Call for Papers for a one-day workshop in Rotterdam/Amsterdam, entitled:
“Navigating the Atlantic Revolutions:
Merchants, Bankers, and the Resilience of the Atlantic Economies, 1775-1825.”
It is nearly 70 years ago that Robert Palmer, Jacques Godechot, and Pieter Geyl formulated the Atlantic thesis as a conceptual framework for understanding the political and international crises that affected states across the Atlantic world in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Since then, much scholarly work has been published to advance the understanding of this era. However, most research is focused on domestic and international politics. Much work remains to be done on how the Atlantic Revolutions affected the economies and economic actors of the Atlantic world.
The Atlantic Revolutions had a severe impact on the Atlantic economies. Revolution and war forced a shift from peace time economy to war time economy. The fiscal state was harnessed to finance war, but often found inadequate, necessitating resource mobilisation on the capital markets and resource extraction through plunder, requisitioning, the confiscation of revenue streams, and the imposition of indemnities. Over time, two rival political blocs emerged in Europe, a coalition headed by France, and an anti-French coalition, with economic regulation increasingly transforming these political blocs into self-sustaining, mutually exclusive economic zones, which spilled over into the Atlantic world.
For economic actors, the Atlantic Revolutions dislocated established patterns of trade, they disrupted capital markets, they impeded access to markets and overseas territories, and they increased the political risks of doing business. Yet, the increased demands for war making resources, capital, and financial mediation also offered new opportunities. This workshop explores how economic actors responded to the challenges and opportunities unleashed by the Atlantic Revolutions.
Papers could address, but are not limited to the following questions:
- What specific obstacles and opportunities did economic actors face, and how did they adapt?
- How were economic or financial institutions employed or repurposed to navigate the changing economic environment?
- How did governments and rulers try to shape the responses of economic actors to the economic changes resulting from political upheaval.
- How did the age of the Atlantic Revolutions affect risk assessment and mitigation strategies?
- How did the Atlantic Revolutions affect strategies of succession and expansion?
- How did the Atlantic Revolutions change how economic actors viewed the future?
- How did economic actors resist the economic changes resulting from the Atlantic Revolutions?
- How did the Atlantic Revolutions affect the relationship between economic actors and political actors?
- How did the Atlantic Revolutions affect economic dogma and thought?
Papers can explore responses in the Atlantic economies from the perspective of any state or region. The economic actor under examination could include:
- Individual merchants and bankers.
- Merchant and banking houses.
- Economic and financial networks.
- Chartered companies.
- Economic and financial institutions.
To submit a paper proposal, please send the title of the paper, an abstract of about 300 words, a bio, and a short CV to: Mark Edward Hay (hay@eshcc.eur.nl) and Niccolò Valmori (niccolo.valmori@eui.eu). The deadline for proposals is 15 January 2025. You will hear back from the organisers before the end of January 2025. Some funding is available, which we aim to allocate on a needs basis after all papers have been accepted.
The workshop is scheduled for Friday 6 June 2025. The workshop will be held in-person. The organisers are Dr Mark Edward Hay (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and Dr Niccolò Valmori (European University Institute). For more information, please contact them directly.
The proceedings of the workshop will be published as an edited volume. Funding will be sought for open access publication. All participants to the workshop are expected to submit their paper for inclusion in the edited volume. Contributions of the workshop must thus consist of original research close to the theme of the workshop.
