Full Description
In this erudite and comprehensive study Adrian Pearce offers a detailed survey of British trade with Spanish America in the latter half of the eighteenth century drawing together a variety of sources and looking at all aspects of commercial activity. The history and vicissitudes of the free port system are documented in a much fuller way than heretofore and the interests of competing interest groups are mapped out. Pearce re-examines the share of British export trade provided through Spanish America in one of the most important interventions in the field in recent years.
Contents
List of Tables and Maps
Preface
List of Abbreviations
Note on Exchange Rates and Values
Introductory Essay by Professor John R. Fisher
1 The Origins of British Trade with the Spanish Colonies, Sixteenth Century to 1763
2 The 'Spanish Trade', 1763-83: Geographical Expansion and the Free Ports
3 The Comercio de Colonias and the Consolidation of the Free Port System, 1783-96
4 Trade during Wartime (1796-1808): The Spanish Licensed Trade in the British West Indies
5 Trade during Wartime (1796-1808): British Contraband and the Spanish-American Perspective
6 Trade during Wartime (1796-1808): Neutral Trade, the Bullion Contracts, and the 'Secret Trade'
7 Conclusions
Maps
Statistical Appendix: British Trade with the Spanish Colonies, 1788-95
Note on Archival Sources
Bibliography for the Study of British Trade with the Spanish Colonies
Index
