Silent Partners
Women as Public Investors during Britain's Financial Revolution, 1690-1750
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:13th Oct '16
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Silent Partners restores women to their place in the story of England's Financial Revolution. Women were active participants in London's first stock market beginning in the 1690s and continuing through the eighteenth century. Whether playing the state lottery, investing in government funds for retirement, or speculating in company stocks, women regularly comprised between a fifth and a third of public investors. These female investors ranged from London servants to middling tradeswomen, up to provincial gentlewomen and peeresses of the realm. Amy Froide finds that there was no single female investor type, rather some women ran risks and speculated in stocks while others sought out low-risk, low-return options for their retirement years. Not only did women invest for themselves, their financial knowledge and ability meant that family members often relied on wives, sisters, and aunts to act as their investing agents. Moreover, women's investing not only benefitted themselves and their families, it also aided the nation. Women's capital was a critical component of Britain's rise to economic, military, and colonial dominance in the eighteenth century. Focusing on the period between 1690 and 1750, and utilizing women's account books and financial correspondence, as well as the records of joint stock companies, the Bank of England, and the Exchequer, Silent Partners provides the first comprehensive overview of the significant role women played in the birth of financial capitalism in Britain.
Froide adds to an important burgeoning literature that suggests that, far from being passive responders to capitalism, blown in the wind by its rough nature, women were actively involved. Whatever you think about capitalism, this new understanding of the past demands a reassessment of the way we think about the interactions between capitalism and gender. Coming back to earth, it also offers some of those all-important role models for our daughters today. * Victoria Bateman, Times Higher Education Supplement *
an exciting and engaging picture of investment practices, strategies and behaviours which seamlessly weaves together various highly representative case studies that demonstrate women did not necessarily avoid financial risk and that their investments in both government and various companies contributed towards Britain as a nation during these years, whatever their personal situation. * Lizzie Rogers, Women's History Review *
illuminating ... The case studies within Silent Partners are plentiful and vivid, and do an excellent job of bringing these women to life. Financially, at least, they come across as thoroughly modern. The scenarios also highlight the disparity between these women's sophisticated investment ideas and the laws of the day. * Rachel Pine, The Bulletin *
Silent Partners is one of those books which is full of gems. It makes the reader think, and then scribble down copious notes. It will be a fine addition to any financial history collection, and is full of detail about the lives of the women chosen as case studies. * Helen Paul, Reviews in History *
- Winner of Winner of the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women 2018 Book Award.
ISBN: 9780198767985
Dimensions: 240mm x 163mm x 18mm
Weight: 490g
240 pages