Francesco Saverio Amman: An Austrian cotton entrepreneur in Lombardy, 1838-82

This article examines the cotton manufacturing industry in Lombardy during the period when Austrian rule was being restored in the wake of the Congress of Vienna. It adopts Pollard's emphasis on the regional nature of industrialisation, drawing on the surviving accounts of Francesco Saverio Amman - the Austrian-born founder of a major cotton-mill - and attempts to identify differences and similarities between his career and achievements and those of his many counterparts in the rest of Europe. The article begins by looking at Amman's economic and social advancement, and then discusses the development of his business interests. It concludes by examining how he chose to invest his earnings, both within and without the cotton industry.