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Re: 'A Discourse of the Commonweal of this Realm of England' by Sir Thomas Smith. 
 
This work is discussed in Joan Thirsk's 'Economic Policy and Projects: The 
Development of a Consumer Society in Early Modern England' (Oxford, 1978), 
although she states it was written in 1549, not 1581, and cites a modern 
edition by E. Lamond (Cambridge, 1954) rather than that by Dewar. I assume 
the two are identical. Thirsk discusses the work itself in the introduction 
(pp. 13-16), drawing attention to Smith's advocacy of state sponsored 
'projects' to manufacture goods currently imported from abroad, and 
associating him with the 'Commonwealthmen' statesmen who promoted such 
enterprises in the 16th century. Smith and his milieu are also mentioned in 
Chapter II, 'The Constructive Phase of Projects, 1540-1580'. Some 
biographical information is included on page 33, mentioning that Smith 
entered political service under the Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector under 
Edward VI. 
 
Incidentally, my own research touches on the social role of the 
technoligical innovator or 'projector' in stimulating economic insights and 
ideas of commercial growth in the 17th century, though with a slightly 
different emphasis to Thirsk (who focussed on the disseniation of improved 
methods in agriculture and industry). I see in the rhetoric and 
self-promotion of these projectors the use of economic ideas that 
subsequently became more widely used, and in turn acquired new meaning from 
this usage. I would welcome any comments about this research. 
 
Yours, 
Thomas LengUniversity of Sheffield 
 
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