British Mercantile Interests in the Making of the Peace of Paris 1763- Trade, War and Empire

Based on the presupposition that imperial policy reflected the economic structure of the empire, that it existed as an adjunct to the operations of the slave trader, the sugar planter, the fisherman of the ports of western England, the fur merchant, and the trader to India and the Spice Islands. Whereas the commercial community was responsible for the developments of empire, the larger landed interests often possessed the political power to determine the final outcome of these developments. This is demonstrated in the making of the Treaty of Paris, where the landed interests thwarted the full possibilities for extensive growth of the mercantile community by accepting a peace which was inconsistent with the war effort and the great victories of the war. This study examines the mercantile interests of the period, the role they played in both the war and the making of the Treaty of Paris, and the relationship between mercantile interests and the ministry.