In English Trade and Adventure to Russia in the Early Modern Era, Maria Salomon Arel revisits Anglo-Russian trade in first half of the seventeenth century. Drawing on largely neglected Russian and English sources, she reconstructs the history of the Muscovy Company in a period of expanding opportunities for foreigners in Russia and of tightening links between regional markets across the globe. In her strongly revisionist telling, the Company successfully rebuilt in the aftermath of the devastating Time of Troubles, securing its uniquely privileged position in the Russian market at the hands of a newly installed tsar and Romanov dynasty keen to revive the country's decimated economy through the stimulus of foreign trade. Meanwhile, on the London end of a trade clearly deemed relevant to commercial and shipping interests increasingly dependent on Russian naval stores and invested in the Russian re-export trades to and from the Mediterranean and Asia, the Company restructured its organization and finances with crucial royal support in furtherance of the 'public good' and early Stuart dynastic honor. As Arel documents, by the 1630s-40s, English trade to Russia was flourishing, as seen in the growing number of Muscovy Company men active all along the Moscow-Archangel route, their substantial commercial infrastructure, extensive supply networks among a broad swath of Russian merchants and traders, and prominent role in the exploitation of monopoly trades established to fill the tsar's coffers with specie. The picture drawn by Arel overturns a traditional narrative on the Russia trade that has relegated the English to the shadows, demonstrating the tenacity and continued development of their enterprise at the intersection of English commercial expansion, Russian economic growth, and advancing globalization processes. Taking the narrative even further, the book opens up new perspectives and research directions by pointing to an incipient link between the Russian and transatlantic markets, while shifting the lens on the Anglo-Dutch relationship in the Russia trade away from the time-worn dichotomy of cutthroat competition to a more nuanced understanding of mutual cooperation and business association between merchants on the ground, even in the face of commercial and territorial competition between nations.
Maria Salomon Arel teaches in the Department of History at Marianopolis College.
Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Chapter One: Weathering the Storm: The Russia Trade in the First Two Decades of the Seventeenth Century Chapter Two: Turning the Corner: The 'New' Muscovy Company Emerges Chapter Three: The Russia Merchants and Their Trade Partners, 1620s-40s: From London to Moscow Chapter Four: An Enterprise Recovered: The Russia Trade, 1620s-40s Chapter Five: The English Quest for Justice in Russia Chapter Six: Of Foes, Fraud, and Friends in the Russia Trade Chapter Seven: The End of an Era in the Russia Trade Conclusion Appendix Bibliography About the Author
Maria Salomon Arel's monograph presents a fascinating study of English trading activities in Russia, charting the course of the Muscovy Company's ventures amidst the turbulent times of the seventeenth century. It challenges the traditional narrative of the Muscovy Company's commercial decline in the face of ascendant Dutch competition, and draws on the rich source material of British and Russian archives, including the neglected (literally) London Port Books, to show that the English were not merely surviving but thriving in the early years of the Romanov rule. . . . Arel presents a compelling and captivating narrative of the success and importance of the Muscovy Company's trade in seventeenth-century Russia. Confronting the outdated (and often unsupported) assumptions of the traditional narrative, Arel skillfully shapes her argument armed with an impressive arsenal of archival material. The monograph, which took the long road to completion, is exemplary of a great work of history. Scholars and students of early modern trade and adventure, merchant diasporas, and Anglo-Russian relations will find it of immense interest. * Journal of British Studies * This book forcefully and convincingly argues for the importance of the English trade in Russia in the first half of the seventeenth century. It shows that the English Muscovy Company thrived in the Russian market in the period after the Time of Troubles, despite stiff competition with the Dutch, and sometimes in close collaboration with them. The author tells a story that is begging to be told, with flare and accuracy, in engaging prose, and relying on a very impressive primary source base from English and Russian archives. -- Nikolaos Chrissidis, Southern Connecticut State University Based upon original research in both English and Russian archives, Maria Salomon Arel, English Trade and Adventure to Russia in the Early Modern Era: The Muscovy Company, 1603-1649 superbly analyzes the often underestimated history of English merchants in Muscovy in the first half of the seventeenth century through the lens of an informed appreciation of both English and Russian history within the much broader, conceptually sophisticated and entirely convincing context of globalizing world commerce from the New World to the Old, not only from Massachusetts to England to Russia, but also to the Mediterranean, the Levant, and Asia. Thus this excellent and impressive monograph will interest not only specialists in early modern English and Russian history, but all historians studying early modern international trade and world history. -- Charles J. Halperin, Independant Scholar In this splendid book, Maria Salomon Arel completely rewrites the history of Russian-English trade relations in the seventeenth century. She upends the accepted narrative about the demise of the English trade monopoly and the triumph of Dutch merchants in the first half of the seventeenth century. Equally at home in the English and Russian sources, and drawing on previously untouched material from Russian archives, she conveys a multidimensional picture of the people, politics, and economic considerations that motivated negotiations and maneuvers on both sides. Further, she uncovers an unsuspected story of Russia's dynamic participation in the burgeoning global trade networks of the early modern period. Traditionally written off as an isolationist backwater unfriendly to trade, Muscovy emerges in Arel's clear, lively account as an active player in networks of global exchange. Populated with a spectacular cast of characters and full of surprises, this book offers a fun, fascinating and up-to-date reassessment of Russia's place in the early modern world. -- Valerie A. Kivelson, University of Michigan Based on a treasure trove of underutilized and previously unknown archival documents in both Moscow and London, Maria Salomon Arel has given us an exciting new study of genuine originality. Her book does what the most important and influential works of history do: tackles a neglected topic, revises old narratives, introduces new sources, and presents it all with elegant prose and powerful argumentation. This book will not only fill a lacuna in the history of the Muscovy Company in the early seventeenth century-reason enough to consider it an important contribution-it will shine new light on a range of topics in early modern Russian, English, Dutch, Mediterranean, and Near Eastern economic and diplomatic history. The book is a triumph of scholarship-the product of a careful and imaginative historian. -- Russell E. Martin, Westminster College Arel's book deals with the heretofore neglected topic of English-Russian trade relations during the first half of the seventeenth century. She refutes what has been the prevailing notion among historians that England's Muscovy Company was failing during that time. Instead, as the result of extensive research into both English and Russian archives, she finds a vibrant, profitable enterprise that benefited from the privilege of full duty-free trade in Russia, a privilege that not only did no other foreign competitor have but also no Russian merchant had either. When Tsar Aleksei expelled the Muscovy Company from Russia in 1649, it was among the most successful foreign enterprises in Russia. Trading companies are being seen more and more within the scholarship as creating significant international connecting links. Professor Arel's book provides extensive evidence that rectifies a long-held misconception about England's Russia trade, as well as contributes in a major way to our understanding of international trade in general within a pre-global world economy. -- Donald Ostrowski, Harvard University Arel's book provides a fine-grained analysis of trade practices, networks and litigations of English merchants in seventeenth-century Russia, as well as a bird's-eye view of how Muscovy Company goods and traders participated in global commerce from Mystic, -- Nancy S. Kollmann, English Historical Review
