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A close study of how the status of trading companies changed after 1688 demonstrates that mercantilist decision-making was a more widespread, more national process than is commonly assumed. English manufacturers and merchants looked to the state to support them in an increasingly global economy. Parliament's position as the key decision-making institution helped turn London into an 'open archive' of pamphlets, petitions and correspondence that became the basis for mercantilist policy. In this chaotic debate between private interests, domestic employment was considered the primary objective of wider English participation in the global economy, and those English producers who could claim to be employing others were valued particularly highly. The role of the wider English nation in shaping the global impact of the state suggests the need for a fuller exploration of the role of mercantilism in early modern global history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extraordinary mission of Lord Fauconberg to some of the Italian states in 1669–1671 took place at a pivotal moment in early modern diplomatic relations, and is a most evocative case-study of the relationship between Restoration England and Europe in the last decades of the seventeenth century. This article will provide a close analysis of the mission and its protagonists, aiming to re-evaluate English diplomacy through cross-referencing English and Italian documentary evidence, but with a special attention to the Italian side of the story. By analysing how the Republic of Venice and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany—the major Italian trade partners of England––perceived and interpreted English trade policy, it provides an original analysis of Caroline diplomacy and trade in the early Restoration era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the ideology of improvement in the context of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century mining in northern Sweden in the province of Sápmi. It discusses how the rhetoric of improvement and "civilizing" projects were intertwined with the mining enterprises; how they informed the regulatory and disciplinary ordinances issued for the region; and how the ideas of reform, discipline, and civility were materialized in the physical organization of the metal works. Contextualizing these issues within state policies aiming to better incorporate Sápmi into the mainstream economy and culture of Sweden, the article suggests that mines and processing works were singled out as suitable places for such transformation due to their spatial and organizational characteristics. The study is informed by contemporary political thinking as well as by Foucauldian perspectives on governmentality and its spatial dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of economists warned that a political union was a prerequisite for a viable currency union. This paper disputes the feasibility of such a political union. A fully fledged federal union, which would likely please peripheral Europe, is impracticable since it implies a degree of fiscal solidarity that does not exist. A Hayekian minimal federal state, which would appeal to core Europe, would be refused by peripheral members, since residual fiscal sovereignty would be surrendered without any clear positive economic and social return. Even an intermediate solution based on coordinated Keynesian policies would be unfeasible, since it would be at odds with German 'monetary mercantilism'. The euro area is thus trapped between equally unfeasible political perspectives. In this bleak context, austerity policies are mainly explained by the necessity to readdress the euro area balance-of-payments crisis. This crisis presents striking similarities to traditional financial crises in emerging economies associated with fixed exchange regimes. Therefore, the delayed response of the European Central Bank (ECB) to the sovereign debt crisis cannot be seen as the culprit of the euro area crisis. The ECB's monetary refinancing mechanisms, Target 2 and the ECB's belated Outright Monetary Transactions intervention impeded a blow-up of the currency union, but could not solve its deep causes. The current combination of austerity policies and moderate ECB intervention aims to rebalance intra-eurozone foreign accounts and to force competitive deflation strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the role of trust in mercantile relations in the Hanse region in the sixteenth century. It focuses on verbal expressions of trust, a topic which has only recently been broached in terms of social theory or analyses of pre-modern trade, through the examination of an unpublished case of conflict resolution between two traders from Hanseatic towns. The microanalysis of the trial in Danzig reveals that trust (both personal and general), as expressed in the sources, was an instrument in resolving conflict. Membership in the Hanse could instil an additional layer of trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this case study, the authors explore the relationship between scientific knowledge production and colonial governance within old regime France and its Atlantic colonies through an analysis of the career of Jean-Antoine-Joseph-Charles-Elzéar de Riquety, Governor of Guadeloupe from 1753 to 1755. It is argued that the scientific knowledge promoted by the absolutist French government and its colonial administration undermined imperialism by bringing about criticism of mercantilism and slavery.

