HST239 - The Export of England: Seventeenth Century Trade and Empire

HST239: The Export of England: Seventeenth Century Trade and Empire

20 credits (semester 1)

Module Leader: Dr Tom Leng (2024-25)

Module Summary

This module considers the commercial and territorial expansion of seventeenth-century England. It examines how England’s commerce was transformed from the largely bilateral cloth trade with Europe conducted by mercantile corporations, to a multilateral commerce conducted under several conditions (the ‘navigation system’, ‘free trade’, joint-stock companies). These changes coincided with the foundation of North American and West Indian colonies, building on earlier experiences in Ireland, and the course will consider their developing relations with the metropolis. Throughout, the focus will be on whether these changes were a consequence of deliberate ‘mercantilist’ state policies, or of the initiative of thousands of individuals.

The course begins by discussing the nature and structure of England’s economy, and particularly its international commerce, at the start of the seventeenth century. We examine debates over the organisation of foreign trade and its contribution to the commonwealth, focussing on the call for ‘free trade’. Then we move on to consider the emergence of an English Empire across the Atlantic, looking for the motivations behind colonisation, and the forces shaping the development of colonies. After reading week, we turn to the relationship between overseas enterprise and political conflict in the emerging English Atlantic from the civil wars of the 1640s through to the Glorious Revolution of 1688-9. A particular theme here will be the development of England as a major slave-trading nation, paradoxically at a time when the liberties of the ‘free born Englishman’ were being asserted in England and its colonies. We will also look at other areas of English activity beyond the Atlantic, such as the Mediterranean and the far east. We close by considering England and its empire after the Glorious Revolution, when a ‘financial revolution’ associated with the foundation of the Bank of England transformed the fiscal capacities of the state allowing it to pursue ever more assertive policies overseas, prompting new debates about the importance of international trade for national power and prosperity.

Teaching 

The module is taught via 11 weekly lectures, and 11 weekly seminars.

Assessment

Please see this page for assessment details: Level 2 assessment

Module Aims

This unit aims to introduce students to the theme of early modern globalisation: the integration of different cultural zones through the influence of international trade and colonial settlement. It focuses on one particular nation-state- England- which over the course of the seventeenth century acquired a new global position characterised by imperial expansion and international trade, but it aims to consider England in its European, as well as international, context. The central theme will be the relationship between private actors and the state in the development of English trade and empire. It will also consider contemporary reactions to such changes, which increasingly took the form of public debates, which have been seen as the beginnings of modern economic thought. Students will gain an insight into the different forces that shape ‘economic history’, in a period which laid many of the foundations of our contemporary, globalised and markets-dominated world.

Selected Reading

There is no compulsory preparatory reading for this course, but it is strongly recommended that you take the chance over the summer to do some reading. There is no single textbook suitable for the course, but the following list has been selected to include some readable/affordable books which you could take on holiday and enjoy on the beach (the book by Brenner would push you well over your baggage allowance, and is not the most readable, but it is a key text, so if you are looking for something more weighty this is the one for you).

• Keith Wrightson, Earthly Necessities. Economic Lives in Early Modern Britain, 1470-1750 (2002) [although not centrally concerned with overseas trade, this is an excellent and readable introduction to the main themes of British economic history in our period, and a useful book to read in preparation for this course]

• Alison Games, The Web of Empire: English Cosmopolitans in an Age of Expansion, 1560-1660 (Oxford, 2008) [this book raises many of the questions which we will be considering in the course, and is a recommended preparatory read]

• Karen Ordahl Kupperman, The Jamestown Project (Cambridge, Mass. and London, 2007) [a readable discussion of the context behind the foundation of Jamestown; as Virginia will be a focal point of this course, this would be a useful introductory read]

• Stephanie E. Smallwood, Saltwater Slavery. A Middle Passage from Africa to American Diaspora (Cambridge, Mass. and London, 2007) [a readable recent account of the horrors of the slave trade]

• Charles Wilson, England’s Apprenticeship 1603-1763, 2nd edition (London, 1984) [perhaps a little dated, but still a very useful introduction to England's economic history/overseas trade in the period; not in print now but readily available second-hand; or you could try his Profit and Power. A Study of England and the Dutch Wars]

• David Loades, England's Maritime Empire. Seapower, Commerce and Policy 1490-1690 (Harlow, 2000) [also out of print but useful if you can get hold of it, particularly on naval matters]

• Robert Brenner, Merchants and Revolution. Commercial Change, Political Conflict, and London’s Overseas Traders, 1550-1653 (1993) [major reinterpretation of the relationship between commercial and political change, which is available as an e-book]

This course will focus on overseas trade and colonization, but it would be useful to have some knowledge of the political history of seventeenth century England (this will be discussed in lectures, but fairly briefly). If this is a new subject to you, there are many textbooks available: you might try one of the following:

• Barry Coward, The Stuart Age: England 1603-1714 (2nd edition, 1994)

• Christopher Hill, The Century of Revolution, 1603-1714 (1961 and many subsequent editions) [though note his Marxist interpretation has been widely critiqued in recent decades]

• John Spurr, The Post-Reformation. Religion, Politics and Society in Britain 1603-1714 (2006) [good on the religious background particularly]

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit, a candidate will be able to demonstrate the ability to:

• Demonstrate a familiarity with the key changes in England’s international status in the seventeenth century

• Show an understanding of the processes underpinning early modern globalisation

• Understand the different factors shaping the development of economic relationships in an international setting

• Evaluate the major modern interpretations of the expansion of English trade and empire in the seventeenth century

• Construct and present a reasoned argument in written and oral form in a professional manner, to pose questions about complex issues, to locate and retrieve relevant information from primary sources, to conduct bibliographic searches

• Manage time, to work co-operatively in groups, to engage in independent research, and to engage in critical discussion and debate.