Author Description

This book is the first study to consider the relationship between a single commodity and its consumers. The popular fashion for Indian calicos in the seventeenth century and the genesis of the British cotton industry in the eighteenth century reflected new consumer forces at work within Britain. The East India trade encouraged new patterns of domestic demand, patterns which were not eradicated even with the prohibition of most Indian fabrics in 1721. Parliamentarians and clergy decried the spread of popular fashions that diminished visible social distinctions and undercut traditional manufactures. Nevertheless, the demand for cottons persisted, supporting Britain's cotton manufacturers. Beginning with the East Indian commerce and ending with the thriving industrial production of British manufacturers, this study assesses the social and economic factors of fashion and commerce which sustained the cotton trade for over 140 years.