This paper reinterprets Marx’s theory of the form of value in the context of his theory of the commodity. Building on the unresolved tension between Marx’s concept of value and the specific character of the labour constituting itself as value in his theory of commodity production, it is argued that Marx’s is actually a theory of the mercantile form of value. Thus, it becomes evident that the process of realisation of material production in commodity production and the process giving rise to money are the same, and that they are only the material manifestation of the process of realisation of private and independent work as social labour. This characterises commodity production as the unity-in-difference of a material and a social moment, showing that Marx’s mercantile form of value is the conceptualisation of Adam Smith’s invisible hand. The paper also argues that Marx’s is not the theory of a money commodity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A literary criticism of the book "The Sovereignty and Goodness of God," by Mary Rowlandson is presented. It provides an insight on the importance of cultural exchange in the captivity narrative of Rowlandson and how she incorporates a more money-oriented version of mercantilism into her narrative. Furthermore, it discusses how the attitude of Rowlandson towards money would have been influenced by the economic circumstances of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in which she lived.

This article focuses on the contributions of the Atlantic migration of Europeans and Africans to the U.S. and the commercial activities associated with it, in creating a global economy. For many years, historians have relied upon the word mercantilism to capture this international world. Over the last decade, as research has focused more intently on ties between early modern consumers, producers, and distributors in the U.S., Europe, and Africa, the concept of an Atlantic world economic community has eclipsed the mercantilism paradigm. The mercantilist explanation for what kept the early modem economy running is quite straightforward. The kingdoms of Spain, Portugal, Great Britain,and France as well as the Dutch Republic each sought to accumulate wealth through advantageous overseas trading arrangements and colonies, while thwarting the ambitions of their rivals to do the same. America played the role of colony.

When long voyages in sailing vessels were commonplace, scurvy was a major health hazard in mariners of all nations. The observations of James Lind (1716-94) and others indicated that citrus fruits had both a preventive and curative role in this disease. In the light of this work, by 1800 the disease had been virtually eliminated from Britain's Royal Navy. However, it continued in the merchant navies of all nations until the latter half of the 19th century. In 1867, the Merchant Shipping Amendment Act was passed by the British Parliament largely as a result of a concerted effort by the Seamen's Hospital Society (SHS), one of whose physicians, Harry Leach (1836-79) was the major proselytiser for improved conditions in the merchant service. Examination of the SHS records before and after this event demonstrate a marked reduction in the prevalence of scurvy in the Port of London. Although other factors-such as the introduction of steam ships, which resulted in faster voyages-were clearly important, the compulsory administration of genuine lime juice under supervision in the merchant service seems to have exerted a significant effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contests the orthodox view that international economic relations create irreconcilable conflicts of interest among countries related to the complaint that liberal commerce undermines the autonomy of states. Enduring appeal of mercantilism; Discussion of the relationship between the autonomy of states and International trading system; Different perspective of the European Union (EU).

Examines the economic relations among nations. Effects of government intervention on the economy of a nation; Collapse of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; Mercantilism in West Germany.

Looks into the significance of the theory of firm presented in the book 'The Nature of the Firm,' by Ronald Coase. Criticisms on the contribution of Coase to the theory of the firm; Discussion of the competition model in the study of the firm; Intellectual origins in the 18th century debate between mercantilists and free traders.

This article examines the origin of copyright protection in France from the beginning of the seventeenth century to the passing of the first national copyright act in 1793. It traces the evolution of copyright from a simple commercial expedient obtained at a price to safeguard investment in a work of representation into a droit moral freely exercised by genius over its creations. In particular, the article proposes that a central role was played by the Académie as a specifically royal institution in developing a discourse of rights by which to articulate authors' relationship to, and interest in, their work. It concludes that the modern author was the product of mercantilism and the propaganda needs of an absolutist régime rather than of the Republic and commercialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the influence of Pitt's Irish proposals on the Hume-Tucker debate on the relationship between advanced, industrial nations and less-developed, agricultural nations in a relatively free international market. The philosopher, historian and economist, David Hume had argued that under conditions of free trade, wealth would inevitably be transferred from a richer to a poorer state until the wealth of both states were equal. The theory of the automatic mechanism had asserted that the precious metals are distributed in accordance with the requirements of trade, and that, consequently, mercantilist restrictions upon the movement of gold and silver were unavailing.

