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Ruthless: A New History of Britain’s Rise to Wealth and Power, 1660-1800
464 pages, Hardcover
Published January 6, 2026
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June 14, 2026
I bought this on the basis of a review in the FT that my wife showed me. In the review was a mention of Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837, a much better book I review elsewhere. It really wasn't clear whether Smith's was supposed to be a book on economic history or social history. Or something else. It's desperately short of data, as opposed to anecdote, and I'm not against anecdote. There are just three figures:
• GDP and GDP per head in Britain 1660-1800
• Total economic output from agriculture, industry and services in Britain, 1660-1800
• Number of captive people trafficked from Africa in ships owned by British slave-trading corporations and independent slave-trades [traders?] from London, Bristol and Liverpool, 1660-1810
I suppose you could say that the essential scheme of this book is that the causes of Britain's rise to wealth and power were multi-factorial. Who knew? There are may anecdotes here, some of them useful and interesting. But there's a lack of analysis and no real narrative argument.
There is a lot here about slavery. I got the feeling that there was a subtext that Britain would not have risen to wealth and power without the fruits of human trafficking. It doesn't say that in terms. But something about the tone and balance. The only chart of any input factor is that regarding slavery. I suppose that Smith would say he was honouring my usual dictum that authors should show not tell. But there's no analysis here. There's nothing to persuade that "but for" slavery Britain would not have become a great power. It's there. Britain benefited. But was it determinative? Or a material contribution? What were the opportunity costs? We're not told. This is nowhere near as good a book as A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy, which is cited in Smith's bibliography.
The book is interesting in tracing the factors back to the mid-seventeenth century, even before the Glorious Revolution.
I just wanted some analysis.
• GDP and GDP per head in Britain 1660-1800
• Total economic output from agriculture, industry and services in Britain, 1660-1800
• Number of captive people trafficked from Africa in ships owned by British slave-trading corporations and independent slave-trades [traders?] from London, Bristol and Liverpool, 1660-1810
I suppose you could say that the essential scheme of this book is that the causes of Britain's rise to wealth and power were multi-factorial. Who knew? There are may anecdotes here, some of them useful and interesting. But there's a lack of analysis and no real narrative argument.
There is a lot here about slavery. I got the feeling that there was a subtext that Britain would not have risen to wealth and power without the fruits of human trafficking. It doesn't say that in terms. But something about the tone and balance. The only chart of any input factor is that regarding slavery. I suppose that Smith would say he was honouring my usual dictum that authors should show not tell. But there's no analysis here. There's nothing to persuade that "but for" slavery Britain would not have become a great power. It's there. Britain benefited. But was it determinative? Or a material contribution? What were the opportunity costs? We're not told. This is nowhere near as good a book as A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy, which is cited in Smith's bibliography.
The book is interesting in tracing the factors back to the mid-seventeenth century, even before the Glorious Revolution.
I just wanted some analysis.
Displaying 1 of 1 review