God, Duty and Community in English Economic Life, 1660-1720

The English economy underwent profound changes in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, yet the worldly affairs of ordinary people continued to be shaped as much by popular ideals and moral codes as by material conditions. This book explores the economic implications of many of the key concepts, including Christian stewardship, divine providence, patriarchal power, paternal duty, local community, and collective identity. Brodie Waddell draws on hundreds of contemporary texts - ranging from ballads and pamphlets to pauper petitions and guild regulations - to show that such ideas pervaded every aspect of social and economic relations during this key period. By exploiting this wide variety of sources, he ultimately demonstrates the vibrancy and diversity of early modern 'moral economies'. As a result, the book also reveals the inadequacy of many previous discussions of English economic life, which have ignored or dismissed the influence of cultural factors. Indeed, Waddell argues that certain fundamental beliefs remained the frame through which people viewed food marketing, labour relations, land use, poor relief, and many other 'earthly' concerns. This analysis of later Stuart economic culture can thus contribute significantly to our understanding of early modern society. BRODIE WADDELL is Early Career Fellow at the Faculty of History, Unversity of Cambridge.

Brodie Waddell is Leverhulme Early Career fellow at the University of Cambridge. He has published on preaching, local government, the landscape and other aspects of early modern society.