Eric Williams placed the Caribbean centre stage in discussions of Britain's industrial revolution and historians are increasingly persuaded by his intuition that the Atlantic trading system, underpinned by enslaved labour, played a major role. Early critics focused discussion on the profits of the slave trade but his thesis was broader, and more sophisticated, than they acknowledged. It left room for linkages of many kinds and it is now time to take a broader look at the connections between the rise of merchant capitalism, in which slavery played a central role, and British economic growth. This study looks at one small, fast-growing industry, wrought copper, largely through the lens of William Forbes, a London smith. Quantitative data from output and trade records are combined with Forbes's business records to show how the demands of sugar cultivation, a particularly concentrated form of agro-industrial activity, stimulated the development of a supply network which chained thousands of workers in Cornwall, South Wales, Bristol, and London to enslaved labour in the fields and factories of the Caribbean. Market opportunities allowed Forbes to amass great wealth but also directed investment, innovation, and the accumulation of skills that shaped Britain's particular path to industrial revolution.

中文翻译：

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埃里克·威廉姆斯和威廉·福布斯：铜、殖民市场和商业资本主义†

埃里克·威廉姆斯 (Eric Williams) 将加勒比地区置于英国工业革命讨论的中心舞台，历史学家越来越相信他的直觉，即以奴隶劳工为基础的大西洋贸易体系发挥了重要作用。早期的批评者集中讨论奴隶贸易的利润，但他的论点比他们承认的更广泛、更复杂。它为多种联系留下了空间，现在是更广泛地审视商业资本主义兴起与英国经济增长之间的联系的时候了，其中奴隶制在其中发挥了核心作用。这项研究主要通过伦敦铁匠威廉·福布斯 (William Forbes) 的视角，着眼于一个快速增长的小型铜工业。来自产出和贸易记录的定量数据与福布斯的 的商业记录显示糖种植的需求是一种特别集中的农业工业活动形式如何刺激了供应网络的发展，该网络将康沃尔、南威尔士、布里斯托尔和伦敦的数千名工人与田间的奴隶劳动联系起来和加勒比地区的工厂。市场机会让福布斯积累了大量财富，但也引导了投资、创新和技能积累，这些都塑造了英国通往工业革命的特殊道路。