ABSTRACT

Questions concerning the relationships and boundaries between 'private' business and 'public' government are of great and perennial concern to economists, economic and business historians, political scientists and historians.Conceiving Companies discusses the birth and development of joint-stock companies in 19th century England, an area of great importance to the history of this subject. Alborn takes a new approach to the rise of large scale companies in Victorian England, including the Bank of England and East India Company and Victorian railways, locating their origins in political and social practice. He offers a new perspective on an issue of great significance, not only for historians, but for political scientists and economists.

part I|64 pages

Sovereign Companies

chapter 2|32 pages

Democratic Despot

The East India Company, 1783–1858

chapter 3|30 pages

Reluctant Sovereign

The Bank of England, 1797–1875

part II|88 pages

Joint-Stock Banks

chapter 4|31 pages

"Representatives of the People"

The politics of joint-stock banking, 1826–44

chapter 5|25 pages

Shifting Gears

The rise of deposit banking, 1844–80

chapter 6|30 pages

"Doing Enormous Things"

National banks, 1880–1914

part III|90 pages

Railways