Capital and credit in British overseas trade : the view from the Chesapeake, 1700-1776

In a model study Jacob Price illuminates the dynamic growth of Britain’s foreign trade in the eighteenth century through an investigation of the investment patterns and credit institutions that financed that expansion. Concentrating on the trade between Britain and the Chesapeake tobacco colonies of Virginia and Maryland, for which a unique set of records exists, Price surveys the ways in which commerce developed and working capital was mobilized in Britain to support expanding overseas trade.Price develops the clearest picture ever of the financial environment within Britain as it affected Southern colonies in the preindustrial age. He does so by determining the kind of capital resources merchants in foreign trade actually commanded and measuring how much of their own wealth merchants brought to trade. In great and absorbing detail he discusses also the development of merchant-oriented banks in London and other ports, reinvestment of profits, long-term borrowing on bond, and the long-term credit provided to export merchants by wholesalers in textiles, ironmongery, and other industries.The relationship of debt to the coming of the American Revolution is also treated. Tobacco growers suffered more than others from a psychological unease caused by immense debt and were more revolutionary than farmers with less intensive capital needs and, hence, with lighter debt. This history will enlighten Anglo-American historians, economic historians, and historians of the American revolutionary era. Acknowledgments Contents CAPITAL AND CREDIT IN BRITISH OVERSEAS TRADE 1. Introduction 2. The Problem of Debt Viewed from the Chesapeake 3. Capitalization of Merchant Firms 4. Borrowing on Bond 5. Borrowing from Banks 6. Commercial Credit 7. The Significance of Credit and the Financial Crisis of 1772 8. The Implications for British Industrial and Commercial Development Appendixes Notes Bibliography Index Appendix A. Markups and Profit Margins in the Chesapeake Trade Appendix B. Capitalization of Glasgow Chesapeake Firms between 1740 and 1789 (in Sterling) Appendix C. Document on Credit and the Cargo Trade Notes Select Bibliography Index Introduction -- The Problem Of Debt Viewed From The Chesapeake -- Capitalization Of Merchant Firms -- Borrowing On Bond -- Borrowing From Banks -- Commercial Credit -- The Significance Of Credit In The Chesapeake And The Financial Crisis Of 1772 -- The Implications For British Industrial And Commercial Development -- Appendixes: Markups And Profit Margins In The Chesapeake Trade -- Capitalization Of Glasgow Chesapeake Firms Between 1740 And 1789 -- Document On Credit And The Cargo Trade -- British-chesapeake Trade, 1669-1776 Notes -- Select Bibliography -- Index. Jacob M. Price. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 205-220.