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Economica
A Global History of Women, Wealth, and Power
Description
In a book that “sets a new standard in economic history” (Tim Harford, author of The Undercover Economist), acclaimed economic historian Victoria Bateman tells the story of how women made the world rich
How many female entrepreneurs, economic revolutionaries, merchants, and industrialists can you name? You would be forgiven for thinking that, until very recently, there were none at all.
But what about Phryne, the richest woman in ancient Athens, who offered to pay to rebuild the walls of Thebes after the city was razed by Alexander the Great? Or what about Priscilla Wakefield, the writer who set up the first English bank for women and children? And, just as important, what about the everyday women who, paid only a pittance, labored for the profit of others?
From the most successful women of their day to those who struggled to make ends meet, Economica takes you on a journey that begins in the Stone Age and ends in the twenty-first century, spanning the world’s historic centers of prosperity: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Peru, the Indus Valley, the Roman Empire, the Islamic Empire, China, Europe, and the United States. By shining a light on the women whose contributions to the economy have been hidden for far too long, Economica is more than a history of women—it is a more accurate economic history of us all.
How many female entrepreneurs, economic revolutionaries, merchants, and industrialists can you name? You would be forgiven for thinking that, until very recently, there were none at all.
But what about Phryne, the richest woman in ancient Athens, who offered to pay to rebuild the walls of Thebes after the city was razed by Alexander the Great? Or what about Priscilla Wakefield, the writer who set up the first English bank for women and children? And, just as important, what about the everyday women who, paid only a pittance, labored for the profit of others?
From the most successful women of their day to those who struggled to make ends meet, Economica takes you on a journey that begins in the Stone Age and ends in the twenty-first century, spanning the world’s historic centers of prosperity: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Peru, the Indus Valley, the Roman Empire, the Islamic Empire, China, Europe, and the United States. By shining a light on the women whose contributions to the economy have been hidden for far too long, Economica is more than a history of women—it is a more accurate economic history of us all.
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Praise
“Erudite, ambitious and richly global in scope, Economica shows how women’s economic labor has so often been overlooked, ignored or relegated to obscurity. Victoria Bateman’s fascinating book does not just offer a corrective to the past, but serves as a vital guide to our collective futures.”
—Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads
“Victoria Bateman’s Economica is a must-read for anyone interested in women’s history and economic justice. Bateman powerfully argues that women have always been central to economic life, from 18th-century shoemakers like Ann Askew to pioneers like Priscilla Wakefield, who founded the UK’s first bank for women and children. For centuries, laws and social norms have constrained women’s economic freedom, not only limiting individual potential but also undermining prosperity for all. Her research reminds us: economies thrive when women have the autonomy to work, earn, and control their wealth.”
—Amanda Foreman, author of The Duchess
“Ambitious, wide-ranging and absorbing—this book sets a new standard in economic history.”
—Tim Harford, author of The Undercover Economist
“Taking readers on an enthralling journey from prehistory to the modern world, Victoria Bateman rightly emphasizes the importance of women’s economic agency in human history. Filled with fascinating details, from the Mesopotamian traders whose wives ran the family business back home to the female factory workers of the industrial age and the twenty-first century care workers whose labor has been so frequently overlooked, Economica puts women’s work back into the story of the global economy. Making the case for women’s central importance, readers will be left wondering how economic history could ever be studied without reference to one half of the world’s population.”
—Elizabeth Norton, author of The Hidden Lives of Tudor Women
“The economic history of half of humankind has broken out of its ghetto. The time has come for Victoria Bateman’s comprehensive stocktaking of how women figured in the economy, from the caves to the computers. And the time has come for you to read it.”
—Deirdre McCloskey, author of Economical Writing
“Who are the wealth creators? Victoria Bateman shows that the standard image of heroic male entrepreneurs or inventors could not be more misleading; in Economica she tells a gripping tale of all the unsung female industrialists and workers who are missing from conventional economic histories.”
—Diane Coyle, author of GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History
“Victoria Bateman’s revelatory and compelling new book puts women at the very heart of mankind’s economic history. Economica should help ensure that’s where they will remain.”
—Ben Chu, BBC
“This wonderful book is not just a much-needed economic history of women but an economic history of everyone—for in Bateman’s eyes giving freedom, equality, and dignity to women leads to high productivity and economic growth. The economic success of men is not down solely to their own abilities and efforts but is a joint product of the economic success of their mothers, sisters, and daughters. This thesis is defended with a wide-ranging familiarity with world history and an acute analysis of the economic incentives and forces at play. Economica is also a pleasure to read.”
—Robert C. Allen, author of Global Economic History: A Very Short Introduction
“An entertainingly readable, well-evidenced global history that places women at its heart. Taking a grand sweep across the ages, it delivers a powerful message about freedoms and challenges us to shape our planet in the interests of all our citizens.”
—Sara Horrell, professor of economic history, London School of Economics