ABSTRACT
The Wealth of Nations makes extensive use of historical evidence. As a result, Smith has been considered as the ‘fountainhead’, not just of formal economics, but also of economic history. Smith had a view about the construction of history, expressed in his Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres. History is a matter of both entertainment and instruction. Of interest are the actions of men, causes and effects. As to the ordering of the narrative, it is to follow the historical order. How does Smith construct history in writing, and how is history used in the Wealth of Nations to further his project? 1 By what means does Smith, with respect to history, lead his readers ‘gently’ by the hand (Brown, 1994, 10; Schumpeter, 1954, 185)?
