Oceans of Wine

David Hancock's survey of the Madeira trade between 1640 and 1815 seeks to make a major contribution to the history of the ‘evolution of Atlantic economy and society’ and thus to the history of early capitalism (p. 399). Indeed, its major contribution is to be both an economic and cultural history that focuses not just on producers and consumers but also considers distributors in this emerging form of economic system. Accordingly, the book is divided into three sections: the first section looks at the production of Madeira wine on the small Portuguese island; the second, at the distribution of Madeira which extended into America, Europe, India and beyond; and the third, at the consumption of Madeira and other wines, chiefly in Anglo-America. At first glance, the geographical and temporal span of this (admittedly lengthy) book might, therefore, seem overly ambitious. Certainly, the analytical sweep is breathtaking, although the focus of the book turns out to be somewhat narrower, with Hancock directing most of his attention to the period between the Seven Years War and the early decades of the nineteenth century. Furthermore, although he seeks to take account of producers, distributors and consumers, Hancock's analysis really comes alive when he concentrates on the distributors, who might even be described as the heroes of this story of early capitalism

Capitalism · Consumption (sociology · Economic history · Economics · Economy · Political science · Portuguese · Social science · Sociology · Taste · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · History of Science and Medicine · Law