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Politicians, Merchants, and Colonial Maritime W ar: The Political and Economic Background of the A merican A ct of 1708
Author(s) -
Satsuma Shinsuke
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
parliamentary history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.14
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1750-0206
pISSN - 0264-2824
DOI - 10.1111/1750-0206.12018
Subject(s) - colonialism , politics , legislation , parliament , political science , political economy , economic history , economy , law , sociology , economics
During the W ar of the S panish S uccession (1702–13), there were attempts to support colonial maritime war by legislation, and the A merican A ct of 1708 can be seen as their culmination. Historians who study privateering or colonial history have referred to this act in several contexts, such as reform in prize administration, naval impressment in A merican colonies, and S panish‐ A merican trade. However, the political and economic interests behind this act have not been fully investigated. By examining the process of the enactment of the A merican A ct together with antecedent attempts to promote colonial maritime war in parliament, this article reveals the political and vested interests involved in the act, the relations between them, and the influence they had on the content of the act. This analysis will show the complex interaction between politics, trade, and colonial maritime war in the early‐18th‐century A merican colonies.