Essays in speculation and trade in the long nineteenth century

These markets, at the time, formed influential empires, with complex trade flows, and fruitful opportunities for investment, attracting merchants, traders, and speculators. Realms of speculative activity developed, leading to economic cycles involving the formation and bursting of bubbles.

Speculative markets were also shaped by governments, striving for control over the forces that were driving trade. Speculation involved great certainty about the potential of investments, but also uncertainty – both tendencies were communicated and reflected in the press and narratives of the time. This thesis is divided into three chapters, which examine different aspects of, and nations involved in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century speculation and trade.