人类大历史（2013）

Big History S01E15

Part 2 March 29, 2021, 2:04 p.m.

A Central European valley...
它现在地属捷克共和国
in what is now the Czech Republic.
在这里一座史前火山
Here, prehistoric volcanoes...
留下了地球上最富饶的银隐藏点
have left behind some of the richest silver stashes on Earth.
在16世纪
In the 16th century...
这里铸造的银币促进了贸易
silver coins minted here stimulate trade.
它们在全欧洲流传
They spread all over Europe.
这些银币被叫做泰勒币
The coins are called thalers...
因为它们来自产银的山谷
because they come from a silver-rich valley...
山谷的德语词是"泰"
and the German word for “valley” is thal.
很快这个词就被用在了所有银币身上
Soon, the word is used for any silver coin.
在英文中"泰勒"就变成了"刀"
And in English, “thaler” becomes “dollar. ”
所借之物
"刀"就在1785变成了美国的官方货币
The dollar becomes the official currency of the U.S. in 1785.
但是那时候没有美国造币厂
But at the time, there's no U.S. mint.
美国不能制♥造♥自己的钱币
America can't make its own coins.
所以最初的美国钱币是西班牙的比索币
So the first American dollars are actually Spanish pesos.
这些硬币几乎是百分之百纯银的
These coins are almost a hundred percent pure silver.
所以他们就成为了价值的标准单位
And so they become like standard units of value.
而比索只是一个暂时的应对措施
The peso is a temporary fix
却留下了永久的印记
that leaves a permanent mark.
这柱子包裹皇家旗帜的图像
This image of columns draped by royal banners...
被相信是美元符号♥的起源
is believed to be the origin of the dollar sign-
一个为全世界国家所用的符号♥
a symbol used by countries around the world.
所以为什么一个简单的西班牙硬币有如此力量
So how does a simple Spanish coin get so much power?
大历史将货币的扩张
Big history connects the spread of money
联♥系♥另一个银的热点上
to another silver hot spot
安地斯山脉火山带旁
the Andes Mountains, along the Ring of Fire.
在16世纪
In the 16th century...
西班牙征服者到达了新世界
Spanish conquistadores arrive in the New World...
脑中只想着一件事金子
with one thing on their mind-gold.
但是如我们知道的太空给予我们的金太少
But as we've seen, the stars have given us far less gold...
银太多
and far more silver...
并且聚集在火山移♥动♥金属的地方
concentrated in places where volcanoes have moved metals...
比如安第斯山脉
like the Andes Mountains.
西班牙人发现了一座山脉
The Spaniards stumbled across a mountain...
蕴含着地质学所能允许的
that is as close to a mountain of pure silver
纯度最高的银
as geology allows.
这就是波托西
This is Potosi...
13000英尺高的珍宝箱
a 13,000-foot-high treasure chest.
但是地球将它的宝藏封锁
But the Earth has this treasure on lockdown...
因为将银带来这里的热量
because the same heat that brought the silver here...
将银的原子与不太值钱的金属联合比如铅
bonds its atoms with other less valuable metals, like lead.
大历史的地质学部分
The geology component of big history...
告诉我们这种特殊的化学键
shows us that this unique chemical bonding
诞生于银铅之间
takes place between silver and lead...
也很难分割
and it's quite difficult to separate-
比挖掘利用金子
much more difficult than just mining and
还要难
using gold, for example.
解锁银的关键是另外一种元素
The key to unlocking the silver is another element...
它可以将吸引银原子而离开铅原子
that can draw its atoms away from the lead.
大历史放大
Big history zooms in.
汞原子和银原子互相吸引
Mercury atoms and silver atoms are attracted to each other...
互相攫取
and they will kind of glom on to each other.
汞又是一种液体
Mercury is also a liquid...
所以它可以进入角落钻入矿地的裂缝
so it's good at getting in nooks and crevices inside minerals...
这样就吸取了最后一粒银原子
and kind of scouring for every last silver atom...
接着你就可以用
and you can separate out and
其他工艺分离出银
get the silver out through another process.
但挖掘满山的银
But releasing a mountain is worth of silver. -.
要花费两倍的水银
Will take twice as much mercury. -.
大历史显示了关键
And big history reveals the key...
因为形成了波托西的火山
because the same volcanoes that create Potosi...
也形成了不到800里之外的一座汞山
also build a mountain of mercury less than 800 miles away.
可以这样说通过两座山的联姻
And from, as they said, the marriage of these two mountains...
