Primary Sources


Crouch, Nathaniel (printed for). A Journey to Jerusalem or, A Relation of the Travels of Fourteen Englishmen in the year, 1669. London: Printed by T.M., 1672.

This book is centered on the actual travel diary of TB, an unidentified Levant Company factor, with a brief introduction about Palestine and the history of the Holy Land by Nathaniel Crouch. The diary was written by T.B. to a friend in London at the time.

Crouch, Nathaniel (printed for). Two Journeys to Jerusalem. London: 1684.

The diary was reprinted by Crouch in this book that included a travel diary from Henry Timberlake and an account by Samuel Brett about the Great Council of Jews in Europe in 1650. It also contains a note to the reader by Crouch discussing Palestine. This collection, along with many of the other books sold by Nathaniel Crouch, gave the common Londoner a glimpse of the lives of Englishmen across the globe in exotic places and of English and world history.


Secondary Sources


Ambrose, Gwilym. "English Traders at Aleppo (1658-1756)." The Economic History Review, 3 (1931-1932): 246-267.

This article focuses on what life was like for English traders in Aleppo. It describes the economic aspect of life and the distribution of goods by the trade, how the factors integrated within the city (or lack there of), who they were, and what other activities they did.

Davis, Ralph. Aleppo and Devonshire Square: English Traders in the Levant in the Eighteenth Century. London: Macmillan, 1967.

The Levant Company's history and organization are described in great detail, including both the factors in Aleppo and the merchants at Devonshire Square in London. Davis discusses the trade routes in the Levant, the goods being traded such as silk and cloth, and the daily lives of individuals in the trade. The heart of the text relies heavily on the history of the Radcliffe house in the 1700's.



Dols, Michael W. "The Second Plague Pandemic and Its recurrences in the Middle East: 1347-1894." Journal of Economic and Social History of the Orient, 22 (1979): 162-189.

A detailed account of the bubonic and pneumonic plagues is given during this time period for the Middle East, Europe, and India.

Dunton, John. The Life and Errors of John Dunton, 2 vols. New York: Burt Franklin.

Dunton speaks very briefly of the works and character of Nathaniel Crouch.

Epstein, Maurie. The Early History of the Levant Company. London: George Routledge & Sons Limited, 1908.

The organization and structure of the Levant Company is the central feature of this book. The internal workings of the company in its early days are revealed showing who controlled and governed who and what rules there were to the trade within the Ottoman Empire. Epstein also gives great lists of governors, ambassadors, consuls, and lists of ports and ships used by the company.


Keay, John. The Honourable Company: A history of the English East India Company. New York: Macmillan Co., 1991.

This is a detailed account of the East India Company. It has several sections about the creation of the East India Company from the Levant Company and their subsequent battles over rights to the silk trade.

Marcus, Abraham. The Middle East on the eve of Modernity: Aleppo in the Eighteenth Century. New York: Columbia University Press, 1989.

This book is a detailed account of the city of Aleppo in the eighteenth century. It covers popular culture, architecture and city planning, disease, social class, and politics. The book has maps of the city, pictures of streets and housing structures, and maps of urban stratification. The only problem is that it covers mostly the eighteenth century, but it does give an excellent bibliography filled with many useful sources and an overall picture of the city of Aleppo.

Masters, Bruce. The Origins of Western Economic Dominance in the Middle East: Mercantilism and the Islamic Economy in Aleppo, 1600-1750. New York: New York University Press, 1988.

An account of the other merchants in Aleppo, Arabs and Muslims, during the time of the Levant Company, and the rise of Aleppo from a moderate caravan city into one of the strongest cities in the Levant. The economy of the Middle East is also examined in respect to the failure of these cities to be able to compete with Western European trade and culture.

Mayer, Robert. "Nathaniel Crouch, Bookseller and Historian: Popular Historiography and Cultural Power in Late Seventeenth-Century England." Eighteenth Century Studies, Vol. 94 (Spr. 1994): 391-420.

The article focuses on how Nathaniel Crouch created histories for common Londoners, which included the techniques of collecting, rewriting works under the pen name Richard Burton, and writing. Mayer gives Crouch credit for influencing the literacy of commoners and for the popularization and commercialization of history.

Mukherjee, Ramkrishna. The Rise and Fall of the East India Company. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1974.

The text shows the rise of British imperialism through the East India Company, which developed from the Levant Company. Gardner takes a sociological perspective when analyzing the organization. He shows how these groups of trading companies transformed cultures, spread ideas, and eventually transformed India into a location governed by British industrialists.

Raymond, Andre. "The Population of Aleppo in the Sixteenth and Seventh Centuries According to Ottoman Census Documents." International Journal of Middle East Studies, 16 (1984): 447-460.

This article gives information about the demographics of Aleppo and how it expanded into individually distinct quarters, including stratified suburbs during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Verney, Frances Parthenope. Memoirs of the Verney Family during the Civil War, 4 vols. New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1892.

It gives references to John Verney's life and letters in Aleppo as a factor of the Levant Company.

Wood, Alfred C. A History of the Levant Company. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1964.

This work is extremely detailed in respect to the foundation, life, and death of the Levant Company. It also covers the daily life of the merchants and the organization of the company. Woods gives outstanding reference notes to the material that was used from the British Museum, Public Records Office, State Papers, and from other secondary sources.