Fortune in Exile: William Rotch, 1775-1805.

The article focuses on the dual narrative of William Rotch, a Quaker pacifist and successful whaling merchant in the eighteenth century. It explores the tension between his religious commitment to peace, which led to accusations of disloyalty, and his business-minded cosmopolitanism, highlighting how his opposition to nationalism and state power was informed by both his pacifist beliefs and his role in the global whaling industry.