Joe Regan is an independent scholar and specialises in the history of Irish immigrants in the United States during the nineteenth century. He received a PhD in History from the National University of Ireland, Galway, in 2016. Cathal Smith is a Lecturer of English-Speaking Cultures and History at Zhejiang International Studies University (ZISU), Hangzhou, China. His research focuses on the investigation of American slavery and Irish landlordism from a comparative and transnational perspective.
"'Much of the history of capitalism focuses on industry and on cities. This important volume brings agriculture back in, showing that many of the world historical changes of the nineteenth century were rooted in the global countryside and its transformations. Marx infamously described peasants as ""sacks of potatoes."" This volume instead shows how the laboring, organizing, suing, striking, and mobilizing of tenant farmers, sharecroppers, slaves and debt peons shaped global capitalism in decisive ways.' Sven Beckert, Laird Bell Professor of History, Harvard University, USA"