Merchant 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.

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