This study was begun in 1957 in an academic world which no longer exists. Although some preliminary data have appeared in periodical articles, the author decided to defer publication until sufficient evidence had been accumulated to sustain a general thesis. The central concept was initially influenced by Sylvia Thrupp's seminal work on London and by studies of medieval European history rather than by the Tawney or Annales schools. It has benefited over the past thirty-five years from a dramatic increase in the available sources and the introduction of new techniques and ideas. But the questions originally posed, many of which anticipated more recent fashions, have not changed and the structure of the book is essentially the same as when first planned.

This work, which is intended for both the specialist scholar and the general reader, has been conceived as l'histoire intégrate. It attempts to define the role of business in seventeenth-century England by focusing on the contribution of specific individuals and by reconstructing the whole environment in which they functioned. Although merchants who were active and often resident in global markets, feature prominently, the book attempts to re-create the whole business community, the majority of whose members operated in the domestic economy and in manufacturing as well as distribution. Its primary objective has been to explore both the origins of wealth and the impact of variable economic performance on individuals and families, to establish what changed and what survived in England as compared with other pre-industrial societies.

The approach adopted is entirely analytical and those who wish to understand the inner workings of a particular business over time might consult the author's biography of Sir Dudley North.