Read more
In the eighteenth century, Glasgow and its outports became the dominant force in the highly lucrative tobacco commerce from the Americas to Europe.
This prize-winning book explains why such remarkable success came about against fierce international competition, provides a detailed assessment of the merchant community which made it possible and analyses the close relationship between the tobacco business and the Scottish pathway to a new industrial society. The Tobacco Lords also fully demonstrates the decisive impact of these Scottish traders on the plantation economy and society of colonial North America in general and Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina in particular.
First published in 1975 this pioneering book was acclaimed by reviewers and is still considered the seminal work on the subject.
About the author
Professor Tom Devine, OBE, FBA was educated at Strathclyde University, Glasgow where he graduated with first class honors in History in 1968 followed by a PhD and D.Litt. He rose through the academic ranks from assistant lecturer to Deputy Principal of the University in 1992. In 1998 he accepted the Directorship of the centre for Irish and Scottish Studies at Aberdeen, where he is also Glucksman Professor of Irish & Scottish Studies. In early 2006, he assumed the Sir William Fraser Chair of Scottish History at the University of Edinburgh, widely acknowledged to be the world's premier Chair of Scottish History. In a unique arrangement he will also continue to hold his Aberdeen university professorship. He is the author or editor of some two dozen books including international best seller The Scottish Nation (1999).
Summary
In the eighteenth century, Glasgow and its outports became the dominant force in the highly lucrative tobacco commerce from the Americas to Europe. This prize-winning book explains why such remarkable success came about against fierce international competition. First published in 1975 this book is still considered the seminal work on the subject.
