A new history of English trade and empire—revealing how a tightly woven community of merchants was the true origin of globalized Britain
In the century following Elizabeth I’s rise to the throne, English trade blossomed as thousands of merchants launched ventures across the globe. Through the efforts of these "mere merchants," England developed from a peripheral power on the fringes of Europe to a country at the center of a global commercial web, with interests stretching from Virginia to Ahmadabad and Arkhangelsk to Benin.
Edmond Smith traces the lives of English merchants from their earliest steps into business to the heights of their successes. Smith unpicks their behavior, relationships, and experiences, from exporting wool to Russia, importing exotic luxuries from India, and building plantations in America. He reveals that the origins of "global" Britain are found in the stories of these men whose livelihoods depended on their skills, entrepreneurship, and ability to work together to compete in cutthroat international markets. As a community, their efforts would come to revolutionize Britain’s relationship with the world.
- ISBN10 0300257953
- ISBN13 9780300257953
- Publish Date 14 September 2021
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 24 May 2022
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Yale University Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 376
- Language English
- URL http://wiley.com/remtitle.cgi?isbn=9780300257953