Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté. Image fixe : sans médiation
Auteur(s) : Haggerty, Sheryllynne
Titre(s) : 'Merely for money'? [Texte imprimé] : business culture in the British Atlantic, 1750-1815 / Sheryllynne Haggerty
Publication : Liverpool : Liverpool University Press, 2012
Description matérielle : xiv, 287 p. : ill. ; 24 cm
Collection : Eighteenth-century worlds
Lien à la collection : Eighteenth-century worlds
Note(s) : Includes bibliographical references (p. 241-274) and indexes
"In 1780 Richard Sheridan noted that merchants worked 'merely for money'. However,
rather than being a criticism, this was recognition of the important commercial role
that merchants played in the British empire at this time. Of course, merchants desired
and often made profits, but they were strictly bound by commonly-understood socio-cultural
norms which formed a private-order institution of a robust business culture. In order
to elucidate this business culture, this book examines the themes of risk, trust,
reputation, obligation, networks and crises to demonstrate how contemporary merchants
perceived and dealt with one another and managed their businesses. Merchants were
able to take risks and build trust, but concerns about reputation and fulfilling obligations
constrained economic opportunism. By relating these themes to an array of primary
sources from ports around the British-Atlantic world, this book provides a more nuanced
understanding of business culture during this period. A theme which runs throughout
the book is the mercantile community as a whole and its relationship with the state.
This was an important element in the British business culture of this period, although
this relationship came under stress towards the end of period, forming a crisis in
itself. This book argues that the business culture of the British-Atlantic mercantile
community not only facilitated the conduct of day-to-day business, but also helped
it to cope with short-term crises and long-term changes. This anabled the success
of the British-Atlantic economy even within the context of changing geo-politics and
an under-institutionalised environment. Not working 'merely for money' was a successful
business model."--Back cover
Sujet(s) : Commerçants -- Grande-Bretagne -- Histoire
Commerce international -- Histoire
Commerce -- Grande-Bretagne -- Histoire
Conditions économiques -- Grande-Bretagne -- 1760-1860
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9781846318177 (hbk.). - ISBN 1846318173 (hbk.)
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb42747458w
Notice n° :
FRBNF42747458
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
