Merchants and Revolution details the transformation of English commerce in the century after 1550, examining in particular the activities of London's merchant community during the early Stuart period. In a major reinterpretation of long-term commercial change, Robert Brenner explains the factors behind the opening of long-distance commerce to the South and East, describing how the great city merchants wielded power to exploit emerging business opportunities. The author also profiles the new colonial traders, who became the chief architects of the Commonwealth's dynamic commercial policy.