This thesis explores the networks of British private trade based in the Arabian Seas, between c.1680 and c.1760, with a focus on the period between 1700 and 1740. It draws from the extensive records of the East India Company and numerous collections of private papers to look at how this mercantile trade was shaped, organised and constrained by the particular circumstances of the western Indian Ocean region. The unusual constellation of economic and political factors within the world of the Arabian Seas affected British private trade in significant ways during the pre-colonial period: political turmoil, piracy and commercial competition placed constraints on the successful operation of commerce. Shifting regional dynamics also underpinned the growth and greater success of private trade in the second half of the period under review. The thesis is therefore concerned with how British merchants conducted trade as part of a global commercial empire, whilst remaining embedded in specific local economic and political settings. Challenging and moving beyond existing work that has concentrated on the Bay of Bengal and Coromandel Coast regions, this study emphasises the regional specificity and unevenness of the British private trade system across maritime Asia. It makes use of, and builds upon, a number of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches from recent work on maritime trade and early modern merchant networks in both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:582260 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Davies, Timothy |
| Publisher | University of Warwick |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/56346/ |
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