Merchants [ Commerce ]
… with fortunes between £500 and £5000. 3 Sometimes, however, the income of merchants could match or supersede that of gentlemen. The distinction between gentlemen and merchant was a fluid one. Social mobility worked both ways and saw gentlemen move into business and merchants move into gentry through land acquisition. In his novel Moll Flanders , Daniel …
Commerce | Merchants | Middling sort | North America | Politeness
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