Going to Market

Going to Market rethinks women’s contributions to the early modern commercial economy. A number of previous studies have focused on whether or not the early modern period closed occupational opportunities for women. By attending to women’s everyday business practices, and not merely to their position on the occupational ladder, this book shows that they could take advantage of new commercial opportunities and exercise a surprising degree of economic agency. Through an investigation of a broad range of primary sources the study reconstructs how women did business and negotiated with male householders, authorities, customers, and competitors.