Mrs Helena Aylward, as a Catholic merchant and investor, enriches the literature on both female Catholicism and on the Atlantic-Mediterranean trade. Recent historiography has stressed the importance of women in business, but Catholic women have been overlooked in the mercantile world and in the British fiscal-military economy. I contend that female Catholics were accustomed to their husband’s dealings, and after bereavement, took financial responsibility for the family’s business. Helena was proactive and did not limit herself to the exchanges already established by her husband. She moved independently and diversified her trade with financial investments. Mrs Aylward’s involvement in business challenges the prevailing image of Catholic women as wives, patrons or nuns. She suggests a new economic role for British female Catholics: entrepreneurs that succeeded in a Protestant and patriarchal maritime world.1

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海伦娜·艾尔沃德夫人：商业时代（1705-1714）的英国天主教母亲、配偶和女商人

海伦娜·艾尔沃德夫人作为一名天主教商人和投资者，丰富了关于女性天主教和大西洋-地中海贸易的文献。最近的史学强调了女性在商业中的重要性，但天主教女性在商业世界和英国财政军事经济中被忽视了。我认为女性天主教徒已经习惯了他们丈夫的交易，并且在失去亲人之后，对家庭的生意承担了经济责任。海伦娜积极主动，并没有将自己限制在丈夫已经建立的交流中。她独立搬家，并通过金融投资实现贸易多元化。艾尔沃德夫人对商业的参与挑战了天主教妇女作为妻子、赞助人或修女的普遍形象。她建议英国女性天主教徒扮演新的经济角色：1