Backwoods consumers and homespun capitalists : the rise of a market culture in eastern Canada / Béatrice Craig.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Craig, Béatrice.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rural conditions.

History.

Capitalism.

Rural development.

Madawaska (N.B. : County)--Economic conditions--19th century.

Madawaska (N.B. : County).

Rural development--New Brunswick--Madawaska (County)--History--19th century.

Capitalism--New Brunswick--History--19th century.

New Brunswick--Rural conditions--History--19th century.

New Brunswick.

New Brunswick--Madawaska (County).

Physical Description:

viii, 349 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Toronto : University of Toronto Press, [2009]

Summary:

Geographically, Madawaska was a back-country settlement situated on the frontiers of New England, New Brunswick, and the St Lawrence Valley. However, it was anything but insular or inward looking. It was linked to the outside world not only by its location astride a major communication route, but also by the settlers' web of personal connections, and more importantly, by trade ... The regional economy mattered, and it mattered a lot. It is here that linkages were created and a lasting infrastructure was developed. And it is from here that the local elite emerged. The transformations of the Madawaska economy in the nineteenth century should not be seen in terms of the valley's progressive integration into the Atlantic economy. Madawaska had always been part of it ... The real centre of the story is the local men and women who tried to pursue their own material, psychological, or social advances by making use of all the options available. In the end, development was primarily the result of endogenous forces, and human agency played a not insignificant role in the process. The economy was an extension of the household, not the other way around.

Contents:

Introduction: From 'Market' to Markets: New Trends in Rural Economic and Social History 3

1 People on the Move: Migrations and Networks 23

2 Principal Men 49

3 A Connective Enterprise: Madawaska Lumbering 73

4 Sawmills, Gristmills, and Lumber Manufacture 97

5 General Stores: Capitalism's Beachheads or Local Traffic Controllers? 113

6 A Tale of Two Markets: Frontier Farming 137

7 A Hierarchy of Farmers: Saint John Valley Agriculture 155

8 The Homespun Paradox: Domestic Cloth Production and the Farm Economy 181

9 Consumption and the 'World of Goods' 199.

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references: pages [309]-342.

ISBN:

9780802093172

0802093175

OCLC:

181602806