ABSTRACT
Mercury mining and its health consequences constituted their working world. The operators or their representatives engaged the miners and managed the daily production of mine and refinery. Changing circumstances had caused mercury to move from a boutique metal to a strategic commodity, one produced in small amounts for specialty purposes to one produced in immense quantities for large-scale industries. During the sixteenth century, new industrial applications transformed what had been a boutique metal into a strategic commodity that was traded in large volumes around the world. As a result of market pressure, i.e., increased demand, Idrija was producing more by mid-century than at any point in its history. New working conditions accompanied that level of productivity. Work knowledge, productivity and relations have commonalities across trades or industries. As fixed and discrete as the various sides might appear, the social relations of production at Idrija changed over time.
