1. How and why did Samuel Jeake diversify his economic activities?
The surviving financial accounts of Samuel Jeake are unique, because they provide the historian with
an in-depth first-hand account of the economic activity of an early modern merchant-capitalist.
While the documentation of Samuel’s life is well detailed, it does not mean the information is
necessarily accurate. As Grassby notes, early modern private ledgers were not regulated, which left
them liable to conceal the rate of return on an investment.1
Similarly the historian should be
cautious of the fact that most merchants did not distinguish between commercial investments and
private expenditure, making it difficult to accurately judge the profitability of trading.2
Nevertheless,
the sources provide rich contextual information which can be used to understand some of the risks
involved Early Modern trade, and the way in which risk led to diversification of economic activity.
The risks related to economic activity were endless, but it is possible to highlight a few hazards
which arguably posed the greatest threat to Samuel.3
These include religious persecution,
problematic credit chains and good reputation, the fluctuation of the price goods, and war. These
risks can be considered typical of the problems encountered by some 17th
and 18th
century traders,
despite the fact that Samuel was not the typical merchant.
One risk which Samuel encountered was the confiscation of goods as a result of religious
persecution. Prior to the Glorious Revolution in 1688, Catholics and non-conformists like Samuel
were the victim of a number of techniques which attempted to create uniformity of religion by
punishing dissenters. In 1681, Samuel entrusted his friend with £126 and 18 packs of wool, which
was seized by the Officers of Romney Marsh; this is a good example of the way non-secular beliefs
threatened the ability of Puritans like Samuel to trade effectively without risk.4
In this event, Samuel
was fortunate to have a trustworthy friend who returned his loss. Indeed, being able to trust people
was a core priority of Samuel’s, and is closely linked to the complex chains of credit merchants were
invested in.
As Muldrew has shown, the scarcity of money meant that almost all transactions throughout the 17th
century were based on credit, and as a result, having a good reputation was absolutely necessary.5
In light of the fact that one could not operate without a good reputation, the risks associated with
complex chains of credit go beyond the loss at face value, I.E, the immediate financial loss. If one’s
reputation was injured, it could make trading on credit difficult because of the lack of trust. However
it was not uncommon for creditors and merchants like Samuel to be kept waiting long periods
before they received payment for goods. For example in 1683 we see evidence of Samuel
attempting to collect a debt on wool which he had credited before that summer, but had failed to
receive payment thrice.6
Nevertheless, risk associated with providing credit was potentially levelled
1
Richard Grassby, ‘The rate of profit in seventeenth-century England’, The English Historical Review, Vol.84,
No.333 (1969)p.722
2
Richard Grassby, ‘The rate of profit in seventeenth-century England’, The English Historical Review, Vol.84,
No.333 (1969)p.723
3
These risks are made up of risks out of economic variants, like fluctuation of prices, to risks which were out of
Samuel’s control, like war and religious persecution.
4
Michael Hunter and Annabel Gregory eds., An Astrological Diary of the Seventeenth Century: Samuel Jeake of
Rye, 1652-1699 (Oxford, 1993) p.157
5
Ralph Brubaker, A Debtor World: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Debt, (Oxford, 2012), p.3
6 6
Michael Hunter and Annabel Gregory eds., An Astrological Diary of the Seventeenth Century: Samuel Jeake
of Rye, 1652-1699 (Oxford, 1993) p.165

2. by the potential for return. In The Making of The English Middle Class, Peter Earle argues that the
creditor’s ability to charge up to triple the legal rate of interest was a reflection of the risk which
they undertook.7
Therefore, while credit and complex chains of credit were hazardous, they were a
necessary risk for both the lender, and each individual in the chain.
Another risk associated with trading during the 17th
and 18th
centuries was the fluctuation of the
price of goods. While this factor continues to pose risks to contemporary traders, it is particularly
applicable to early modern tradesmen because their prejudices were based upon information which
was gathered vocally or through letters, and as a result, was not necessarily reliable or up to date.
This is illustrated throughout Samuel’s diary: In 1690 he bought hops but due to the time delay the
price had fluctuated which resulted in a loss of £17.8
War is another example of risk affecting Samuels’s economic capabilities, particularly because he
lived on the south coast which meant that a lot of his business relied on continental trade and
favoured peaceful waters. In 1690 we can see Samuel decline an offer of Cargo based on the
proximity of the French fleet to Rye, despite his confidence of a profit of £80: This is a clear example
of Samuel assessing risk on non-quantitative terms and ultimately with the physical risk to his
investment in mind. The decision to avoid coastal trading during wartime suggests that the Anglo-
French war was not only a risk to his continental trading, but also a detrimental factor in his ability to
diversify his economic activity and acquisition of profit.
As a result of the risks associated with trading, it was absolutely necessary for Samuel to diversify his
economic activities. This diversification took many forms, from trade as already discussed, to
activities such as bottomry loans, exchange dealings and scrivening.9
While trade and interest made
up the majority of Samuel’s profit in the 17th
century, bottomry loans are a good example of Samuel
investing in high risk schemes. The formation of the credit-based economy through the Bank of
England provided Samuel with a means of investing his money, although he often acted as a
scrivener.
7
Peter Earle, The Making of the English Middle Class: Business, Society and Family Life in London, 1660-1730
(London, 1989), p. 118
8
Michael Hunter and Annabel Gregory eds., An Astrological Diary of the Seventeenth Century: Samuel Jeake of
Rye, 1652-1699 (Oxford, 1993) p.206
9
Richard Grassby, ‘The rate of profit in seventeenth-century England’, The English Historical Review, Vol.84,
No.333 (1969)p.729

3. Bibliography
Earle Peter, The Making of the English Middle Class: Business, Society and Family Life in London,
1660-1730 (London, 1989)
Hunter Michael and Gregory Annabel eds., An Astrological Diary of the Seventeenth Century: Samuel
Jeake of Rye, 1652-1699 (Oxford, 1993)
Ralph Brubaker, A Debtor World: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Debt, (Oxford, 2012)
Grassby Richard, ‘The rate of profit in seventeenth-century England’, The English Historical Review,
Vol.84, No.333 (1969)pp.333-350