“Miss Fan can tun her han!” Female traders in eighteenth-century British-American Atlantic port cities

Abstract

She washi off an scrubi off, she Dragi dunga gate, She stock it our wid half her lunch An start fe speculate! Miss Fan described in the quote above epitomises the tenacity and versatility of women in the early-modern Atlantic world. Lack of access to capital meant that women often had to be extremely entrepreneurial in their approaches to commerce. Half her lunch represents that small capital, but with hard work, women could manage to speculate successfully. This article investigates the trading opportunities available to women in three Atlantic port cities: Philadelphia, Charleston and Kingston. Port cities presented women with particular opportunities and problems with regards to work and income opportunities because their economies were based far more on commerce than other activities. There is no doubt that despite the hindrances placed in their way, these women made significant contributions to the economies of each port. Taking a comparative perspective highlights not only the similar problems faced by female traders throughout early-modern British America, but also the way in which factors such as the wider economy, race, the law and gender constructs shaped their abilities to contribute to the economy. The ability of these women to work within these constructs and to stretch their boundaries, whether white or black, free or slave, and whether by choice or necessity, is amazing.