Small Scale.

The corporate structure, which became tremendously popular in the nineteenth century, separates a business from its owners so that it can go on even when owners die or sell their shares. In the eighteenth century, however, few businesses continued to exist separately from the people who owned and operated them. Some partnerships lasted only as long as a particular venture, and merchants could belong to several partnerships simultaneously. These were fairly easy to form and manage because all businesses were small in scale, and they were organized simply. Even the largest had only a few employees. In addition to the owner himself there were a few clerks and perhaps an apprentice or two. There was no need for the sophisticated systems that characterize modern business corporations. Bookkeeping was simple and was done by the owners or their clerks. Nor was there much...