Banking, Projecting and Politicking in Early Modern England: The Rise and Fall of Thompson and Company 1671-1678

Banking, Projecting, and Politicking explores the previously understudied financial institution Thompson and Company in late-seventeenth-century England, reconstructing its operations, social networks, creditors, and collapse. It challenges the traditional narrative of financial and commercial development, credit systems, and the relationship between economics, finance, commerce, and politics.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 300 pages
Publication date: 14 January 2023
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Banking, projecting, and politicking delves into the previously overlooked and unrecognized financial institution known as Thompson and Company during the late 17th century in England. While the institution has received some attention in literary studies centered on poet and politician Andrew Marvell, it has never been the sole focus of an economic, financial, commercial, or political study in its own right. Consequently, essential details about its operations, historical position within English finance, reasons for collapse, and insights into Restoration society and its economic and political culture remain largely unknown.

To address this gap, the book employs a microhistorical approach to reconstruct the institution of Thompson and Company, the social networks of its partners, the identities of its creditors, and the events and circumstances that led to its downfall. By placing the reconstructed institution within its economic, commercial, financial, and political contexts, the book challenges the conventional narrative of financial and commercial development, credit systems, the interconnections between economics, finance, commerce, and politics, and the role of risk and strategy in gendered relations, credit, and social status.

This book will appeal to scholars and students specializing in economic history, financial and business history, and related fields. Its comprehensive analysis and innovative approach shed light on a previously understudied aspect of late-seventeenth-century English society, providing valuable insights into the complex interplay between finance, politics, and social dynamics during this period.

Weight: 415g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030905729
Edition number: 1st ed. 2022