Currency of Empire: Money and Power in Seventeenth-Century English America

In the early years of North American history, Jonathan Barth explores the intersection of money and power, arguing that the English Crown's export-oriented mercantile economy directed colonization, commerce, and empire. Money was also a flash point for resistance, leading to an imperial crisis in the 1670s.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 396 pages
\n Publication date: 15 June 2021
\n Publisher: Cornell University Press
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In his book "The Currency of Empire," Jonathan Barth delves into the intricate relationship between money and power in the early years of North American history. He demonstrates how the control of money shaped English imperial actions abroad. The English Crown's export-oriented mercantile economy played a pivotal role in shaping the colonization plan, regulating colonial commerce, and governing the empire. The imperial project necessitated a steady flow of gold and silver, leading to the establishment of stringent monetary regulations within England's colonial regime. Barth reveals that money also served as a catalyst for resistance among colonists. Many resented their subordinate economic status and sought a robust, secure, and uniform money supply for their local economies. This desire clashed with the mercantilist laws of the empire, resulting in an imperial crisis in the 1670s, a full century before the Declaration of Independence.

"The Currency of Empire" explores a series of explosive political conflicts that occurred in the seventeenth century. It demonstrates how the struggle over monetary policy foreshadowed the patriot reaction to the Stamp Act and the so-called Intolerable Acts on the eve of American independence. The book's ebook editions are available as Open Access (OA) volumes from Cornell Open and other Open Access repositories, thanks to generous funding from Arizona State University and George Mason University.

\n Weight: 590g\n
Dimension: 150 x 230 x 28 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781501755774\n \n