Merchants [ Commerce ]
… of merchants is also associated with the widening of the middling section of society. Somewhere between the gentry and aristocracy and the laboring sorts were the ‘middling sorts’, those who worked but ideally did not get their hands dirty. … and luxury goods stimulated Britain’s own manufacture of products which extended beyond the typical markets of the aristocracy to different sections of society. 11 Merchants were central to these social, economic and cultural changes. …
Commerce | Merchants | Middling sort | North America | Politeness
Encyclopedia