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The openness of the London Goldsmiths’ Company in the second half of the seventeenth century: an empirical study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 May 2016

Raphaelle Schwarzberg
Raphaelle Schwarzberg*
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
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Abstract

In this article, we analyse geographical, occupational and kinship ties amongst apprentices and their masters of the London Goldsmiths’ Company in the second half of the seventeenth century, at a time when the profession was undergoing radical change, thus forming the cradle of British banking. Systematic comparisons of social capital of the guild's two subgroups (the ‘Bankers’ and the ‘Craftsmen and Retailers’) show few such ties at entry and only slightly more amongst office-holders. Overall, ‘Bankers’ display slightly greater social ties in the company overall. Hypotheses for such patterns are discussed, including activity specificity, wealth and position in the guild and households’ economic strategies. The article calls for a household-based approach to economic choices as opposed to one focusing on the guild.

Keywords

guildsocial tiesgoldsmith bankingLondontrainingtrade continuity

JEL classification

N83: Europe: Pre-1913 N23: Europe: Pre-1913 N33: Europe: Pre-1913
Type
Articles
Information
Financial History Review , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , August 2016 , pp. 245 - 271
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Copyright
Copyright © European Association for Banking and Financial History e.V. 2016 

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