Book contents
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- List of Figures and Tables
- Introduction
- Part I Frameworks
- Part II Experiences
- 4 ‘Fire that's Kindled Within Doores’: The British Civil Wars and Interregnum, 1639–1660
- 5 ‘In Pursuit of His Majesty's Enemies’: Franco-Stuart Conflict, 1627–1667
- 6 ‘For the Security and Encouragement of the Free Trade of Scotland’: The Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession, 1688–1713
- 7 Beyond 1707: Franco-‘British’ Relations?
- Conclusion: ‘The Said Privileges are Still in Vigour’
- Appendices
- Appendix A Consumers of wine imported in the Rowland of Hambrough by John Harmonson Lepman, 22 January 1673
- Appendix B Customs rates, France, 1644 and 1667
- Appendix C Prizes brought into Le Havre, 1692–7
- Appendix D Passports granted to British ships in La Rochelle, 1695
- Appendix E Scottish ships granted permission by the Admiralty of Guyenne to pass through the port of Bordeaux, 1691–7
- Appendix F English Ships Granted Permission by the Admiralty of Guyenne to Pass through the Port of Bordeaux, 1689–97
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
4 - ‘Fire that's Kindled Within Doores’: The British Civil Wars and Interregnum, 1639–1660
from Part II - Experiences
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- List of Figures and Tables
- Introduction
- Part I Frameworks
- Part II Experiences
- 4 ‘Fire that's Kindled Within Doores’: The British Civil Wars and Interregnum, 1639–1660
- 5 ‘In Pursuit of His Majesty's Enemies’: Franco-Stuart Conflict, 1627–1667
- 6 ‘For the Security and Encouragement of the Free Trade of Scotland’: The Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession, 1688–1713
- 7 Beyond 1707: Franco-‘British’ Relations?
- Conclusion: ‘The Said Privileges are Still in Vigour’
- Appendices
- Appendix A Consumers of wine imported in the Rowland of Hambrough by John Harmonson Lepman, 22 January 1673
- Appendix B Customs rates, France, 1644 and 1667
- Appendix C Prizes brought into Le Havre, 1692–7
- Appendix D Passports granted to British ships in La Rochelle, 1695
- Appendix E Scottish ships granted permission by the Admiralty of Guyenne to pass through the port of Bordeaux, 1691–7
- Appendix F English Ships Granted Permission by the Admiralty of Guyenne to Pass through the Port of Bordeaux, 1689–97
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
Summary
The London merchant James Battie wrote in 1648, following a decade of civil war in Britain:
Now there is no greater enemy to Trade than War, be it in what Countrey it will … Yet forraigne war is not so great a disturber of Trade, nor halfe so destructive, as intestine; For as the fire that's kindled within doores, and in the bed-straw, as it were, rageth more violently: so civill War ruines Trade faster than any other.
Battie's claim that trade was ruined by warfare is one that has persisted into the modern academy, contributing to a generation of scholarship asserting that the seventeenth century was one of ‘general crisis’. As discussed in the Introduction to this volume and developed throughout Part I, however, not all sectors were affected in equal measure by the events of this period. As Part II will now demonstrate, despite the inclement political context and the numerous wars that raged, international commerce not only continued but remained robust and lucrative. This owes much to the actions and abilities of mercantile agents themselves, as they not only worked to maintain business links but acted to influence governmental policy regarding commerce. Equally, it is worth re-emphasizing that this was not an era in which political leaders sought to destroy international commercial links – to do so would be counter-productive. Early modern national economies were interdependent and motivations for implementing economic legislation, even during periods of war, owed as much (if not more) to domestic than to international concerns. There are many examples in the analyses that follow of mercantile agents receiving formal support for their actions, even if this contravened official wartime policy.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Publisher: Pickering & ChattoFirst published in: 2014