Anglo-Swedish Commercial Connections and Diplomatic Relations in the Seventeenth Century

Adam Grimshaw, Ph.D. (2017, University of St Andrews) specialises in British, Scandinavian and Baltic history during the early modern period. He has published on various aspects of the relationship between Britain and the Baltic including migration, diplomacy and trade.

"Grimshaw has accomplished much with this book. [...] Grimshaw has produced what will very likely be the standard text on the subject for some time to come. [...] Grimshaw’s close study of the Anglo-Swedish trade is a solid contribution to the literature on the Baltic trade in early modern Europe. There is simply nothing else like it at present."Paul Douglas Lockhart, , in: The English Historical Review, 2025. [DOI: 10.1093/ehr/ceaf218]"Adam Grimshaw’s study, Anglo-Swedish Commercial Connections and Diplomatic Relations in the Seventeenth Century, is an ambitious endeavour to fill the gap in the existing literature. [...] The source work carried out for the monograph is impressive, given the challengingnature of many of the original documents. [...] Overall, Grimshaw’s valuable contribution provides a thorough study of the evolution of Anglo-Swedish commercial and diplomatic contacts from the small-scale enterprises of the early seventeenth century to the strategically invaluable connections between both countries towards the end of the century. The monograph is recommended reading not only for experts in early modern Scandinavian and English maritime history, but also for anyone interested in the interplay between state-building and growing bilateral (and multilateral) trade." - Henri Hannula, University of Helsinki, in: IJMH (2025) 1-3 [DOI: 10.1177/08438714251332114]"Its great strength lies in the extensive use of previously unexploited or only partially used archives on trade in Stockholm and Gothenburg. Its originality lies in the sophisticated combination of the diplomatic history approach, the study of trade at the agent level, and the analysis of trade data at the structural level." - Leos Müller, Stockholm University, in: The Mariner's Mirror (2024) 110:4, 485-487 [DOI: 10.1080/00253359.2024.2408946]

• AcknowledgementsList of IllustrationsAbbreviationsStylistic ConventionsWeights, Measures and MoneyIntroduction1 An Insignificant Trade? 1603–16411 Perspectives on Existing Historiography2 The Union of the Crowns and Its Effect on Baltic Trade3 The Tudor Period4 Anglo-Swedish Commerce in the First Half of the Seventeenth Century5 The Scottish Connection6 John Coote and Nascent Anglo-Swedish Commercial Networks7 Anthony Knipe and the English Company of Gothenburg, 1635–16378 The Shift towards Sweden9 Conclusion2 The Codification of a Relationship, 1642–16591 The Rise of Swedish Exports and the English Market2 Difficulties in the Import Trade3 The Impetus for Reaching the Swedish Market4 Commercial Perspectives on Anglo-Swedish Diplomacy5 Commercial Organisation: the Role of the State6 Commercial Organisation: the Role of Merchants and Agents7 The English East India Company and the Swedish Africa Company: Anglo-Swedish Commercial Connections in Colonial Trades8 Conclusion3 Commercial Ascendancy, 1660–16711 Establishing Permanent Diplomatic Representation2 England Becomes a Vital Trading Partner3 Circumventing the Sound4 Sweden Emerges Unchallenged5 Commercial Policy and the Demise of the Eastland Monopoly6 Abraham Kock-Cronström, Copper, and the English Mint7 Conclusion4 Mixed Fortunes, 1672–16881 Attempts at Finding Accord2 English Trade Scales New Heights3 The Problem of Payment4 Conclusion5 Commercial Dominance and Diplomatic Disruption, 1689–17001 Diplomacy at War2 The Only Stable Market3 Anglo-Swedish Disputes: Outstanding Debts and the Expulsion of Foreign Merchants4 ConclusionConclusionBibliographyIndex