Doctoral research [1982, Vol. 9, no. 2]

              The Accounting Historians Journal Vol. 9, No. 2 Fall 1982
DOCTORAL RESEARCH
Maureen H. Berry, Editor UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
The emphasis in the current selection of recent doctoral disserta-tions is on the birth of certain types of trade and the effects of the environment on the way in which these industries developed.
Our first contrast focused on the differences between fur trading in Russia and Canada. In medieval Russia, competition was fierce between political forces in different geographical areas. In Canada, on the other hand, two competitors wrestled for control over com-mon grounds. We move on a little later in time to investigate the growth of the Brazilian economy. Sweigart's dissertation is an in-depth study of a particular industry, coffee export. Reiss, on the other hand, has a more general concern: the characteristics of national industry development when industrial growth comes late in a nation's life. We close with a look at the introduction of indus-try into North America. Here, we find the national character of the proud egalitarian to be a driving force in the birth of the American labor movement.
Treasure of the Land of Darkness: A Study of the Fur Trade and its Significance for Medieval Russia (X-XVI Centuries) (The Univer-sity of Chicago, 1980; 41/07, p. 3214-A)1 by Janet L. B. Martin. Dur-ing the medieval period, the northern fur trade was an important element in the political and economic development of the Russian and mid-Volga principalities. Little has hitherto been known about its operations however. Starting with the first available records from the tenth century, this dissertation traces the growth of the system and the patterns of trade over a 600 year period, until Muscovy monopolized political power and incorporated the major suppliers and fur centers into its boundaries.
The variety of sources tapped for this research is impressive, in-cluding Islamic, geographical and historical tracts, numismatic and archeological data, Russian publications and archival documents,
1Dissertation Abstracts International, volume and page references.