Worlds Turned Upside Down Episode 8: The Trade
Jun 8, 2024
Join Emma Hart, a historian focused on early American marketplaces, Ann Smart Martin, an expert in material culture, Hannah Knox Tucker, a maritime commerce historian, and Hannah Farber, who specializes in financial history. They dive into the complexities of 18th-century trade, exploring the tension between public good and profit while outlining the critical role of marine insurance. The discussion reveals how enslaved labor supported lucrative exports and how women navigated the commerce landscape, making significant contributions behind the scenes.
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Suki's Mirror Purchase
- Suki, an enslaved woman, bought ribbon and a small looking glass in John Hook's Virginia store in February 1774 using four pounds of cotton as payment.
- Records list her as property of Richard Stith and later as "Old Suki," highlighting how enslaved people appear in archives only in fragments.
Commerce As Imperial Strategy
- British officials after the Seven Years' War saw trade and colonies as central to national power and envisioned an arranged imperial economy.
- Thomas Pownall argued the mother country must direct colonies so profits and markets flow back to Britain.
Navigation Acts Centralized Trade
- The Navigation Acts legally bound colonial trade to British ships, crews, and ports to centralize commercial benefits in Britain.
- These laws required certain colonial commodities to pass through England and be inspected and taxed first.
