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A Revolution of Scale in Overseas Trade: British Firms in the Chesapeake Trade, 1675–1775

Author

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  • Price, Jacob M.
  • Clemens, Paul G. E.

Abstract

In seventeenth-century England the relatively open trades to America attracted ventures by hundreds of small merchants and shopkeepers. This ease of entry was checked after 1685 by very high customs duties on tobacco and intense regulation. Between 1685 and 1775 the number of firms in that trade was radically reduced and the size of the average firm increased ten to thirtyfold. Comparable if less extreme trends can be detected in the sugar, slave, and Levant trades. Insurance enabled large firms to use shipping more efficiently. The increased availability of credit also benefited larger and more secure firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Price, Jacob M. & Clemens, Paul G. E., 1987. "A Revolution of Scale in Overseas Trade: British Firms in the Chesapeake Trade, 1675–1775," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(1), pages 1-43, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:47:y:1987:i:01:p:1-43_04
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    Cited by:

    1. Gavin Wright, 2020. "Slavery and Anglo‐American capitalism revisited," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 73(2), pages 353-383, May.
    2. Gary Spraakman & Julie Margret, 2005. "The transfer of management accounting practices from London counting houses to the British North American fur trade," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(2), pages 101-119.
    3. Nuala Zahedieh, 2010. "Regulation, rent‐seeking, and the Glorious Revolution in the English Atlantic economy," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 63(4), pages 865-890, November.
    4. Nadia Matringe, 2022. "Early inventory management practices in the foreign exchange market: Insights from sixteenth‐century Lyon," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(3), pages 739-778, August.
    5. Dalton, John T. & Leung, Tin Cheuk, 2015. "Dispersion and distortions in the trans-Atlantic slave trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 412-425.

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