The Smugglers’ World: Illicit Trade and Atlantic Communities in Eighteenth-Century Venezuela, by Jesse Cromwell

摘要

The Smugglers’ World: Illicit Trade and Atlantic Communities in EighteenthCenturyVenezuela is a deeply impressivework of social history.Jesse Cromwell’s vivid accounting of the era is meticulous and exhaustive. Over the course of eight richly-documented chapters, as well as a prologue, introduction, and conclusion, he argues that illicit trade shaped every aspect of Venezuelan society, from its economic fortunes to social and legal practices in the colony. He chronicles the tug of war between Spanish imperial officials who tried to prevent, or at least mitigate, contraband trading and Venezuelans of all backgrounds who resisted these attempts to meddle with the delicate and complex political economy to which they were accustomed.