Merchants and Profit in the Age of Commerce, 1680–1830

International audienceMerchant activity across Europe, America and China was vital to economic growth during the long eighteenth century. Using a unique data set from accounts and correspondence, contributors show the fragmented nature of merchant activity and the importance of trust-based social and cultural networks. Case studies from the ‘Age of Commerce’ include Franco-British attempts to recall Chinese debt in 1779–80, the price signals between Spain and colonial South America and the risk avoidance strategies of tobacco-planters in early national period America