Baltic Iron in the Atlantic World in the Eighteenth Century (The Atlantic World: Europe, Africa And The Americas, 1500 - 1830, 13)

This book looks at the one of the key commercial links between the Baltic and Atlantic worlds in the eighteenth century - the export of Swedish and Russian iron to Britain - and its role in the making of the modern world. "The eighteenth century is often viewed as the heroic age of the British iron industry - a time of triumphant technological progress. In fact, it was an age of thwarted ambition, when the take-up of new technologies proved frustratingly slow. The eighteenth century was more accurately the age of Baltic iron. Swedish and Russian iron surged onto the British market, meeting the demand that British ironmasters could not satisfy. This was of epochal importance: Swedish iron allowed British steel makers and hardware manufacturers to dominate Atlantic markets. In turn, the rhythms of Atlantic commerce resounded through peasant communities in Sweden. Baltic Iron in the Atlantic World captures this moment. In doing so it internationalises Swedish history in a radical way and presses an oceanic perspective on the traditionally insular view of the rise of heavy industry in Britain."--Jacket Contents 6 Preface 8 List of Maps, Figures, Illustrations, and Tables 12 Abbreviations 16 Chapter One The Warehouse of the World. Commerce and Production in the Early Modern Atlantic World 34 Chapter Two The Topography of the Early Modern Iron Trade, c. 1730 75 Chapter Three The International Iron Trade at a Crossroads: Swedish and British Debates, 1730–1760 249 Chapter Four An Industrial Revolution in Iron—Technology, Organisation and Markets, 1760–1870 283 Conclusion 325 Dramatis Personae 334 Glossary 348 Bibliography 358 1. Unpublished Sources 358 2. Literature 361 Index 378 The Warehouse Of The World : Commerce And Production In The Early Modern Atlantic World -- The Topography Of The Early Modern Iron Trade, C. 1730 -- The International Iron Trade At A Crossroads : Swedish And British Debates, 1730-1760 -- An Industrial Revolution In Iron: Technology, Organisation And Markets, 1760-1870. By Chris Evans, Göran Rydén. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [325]-344) And Index.