Merchants [ Commerce ]
… also became centres of trading information. They were themselves a by-product of England’s trade with the Ottoman Empire, and by 1737 there were over 500 coffeehouses in London. Information and connections gathered in these spaces … merchants and factors on the ground, but simultaneously complained of the lack of information they received in return. Empires were managed at a distance and ‘companies were commonwealths constructed by the social networks of their …
Commerce | Merchants | Middling sort | North America | Politeness
Encyclopedia