ABSTRACT
The origins of capitalism, as opposed to other forms of exchange, has a murky history. Historians attempting to understand the relationship of capitalism have followed this pattern. The eminent American Historian, Joyce Appleby published The Relentless Revolution: A History of Capitalism in 2010. For Appleby, capitalism begins in England "with the convergence of agricultural improvements, global explorations, and scientific advances." Even Thomas Piketty's bestselling Capital in the Twenty-First Century places the origins of capitalism, in his twist, the beginning of wealth inequality at this moment. The timeline embraced in this chapter largely ignores the roles colonialism, industrialization, urbanization, finance and slavery play in the origins and perpetuation of capitalism. Capitalism in the colonial era, and after, therefore is more than a financial innovation. By exerting power, territorial violence and resource extraction, the limited liability company is the essence of colonialism and modern capitalism. The origins of the modern critique of capitalism emerge in the rapidly urbanizing factory towns of England.
