The general question I want to explore in the final project is: the income source of Bates Mill Company and how it is related to the financials of Bates College at its early stage. Since we have learned that the financial link between the Bates Mill Company and the foundation of Maine State Seminary(Bates College), I want to first analyze the the financial sources of Bates Mill Company which has a relative rich dataset which has specific cotton transactions listed with various brokers. First, I want to figure out the the distribution of the cotton they bought from various brokers and then I can calculate out the variable cost from 1852-1855 and see the sources of cotton. By adding an assumed fixed cost, I can figure out the total cost of Bates Mill company. From this point, I will try to calculate the profits gained by Benjamin Bates. And how he distributes the wealths in funding the Maine State Seminary. For the visualization, I haven’t got a solid idea but probably I will visualize the cotton purchase distribution from various states/companies across the country.
Partner: Jing Xu
