Mercantilism Reimagined: Political Economy in Early Modern Britain and Its Empire Edited by Philip J. Stern and Carl Wennerlind (review)
as it must, the regime would suffer a loss of credibility. The government needed a means by which to determine the truthfulness of informers. As it happened, late seventeenth century intellectual developments the work of the Royal Society, for one provided several criteria to ascertain truthfulness, some of which have a modern ring: Testimony for which informers received money or for which they received reduced sentences was sometimes considered suspect. Furthermore, informers' trustworthiness might be confirmed through the combined evidence of their class, the documentation that they submitted, or their plain speaking. The credibility of women informers was sometimes judged by their sexual behavior; the more promiscuous the woman, the greater was the tendency to doubt her word (not one to forget the ladies, Weil offers considerable coverage of their activities) As for the conflict between liberty and national security, Weil examines, among other things, the role of the national post office, the duty of which was to serve its subjects. However, government fears of Jacobite uprisings and invasions led it to hijack the postal service for the purpose of spying and opening the mail of ordinary people a policy that turned the post office into a surveillance arm of the government. One of the most commendable aspects of Weil's study is her use of case studies based on a wide variety of sources, including a wealth of archival materials. This methodology allows her to humanize the citizen informers to whom she gives voice with well selected quotations. Moreover,Weil's ability to read between the lines provides access not only to the thoughts of these English men and women; it also allows her to access their emotional and affective states. This methodological bent is reminiscent of the "Cambridge School" of philosophy and the linguistic turn of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Alfred J. Ayer, and John L. Austin, who were less interested in what writers or speakers meant by their words than in what they were trying to do with them. Whether or not Weil composed this book with this approach in mind, she brings an analytical depth to her reading of seventeenth century voices that scholars would do well to emulate. Finally, althoughWeil's book is not always an easy read, her writing is usually accessible, down to earth, and not without humor. Both specialists and non specialists can learn from and enjoy it.