During the 1980s and 1990s questions concerning the nature of early modern European consumption have increasingly become the object of critical focus for historians, cultural theorists, and readers interested in the history of material cultures. Why did such changes arise? Did they create a consumer society in the 18th century? What relationships did they bear to the Industrial Revolution, to colonialism, and to modernization in general. In this book, historian Woodruff Smith focuses on the radical alterations that occurred between 1600 and 1800 in European consumption of commodities produced...

During the 1980s and 1990s questions concerning the nature of early modern European consumption have increasingly become the object of critical focus for historians, cultural theorists, and readers interested in the history of material cultures. Why did such changes arise? Did they create a consumer society in the 18th century? What relationships did they bear to the Industrial Revolution, to colonialism, and to modernization in general. In this book, historian Woodruff Smith focuses on the radical alterations that occurred between 1600 and 1800 in European consumption of commodities produced...