Citizens of the World: London Merchants and the Integration of the British Atlantic Community, 1735–1785

by David Hancock

Citizens of the World examines the business and social strategies of the men who developed the British empire in the eighteenth century. This book focuses on twenty-three London merchants who traded with America in an age of imperial expansion. These "associates" started their careers as marginal people, sought and took advantage of opportunities around the world, and approached their business and social lives with the improving ideals of the practical Enlightenment. This activity is placed in the context of the developing institutions of Britain's colonies in America and the social world of polite and industrious men and women at home.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Grad School

504 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 1995

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book because it discusses eighteenth century Britain in the context of a handful of businessmen who rose from little to become very wealthy. Hancock uses a lot of facts and figures to support his story not to tell his story. Well written!

[Paul Brewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if this qualifies as a groundbreaking book, but it goes a long way towards describing how the Early Anglosphere functioned as an economic unit.

Hancock examines the experience of that world by twenty-three merchants, divided into four 'circles', who were based in London, but whose economic interests took them to the four corners of the British Empire -- the Americas, the East Indies, West Africa and, of course, Britain itself. These were the men (and they are all men) who moved goods, slaves, sugar and capital around the empire, as well as providing sustenance to the British army in Europe. They all started as relatively small capitalists, sometimes working for relatives or others abroad, before accumulating large fortunes, marrying well and establishing houses in City and Country. They acquired the trappings of the gentry and the aristrocracy, without really entering fully into those worlds. Hancock also includes discussions of their marriages -- always strategic to increase their access to capital -- and lists of their art investments.

However, the book is clearly for the academic rather than the general reader. It is organised thematically, rather than chronologically, and as a result we lose some sense of the interplay of different areas in building a merchant's fortune. Traditional 'great events', like the Seven Years' War and the American War of Independence are present, but in the background and not the foreground, and it's quite possible to miss out on their significance to the success of British merchants without knowledge of what happened. Hancock's sources are account ledgers, commercial correspondence and reports of the shipping news, rather than coffee-house gossip, and it shows.

Nonetheless, if one attacks this dense book with purpose, one can learn a lot about how to profit in trade.

[Liliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars…read for class…wouldn’t recommend unless you’re really into this specific historical content. Definitely academic but honestly Hancock’s writing style is engaging and enjoyable. Definitely did not agree with every choice made here but liked Chapters 9 and 10 so I felt it finishes on a strong note.