This article focuses on liberal elements that was present in the period of mercantile system of England, during the period 1500 to 1750. By reasoning from the actual practices of the mercantilist states, economists and historians usually have supposed that the doctrines of the period of mercantilism were a justification of its institutions. None of these impressions about mercantilist doctrine, as distinct from mercantilist practice, is correct. Yet they are unavoidable if the doctrine and the practice are thought to be parts of a unified system. It is the purpose of this essay to re-examine the ideas expressed by the mercantilist writers of England between about 1550 and 1750 in order to show that the mercantilists anticipated many important elements of classical economic doctrine, including the classical conception of self-interest, the price mechanism, the mutual advantage in exchange, and the place of the state in the economic organization. It is not in an obvious way that mercantilist and liberal economic policy are related. What indeed is obvious is the great difference between the measures which each proposed to advance its policy.

The article discusses the mercantilism system of economic policy in the light of the book "Mercantilism," by Eli F. Heckscher. The book is important, not only as an authoritative analysis of mercantilism, but also as an outstanding example of thorough research and sane evaluation. As Heckscher points out, mercantilism was pictured by economist Gustav Schmoller as an economic policy whose purpose was unification. Economist William Cunningham conceived of mercantilism as a system of power. In the first place, mercantilism was a system of economic policy designed to promote unification of the state. In the Middle Ages the claims of the state on the individual had been in conflict with universalism on the one hand and particularism on the other. Mercantilism may be defined as a system of economic policy designed to promote the wealth, and thus the power, of the state through systematic protection of domestic producers. Protection, as this term is used by Heckscher, had as its basis a definite attitude towards goods, which he characterizes as "fear of goods" or the "gospel of high prices."

The article examines the usage of the term, favorable balance of trade, by American economists in light of the origin and development of the expressions favorable and unfavorable balance of trade. It asserts that the impression of mercantilists about the term, such that it implies the advantage of excess commodity exports over commodity exports, is merely conventional and is not a true index of the economic well-being of a country. Several works dealing with the commercial or mercantile system and the balance of trade were analyzed like "The Wealth of Nations," by economist Adam Smith, and the Bullion Report, which identified the balance of trade with the movement of exchange rates.

The article discusses the imperial policy put forth by economist and philosopher Adam Smith which is linked to the mercantile system. Smith wished for an imperial union which involved political integration. It is important to trace the connection which he had in mind between the U.S. and the case for free trade. A look at the development of trade between various European countries and the U.S. makes one realize why Smith's fundamental quarrel with the mercantile can be appreciated. In consequences of various discoveries due to imperialism, the commercial towns of Europe, instead of being the manufacturers and carriers for but a very small part of the world, became the manufacturers for the numerous and thriving cultivators of the U.S. Two new worlds opened to their industry, each of them much greater and more extensive than the old one. One needs to be careful not to define mercantilism as the policy of national protection, for in such a situation the details of Smith's critique would fall to the ground.

Examines key aspects of social and labor productivity and private acquisition. Distinction between productive and unproductive labor; Origins of the distinction between mercantilism and physiocracy; Concept of capital related to the competitive, individualistic and pecuniary organization of business; Productivity of labor.

The article discusses the work of William Petty in the field of economic theory. Petty's economic writings are divided into three chronological groups corresponding to a distinct period in his life and containing books that have a common provocation and common characteristics. The characteristic subject of the first group is taxation. The second group contains his pamphlets entitled "The Political Anatomy of Ireland" and "Political Arithmetic." The third group contains the more numerous but briefer pamphlets. The claim of Petty's writings to economic recognition rests upon the basis of their method and their content. Petty used the statistical method in his writings and he was one of the most extreme among English mercantilists.

A list of books related to economics is presented. They include "Saleswoman in Mercantile Stores," by Elisabeth Beardsley Butler, "An Introduction to the Study of Prices," by W. T. London and "General Constitutional and Statutory Provision Relative to Suffrage," compiled by L. Kendrick and H. P. Salisbury.