Paul Sharp, University of Copenhagen
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| On the Origins of the Atlantic Economy: Trade in Wheat between North America and Britain from the Eighteenth Century
Paul Sharp, University of Copenhagen This paper aims to give a long term perspective to the story of the development of an Atlantic Economy prior to the First World War. With very few exceptions, and despite the scholarly enthusiasm for the famous “Grain Invasion” of the late nineteenth century, very little attention has been paid to the trade in wheat between America and Britain in the eighteenth century. Indeed, politicians and farmers of the mid- to late nineteenth century seem to have been under the impression that the importance of grain imports from North America started in their time, and economic historians seem to have been content to accept this. This might in large part be due to a lack of available data. The Customs House in London famously burned down in 1814, taking with it nearly all records of England’s international trade and customs revenues prior to that date. Fortunately, however, detailed records of Britain’s imports of wheat from the American colonies and the early years of the United States have in fact survived. After the office of Inspector General of Imports and Exports was established in 1697, the first imports of wheat from North America are recorded in the 1720s, but for many years they were at a low level. From the 1760s, however, Britain began its transition to being a net importer of wheat. The Corn Law of 1774, which ushered in a period of almost free trade in grain, was met by a flood of imports from North America – reaching levels comparable to those of the mid-nineteenth century at a time when the population was much smaller. However, the War of Independence and a dispute about the dangers of importing wheat infected by the Hessian fly stopped this first invasion in its tracks. The fact that data for American imports alone remain for the eighteenth century suggests the importance attached to them by contemporaries. Additional evidence for this comes from the fact that, for example, in the face of a return to protectionism in 1791, petitioners from the west of England felt compelled to bring to the attention of Parliament that they were in many years dependent on the supply of wheat from America. The most striking finding is that from the 1780s – with some exceptions in particular due to trade policy and war – there is a fairly constant percentage rate of increase in wheat imports from North America which only stops in the 1870s, despite that fact that these years have often been considered to mark the start of the Grain Invasion. For Britain, at least, it appears that the Invasion had its origins in the eighteenth century. Directory: dotAsset dotAsset -> The British state and slavery dotAsset -> Torsten Feys European University Institute (Florence) Prepaid tickets to ride to the New World: the New York Continental Conference and transatlantic steerage fares 1885-1895 dotAsset -> 2016 Bradley University crest research Internship Program dotAsset -> Undergraduate and graduate field opportunities combined dotAsset -> Agency Roster-Graduate- foundation Field opportunites dotAsset -> To Change an Extension # on a ip telephone Set please note: An Extension # being assigned to an ip phone must already be programmed dotAsset -> Curriculum vitae jonathan scott lee dotAsset -> E-train AppFest Teacher’s Aid Apps Download 4.43 Kb. Share with your friends:
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