“Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship in the Early Modern World” Leiden, Netherlands

In September Felicia travelled to the Netherlands to take part in a one-day workshop organised by Prof Catia Antunes (Leiden) and Dr Edmond Smith (Manchester). As they explained: “Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship sit, often uncomfortably, at the heart of many historical traditions interested in imperial expansion, economic development or technological change. Often presented as agents of change, entrepreneurs can be all too easily caricatured as people ahead of their time, the visionaries who embraced new ideas early and had the guts and gifts needed to make a profit and change the future. Conversely, they are the profit-driven projectors and grifters who, often through corrupt or dishonest means, conned their way into wealth to the disadvantage of the societies around them.” The workshop was hence a space to share work in progress in order to develop more nuanced ideas of how such individuals and their networks shaped the early modern world.

An exciting group of speakers presented case studies ranging from the opium and slave trades and European finance and investment banking, to Sri Lankan plantation holders, the Portuguese presence on the coast of early modern Ghana, Japanese Entrepreneurs in the Pacific, Dutch businessmen in the Scramble for Africa, and finally to broader questions about accountability, trans-imperial networks, political economy, and, in Felicia’s own paper, about the role of mobile expertise and capital in early modern European expansion.

 A superb day of discussions finished with a great dinner and drinks – thank you Catia and Edmond for the generous invitation and fantastic time!