Early Modern Europe 1500-1789 (Silver Library) by H.G. Koenigsberger

Author:H.G. Koenigsberger [Koenigsberger, H.G.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781317875888
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2014-06-17T04:00:00+00:00

Trade and governments

The most significant economic expansion of the period took place in trade. The growth of regional specialization made it essential. Governments encouraged it, for the merchants told them that trade brought wealth and employment to their country. An already persuasive argument was strengthened by the evident ability of trade to bear taxes and produce revenues. There was, however, the problem that not only the central government of a state, but many local authorities, cities, provinces and even private landowners had traditionally levied tolls. It proved very difficult to get rid of these, for they were regarded as private property. If the government wanted to take over such tolls, or abolish them, for there were really far too many on the major rivers and highways, their owners would have to be paid compensation – a course which governments rarely cared, or could afford, to pursue.

In the course of the late seventeenth and in the eighteenth centuries, governments did manage to rationalize many of the old tolls and to erect customs barriers around whole kingdoms, not only for the purpose of raising revenue but also to protect native industries from foreign competition, but even governments as powerful as those of France or Brandenburg–Prussia did not find it easy to control effectively their own customs and toll officials.

Jean Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV’s minister for finance and all economic matters, established national tariffs in 1664 and in 1667. The first was directed against Dutch trade and the second against English trade. The underlying concept of these measures was the belief that the total volume of trade and the markets for this trade were stable and inelastic. Colbert made this point very clearly to the king in 1669. The total trade of Europe, he wrote, is carried on in about 20,000 ships of all sizes. Most of these are built and owned by the Dutch. We can rule out the discovery of new markets and new trade. It is therefore clear, he concluded

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.