Materiality on the Margins of Empire: 19th Century Networks of British Trade and Exchange in Rural Ireland and Scotland.

Sara Morrow

Materiality on the Margins of Empire: 19th Century Networks of British Trade and Exchange in Rural Ireland and Scotland.

Year: 2018

Summary

How did people’s geographic position impact their access to material goods and necessities through trade and distribution within the 19th and early 20th century British world system? Throughout the 19th century an increasing distinction emerged between urban capitalist elites, the urban working poor, and a rural peasantry across Britain and Europe. While rural Ireland and Scotland were well connected to the urban economic centers of the United Kingdom, both nations were considered economically and culturally marginal. Focused on the coastal Irish islands of Inishark and Inishbofin, this research investigates daily consumption practices on the edge of empire through an analysis of distribution networks between urban production centers, and rural and island communities. Combining archaeology, ethno-archaeology, ethnography, and historical documents I investigate the materiality of daily life through an analysis of Delph (ceramics) and imported consumer goods including clay tobacco pipes, glass bottles, clothing, and food products.

Cite this Record

Materiality on the Margins of Empire: 19th Century Networks of British Trade and Exchange in Rural Ireland and Scotland.. Sara Morrow. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2018 ( tDAR id: 441367)