{"product_id":"merchants-edmond-smith-9780300257953","title":"Merchants: The Community That Shaped England's Trade and Empire, 1550-1650","description":"\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE 2023 RALPH GOMORY BOOK PRIZE \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"A superb book.\"--Jerry Brotton \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Wonderfully wide-ranging and deeply-researched.\"--William Dalrymple \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Sharply observed, innovatively analysed, and always accessible.\"--Nandini Das \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA new history of English trade and empire--revealing how a tightly woven community of merchants was the true origin of globalized Britain\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Edmond Smith\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0300257953\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780300257953\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Yale University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/26\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 376\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.71lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.29h x 5.98w x 1.34d","brand":"Edmond Smith","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44045131284735,"sku":"9780300257953","price":32.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_814cf338-163d-4567-8444-8e2ef11d515a.jpg?v=1684976917","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/merchants-edmond-smith-9780300257953","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}