from Europe to Asia to
oods ranging from cowrie shells and cattle to ciga- pay for spices and textiles in the late seventeenth century
Grettes (in prisoner-of-war camps during World War raised the value of silver. In 1717, Isaac Newton, as
II) have circulated as generally accepted means of pay- master of Britain’s Royal Mint, set the value of the gold