The Politics of Trade: The Overseas Merchant in State and Society, 1660-1720

Title Page......Page 4
Preface......Page 8
Acknowledgements......Page 10
Contents......Page 12
List of Maps......Page 14
List of Tables......Page 15
Abbreviations......Page 16
Author's Note......Page 17
Introduction......Page 18
1. The Mercantile City......Page 33
i. Sampling the London elite......Page 35
ii. Merchant distribution in the City......Page 41
iii. Topography and City association......Page 55
iv. Fluidity and stability within the City......Page 60
v. Provincial parallels......Page 64
2. Business and Public Life......Page 80
i. The background and training of the City merchant......Page 82
ii. Independence and association: office-holding in the City......Page 93
iii. Status as an urban phenomenon......Page 104
iv. Provincial parallels......Page 112
3. Mercantile Association and Commercial Politics......Page 124
i. The formal organization of overseas trade......Page 129
ii. The unregulated trades......Page 144
iii. The livery companies......Page 154
iv. Provincial parallels......Page 161
4. The Merchant, Politics, and the Press......Page 173
i. The mercantile press......Page 177
ii. The press and the profession......Page 183
iii. The histories of trade......Page 192
iv. The representation of commerce......Page 197
5. The Merchant and Parliament......Page 212
i. Merchant representation at Westminster......Page 215
ii. Parliament and the representation of overseas trade......Page 226
iii. Parliament and the passage of commercial legislation......Page 237
6. The Politics of Trade: The French Commerce Bill of 1713......Page 251
i. Origins and novelties......Page 253
ii. The rage of party and the politicization of trade......Page 257
iii. The great vote and trade on the hustings......Page 265
iv. Consequences and recrimination 1713-1714......Page 279
Conclusion......Page 288
Bibliography......Page 295
Index......Page 314