GBST 218
Capital and Coercion Spring 2025
Division II D Difference, Power, and Equity
Cross-listed CAOS 218 / ECON 218

Private capital, as in tradable ownership shares in long-lived corporations, has connected Europeans with other races, religions, and geographies ever since the early 17th century. There were huge potential profits from such economic interactions across difference, but also risks: of lies, theft, and coercion. This course will introduce students to game theory (trust games, incentives, and signaling) as a framework for analyzing global economic mechanisms in the past. Case studies span the 13th to the 20th century and include: the spice trade in the Indian Ocean before and after European disruption, early capital markets in Amsterdam, enslavement on the West African coast and in Brazil, and colonial control in Java and in Kenya. Readings will be based on primary historical records: business letters, court transcripts, and diaries.