'An Exact and Industrious Tradesman'

The letters of Joseph Symson provide a rare glimpse into the public and private life of an inland merchant who was also a member of England's urban elite. The volume reveals how Symson organised his trade and attempted to organise his family. It details his responses to the political, economic, and religious uncertainties of the early years of the eighteenth century. These letters portray both a closely-knit society of north west mercantile families based on regional affiliation and kinship; and a wider world of trade increasingly integrated with the economies of England, Ireland and Scotland - a world linked to the expansion of the Atlantic economy.