"Taking time seriously": An empirical approach to an American merchant network at the end of the 18th century

Network analysis tends to produce snapshots of structures that can seem permanent, not affected by time or change. Still, time matters in network history, and the observation of its effects is an issue. This paper explores way to assess the evolution of an American merchant network of the end of the...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Bissieres, Louis (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Université du Luxembourg 2023
Dans: Journal of historical network research
Année: 2023, Volume: 8, Pages: 56-90
Sujets non-standardisés:B Accounting
B merchant networks
B multilayer analysis
B Temporal network analysis
B economic history of Early America
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Description
Résumé:Network analysis tends to produce snapshots of structures that can seem permanent, not affected by time or change. Still, time matters in network history, and the observation of its effects is an issue. This paper explores way to assess the evolution of an American merchant network of the end of the eighteenth century. It builds on a database of transactions recorded in Levi Hollingsworth’s account books. Here, we develop a comparative analysis of five successive networks, through the use of some classical and some more innovative network metrics. We specifically question the stability of merchant networks in their composition and in their overall structure. We establish that, despite an intense turnover of members, they remained stable in their organization through time.
ISSN:2535-8863
Contient:Enthalten in: Journal of historical network research
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.25517/jhnr.v8i1.142