Dark Markets Observatory
Smugglers. Corrupt officials. Dark markets in public goods and contraband. My research reconstructs corruption as well as the history of clandestine markets in early modern England and its empire.
Fountains Hall, Yorkshire
Built by Sir Stephen Proctor
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Visit Fountains Abbey where Proctor built his stately manor.
Corruption in Early Modern England
​My forthcoming book, The Invisible Handshake: Discovering Corruption in the Early Modern State (under contract with Oxford University Press), follows the tumultuous career of Sir Stephen Proctor (1562–1619), a determined corruption hunter in the early seventeenth century. Charting Proctor's rise and dramatic downfall, this narrative uncovers an intricate web of conspiracy that led to a showdown between him and his enemies in Parliament in 1610.
Through a compelling exploration of corruption, conspiracy, ambition, and violence, the book illuminates the profound challenges faced by reformers within the early modern state. It highlights the enduring tensions between governance and corruption, examining how growing anxieties about integrity and corruption reshaped political discourse during the seventeenth century.
The Early Modern Smugglers' World
Using machine learning and visualization technologies, my research reconstructs contraband networks in early modern Britain
My research on the history of smuggling reconstructs early modern contraband networks around the British Isles and the Atlantic.
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My work investigates the complex political economy underpinning smuggling activities, addressing questions such as why state authorities often turned a blind eye to contraband, why legitimate merchants frequently found compelling financial incentives to engage in illicit trafficking, and why specific jurisdictions strategically positioned themselves as pivotal hubs for tax evasion.
Intriguingly, many of these historical entrepôts of the contraband trade have evolved into contemporary tax havens, highlighting enduring patterns of economic opportunism and state complicity.
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Smuggling also raised many moral questions at the time. Explore one of them - what constitutes "fair trade" in my article at the historical journal Past & Present.​​
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