Catalogue Number
NMLH.2023.77.2
Object Name
Poster
Title
The European merchants wanted gold and silver as money for expanding their trade
Date
1972-1982
Description
The Poster Collective was a collective formed in 1971 at the Slade School of Art,  a group formed to initially produce posters in response to the miners strike and on the wars in both Vietnam and Ireland. It was formed on the basis of developing a coherent visual style, which addressed the political issues of the time. This included the armed struggles against colonialism in Africa, the struggle of women for equal rights and the continuing struggle against racism. The collective was active in the 70's and 80's, producing posters on a wide range of issues, including for educational purposes. The group was not-for-profit and used a variety of hand-printing techniques to create their posters. This poster is part of a set, "Whose World is the World?", comprising of twelve that were created for schools. The set depicts a different view of history and puts forward ways of understanding the basis for the development of Western economic power over the last 400 years. It was produced in
1979.
This poster is in the second of the set. It is white, yellow, black and brown, with different black and white images. The background of the poster is a map of South America. The text on the poster reads "The European merchants wanted gold and silver as money for expanding their trade. They began to run short of gold and silver as money for expanding their trade. They began to run short of gold and silver in the 1400s, and this was one of the main reasons why the Spanish and Portuguese merchants send people on voyages of exploration. Aztecs, Incas and Mayas totalled between 70 and 90 million when European conquerers arrived. 150 years later there were only 3-5 million. The Spanish first landed in South America in 1492. They realised that the country was richin gold and silver. They attacked the indians and occupied their lands. They robbed them of their objects and melted them down to send back to the European merchants. Then they tried to turn the Indians into slaves to work in the
gold and silver mines and on the land. Millions of Indians were killed by the Europeans. Many more died in the mines from starvation or from European diseases. The time soon came when the Europeans needed more workers. They began to bring people as slaves from Africa." There are images of paintings, masks, people fighting, and a group of enslaved people. There is a photograph of a a young boy with a speech bubble; this says "...and wouldyou believe it - the Spanish said they were doing all this in the name of christianity." The side of the poster says "Designed by the poster collective. Distributed by the Institute of race relations."
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