The British and the Spanish had long been in conflict; often clashing over politics; trade; and religion. But in the early decades of the eighteenth century; these empires signed an asiento agreement granting the British South Sea Company a monopoly on the slave trade in the Spanish Atlantic; opening up a world of uneasy collaboration. British agents of the Company moved to cities in the Caribbean and West Indies; where they braved the unforgiving tropical climate and hostile religious environment in order to trade slaves; manufactured goods; and contraband with Spanish colonists. In the process; British merchants developed relationships with the Spanish—both professional and; at times; personal.The Temptations of Trade traces the development of these complicated relationships in the context of the centuries-long imperial rivalry between Spain and Britain. Many British Merchants; in developing personal ties to the Spanish; were able to collect potentially damaging information about Spanish imperial trade; military defenses; and internal conflict. British agents juggled personal friendships with national affiliation—and; at the same time; developed a network of illicit trade; contraband; and piracy extending beyond the legal reach of the British South Sea Company and often at the Company's direct expense.Ultimately; the very smuggling through which these empires unwittingly supported each other led to the resumption of Anglo-Spanish conflict; as both empires cracked down on the actions of traders within the colonies. The Temptations of Trade reveals the difficulties of colonizing regions far from strict imperial control; where the actions of individuals could both connect empires and drive them to war.
#1414101 in Books 2014-03-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.09 x .92 x 5.98l; 1.35 #File Name: 0812223063384 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great overview of how evangelicalism got to where we are now!By Karl N. GoodmanThis book filled in a lot of gaps for me. I really appreciated the coverage of Jim Wallis and Sojourners as well as the chapter on the Carter presidency.2 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Quite wordyBy Elizabeth DI finally gave up and skipped some of the biographical writing just to get to the point. I did find an answer to my question; "Can I be a Christian and a Democrat too." Interesting history.15 of 15 people found the following review helpful. The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Evangelical LeftBy Marty Troyer (The Peace PastorThe right story told at the right time can make all the difference. Knowing this; great storytellers take as much care in selecting the right story as they do in crafting its telling. David Swartz; author and historian at Asbury University; has done just that in his newly released book; Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism.This is a story many of us didn't know we wanted and needed to read; a story many didn't know existed. It's a story "chronicling the rise; decline; and legacy of the evangelical left."But it's so much more than that. It's the story of what it looks like to merge progressive politics with deep personal piety; the story of "holistic concern for both evangelism and social action;" the story of a full 1/3 of evangelicals who do not find their voice in the religious right; the story of an awakening to social concern and the presence of social evil; it's the story of evangelical politics which very much could have taken a profoundly progressive shape; it's the story of a deeply diverse evangelicalism unwilling to fit neatly into caricatures; and its the story of what it might look like to love both God and neighbor with equal abandon.This is a good story.The bulk of the book seeks to sort from whence such a progressivism comes; weaving individual and organizational narratives into the whole; with chapters on Carl Henry and Neo-Evangelical Social Engagement; John Alexander and Racial Justice; Jim Wallis and Vietnam; Mark Hatfield and Electoral Politics; Sharon Gallagher and Spiritual Community; Samuel Escobar and the Gblobal perspective; Richard Mouw and Evangelical Politics; and Ron Sider and Economics. Each chapter; itself a story; is fantastic.His chapter on John Alexander and Racial Justice was particularly helpful for me in Houston; as I've tried to navigate our own entrenched racialized landscape. Indicative of the larger story; this chapter develops a slow-coming shift from defining racism in strictly personal terms to a broader socialized definition. In addressing racism in the US and in evangelical churches; they found that "converting souls by itself could not sufficiently level the terrain." It was time to start "tackling racism on a structural level."Like all good stories; Moral Minority allows you to see yourself it its pages. After all; the Houston church today continues to dialogue (or debate!) on incredibly similar lines. This is our story; unfolding (again) before our eyes. And in doing so; it becomes deeply meaningful.Swartz; in what was for me quite helpful; concludes that "Evangelicalism is not inherently conservative; nor universally fixed to individual solutions to social problems." He goes on to inspire hope that we may find "fundamentally unstable" the current evangelical alliance with all things politically conservative. All of this leaves me craving a new question; What if the church were more known to be for Houston than it was known for what it was against? Perhaps we still can be.
