Page xi →Acknowledgments

Like the business of the eighteenth-century merchants who populate this book, writing it has been a hugely rewarding enterprise. And, to push the analogy a little further, in the process I’ve run up many outstanding debts to colleagues and friends who have made the book possible.

Special thanks must go to Perry Gauci for his tireless enthusiasm, insight, and generosity. He really is a “conscientious, vigilant and accessible man of action,” as he has defined the archetypal eighteenth-century merchant. At Oxford University the Rothermere American Institute is an exceptional place to study America and its relations with the world, and it has been a wonderful academic home. I am very grateful to colleagues at the RAI for their advice and encouragement, in particular its outstanding directors Nigel Bowles and Jay Sexton, and Gareth Davies, Pekka Hämäläinen, and Stephen Tuck. Each year one of America’s great historians visits as Harmsworth Professor, and I am grateful to all of them who have shared ideas and recommendations, in particular Peter Onuf and Philip Morgan. Peter Thompson and Betty Wood also gave invaluable feedback on my thesis. Experts in British history have helped fill many gaps in my knowledge of the “mother country” and opened up new lines of enquiry, and I am especially grateful to Bob Harris, Joanna Innes, Erica Charters, Stephen Hague, and Benjamin Heller for their advice and recommendations. The camaraderie of RAI’s graduate community, especially Ken Owen, Will Pettigrew, David Sim, Joe Merton, Ursula Hackett, Tom Packer, Sebastian Page, and Steve Tuffnell, too helped make this a thoroughly enjoyable project.

I benefited from the friendliness, helpfulness, and expertise of staff in all the libraries where I spent time doing research for this project. Top of the list must be Jane Rawson and her colleagues—Judy Warden, Martin Sutcliffe, Johanna O’Connor, and Richard Purkiss—at the Vere Harmsworth Library in Oxford for tracking down books and innumerable visits to the stacks on my behalf. This book would also not have been possible without the assistance of librarians at the South Caroliniana Library in Columbia, the South Carolina Historical Society in Charleston, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, the National Archives in London, and the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Graham Duncan and Brian Cuthrell at the South Caroliniana, Mary Jo Fairchild at the S.C. Historical Society, and Juan Gomez at the Huntington merit special mention for making their institutions such welcoming places.

Research led me to many new and fascinating places. I’ve been blessed with great hospitality on my travels. First and foremost, Vennie Deas-Moore and Page xii →Keith Moore have been wonderful hosts, making Columbia, S.C., a home away from home; thanks too to Joe Renouard in Charleston, and to Louise McLaren and Phil Killingley, and Gavin Pape for accommodation and good company on visits to the National Archives in southwest London.

Financially, grants from the Arts and Humanities Research Council made my research possible, supplemented by an invaluable writing-up scholarship from the Rothermere American Institute. I am grateful to both institutions for their assistance, and at the RAI for the support and encouragement of Vyvyan and Alexandra Harmsworth, David and Maria Willetts, Nicolas Ollivant, and the anonymous donor who funded my writing-up grant. Travel awards from Lincoln College, Oxford; the College of Charleston; and the Huntington Library have been vital in supporting visits to far-flung archives.

I was honored to receive the Hines Prize for the manuscript of this book in 2015. I am very grateful to Carolina Lowcountry and the Atlantic World Program at the College of Charleston and the prize committee for reading my work and awarding me the prize, and in particular to Samuel Hines for so generously creating the prize. Thanks go also to Bill Adams, Linda Fogle and their colleagues at the University of South Carolina Press and especially the two anonymous readers whose insightful comments on the manuscript have much improved it.

Friends have listened patiently and with apparent interest to my stories of historical detective work. A special mention here to Seth and Kate Sinclair, Robert and Laura Burley, and David and Carin Peller-Semmens. Louisa Hotson injected love, laughter, and irrepressible enthusiasm into the final push. Finally, and above all, the love and support of my parents, Rhys and Susan David, have been instrumental. Early trips to castles, churches, and museums laid the foundations for a fascination with history and proved to be time very well spent. For that, and for so much else, I will always be grateful.