The eminent historian and author of The Rise of King Cotton uncovers the centuries-old story of tin mining in Southern England. Tin mining has existed in Cornwall and parts of Devon since before the Romans arrived in Britain. In this book, historian Anthony Burton explores the region’s tin mining industry from its earliest period through to the present day. A specialist in the history of technology, Burton examines the evolution of extraction methods from primitive pick and shovel operations to the later use of explosives, the rise of steam power, and beyond. Burton also looks at the changing politics and economics of the tin mining industry over the centuries.

First Published in 1968. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Mining in Cornwall and Devon is an economic history of mines, mineral ownership, and mine management in the South West of England. The work brings together material from a variety of hard-to-find sources on the thousands of mines that operated in Cornwall and Devon from the late 1790s to the present day. It presents information on what they produced and when they produced it; who the owners and managers were and how many men, women and children were employed. For the mine owners, managers and engineers, it also offers a guide to their careers outside the South West, in other mining districts across Britain and the world. A long section on the Duchy of Cornwall provides details of the Duchy's role as the largest mineral owner in the South West, and of the modernisation and changing administration of the Stannaries. The printed book provides a guide to the sources, their interpretation and how they illustrate the long-term development and decline of the industry; the composite mine-by-mine tables are presented on an interactive CD included free with the book.