纯净的银流出现了
came this absolute river of silver.
西班牙人为了金子来到新世界
The Spanish come to the New World for gold...
但他们找到了几乎90倍的银
but find almost' .90 times more silver.
在150年中他们出口了1万6千吨♥银
In just 150 years, they export' 16,000 tons...
在今天价值七万亿元
worth seven billion dollars today.
一座银之河将世界前所未有地紧紧相连
A river of silver that connects the world like never before-
将富银的西部
linking the silver-rich West...
与缺银的东部相连
with the silver-hungry East...
喂养了地球上
and feeding a growing demand in
最强大国家的需要
one of the most powerful empires on Earth-
中国
China.
银跟随着西班牙帆船
The silver was coming across
飘过太平洋而来
in huge treasure galleons across the Pacific...
到达了菲律宾的马尼拉
to Manila in the Philippines.
从那里它被带去了中国南方最大的港口城市
From there it was being brought to the great port cities of southern China...
在那里中国人需要银子作为报偿
where the Chinese were demanding silver as payment...
来支付珍贵的中国出口品
for highly valuable Chinese exports.
中国与西方隔绝已久
China has long been isolated from the West.
但是银之河
But the river of silver...
开始平衡了世界的力量
begins to shift the balance of power in the world.
在那一刻全球化的开端开始了
In that moment is the beginning of globalization.
大多数当代人认为全球化
Most people my age just kind of think of globalization...
是最近15到20年的事情
as something that's been around for the last 15 or 20 years.
然而事实上我们已经在
But, in fact, we've been living in a fairly globalized world
全球化的世界里住了400多年
for 400 years or more.
大历史的视角帮助你理解这一点
And big history perspective helps you understand that.
但是当如此多的银落入了一个帝国手中
But as so much silver falls into the hands of one empire...
这个珍宝
this treasure...
就成了定时炸♥弹♥
becomes a ticking time bomb.
大历史是观察世界的新方式
Big history is a new way to see the world...
展现了火山活动建造了银山
revealing how volcanic activity builds mountains of silver...
让第二金属
that turned the second-place metal...
变成了联合世界的第一金属
into the first metal to unite the world.
但是当银用完了又将怎样呢
But what happens when the silver runs out?
人类大历史回到了
Big history connects back...
1839年
to 1839.
叫做波托西的银山
The mountain of silver called Potosi,
曾是世界上最大的珍宝箱
once the world's treasure chest...
缩小了1千英尺
has shrunk a thousand feet...
原因是300年不停的开采
after almost 300 years of nonstop mining.
银之河正在干涸
The river of silver is drying up.
而短缺
And a shortage...
就变成了灾难
turns into a crisis.
传统历史将此命名为鸦♥片♥战争
Traditional history calls it the Opium War.
但是人类大历史却发现银挑起了这场战争
But big history reveals it's silver that sparks the fight.
血污之钱
大英帝国遍布全球
The British Empire spans the globe...
它远部世界的殖民地联♥系♥了贸易
its far-flung colonies linked through trade.
中国与不列颠进行贸易
China trades with Britain.
但是当它卖♥♥出茶叶之类的货物时
But while it sells items like tea...
它几乎不买♥♥入
it buys almost nothing.
中国从西方只想要一样东西
China only wants one thing from the West-
银子
payment in silver.
所以当全球性短缺让英国缺少银时
So when the global shortage causes Britain's silver to run low...
英国人一定要找别的东西来换茶叶
the British must find something else to trade for tea.
英国政♥府♥就想出了一个奇葩的主意
And the English government came up with this unique idea...
用鸦♥片♥来代替银子
of replacing silver with opium...
逼迫中国出口商收取大箱的鸦♥片♥而不是银
and began to force Chinese exporters to take large chests of opium instead of silver.
4百万中国人已经对英国鸦♥片♥上瘾
Four million Chinese are already addicted to British opium.
中国政♥府♥不想让更多人被拉下水
China's government doesn't want more people getting hooked.
最终中国人反击了
Eventually the Chinese reacted,
试图摧毁鸦♥片♥箱
tried to destroy the opium chests.
英国人就以武力回应
The British respond with force.
以他们高一级的武器来压制中国人
Their superior weapons oven/vhetrn the Chinese...
而被削弱的中国无力反抗
and China, weakened, can no longer resist.
在过去的5000年
For much of the past 5,000 years...
中国都毫无疑问是世界上