An Essay on the East-India Trade [0]
An Essay on the East-India Trade
by Charles D'Avenant
1697
To the Most Honourable John Lord Marquis of Normanby, etc.
An Essay on the East-India Trade
My Lord
Your Lordship was pleased, the other day, to intimate, that you would willingly know my opinion, in general, of the East-India trade; whether it is hurtful, or beneficial to this nation? and my thoughts, concerning the bill, for prohibiting the wearing all East-India and Persia wrought silks, bengals, and dyed, printed, or stained callicoes. What has occurred to my observation in these two points, I shall offer with great sincerity, having no interest, or engagement, to sway me, in the questions, one way or other. But, before I begin, I must beg leave to say, I am very glad to see your lordship bend your excellent wit, and right understanding, to inquiries of this nature. For nothing can be more important to a nobleman, than a true knowledge of the manufactures, trade, wealth, and strength of his country: nor can your eloquence be any way more usefully employed, than in discoursing skilfully upon this subject, in that great assembly of which you are so much an ornament. Richlieu has left behind him an evidence how much he made these matters his care and study: which, however neglected by the ministers of the present age, are notwithstanding the only foundation of a solid and lasting greatness. For who can give a prince sound advice, and under him steer the people rightly and well, either in peace or in war, that is ignorant of the posture, condition, and interest of the country where he lives? Is there any thing in the world, that should be more thought a matter of state than trade, especially in an island? And should not that which is the common concern of all, be the principal care of such as govern? Can a nation be safe without strength? And is power to be compassed and secured but by riches? And can a country become rich any way, but by the help of a well-managed and extended traffick? What has enabled England to support this expensive war so long, but the great wealth which for 30 years has been flowing into us from our commerce abroad? The soil of no country is rich enough to attain a great mass of wealth, merely by the exchange and exportation of its own natural product. The staple commodities that England exports, are the woollen manufactures, tin, lead, hides and sometimes corn. But considering our luxury, and our great expence of foreign wares here at home, we could not have grown rich without other dealings in the world. For set our own exported product in the balance with the imported product from France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and the two northern kingdoms; at the foot of the account it will be found, that but 1/4th part of our riches arises from the vent of our own commodities. Whoever looks strictly and nicely into our affairs, will find, that the wealth England had once, did arise chiefly from two articles: 1st, Our plantation trade. 2ndly, Our East-India traffic. The plantation trade gives employment to many thousand artificers here at home, and takes off a great quantity of our inferior manufactures. The returns of all which are made in tobacco, cotton, ginger, sugars, indico, etc. by which we were not only supplied for our own consumption, but we had formerly wherewithal to send to France, Flanders, Hamburgh, the East Country and Holland, for 500,000l. per annum, besides what we shipped for Spain and the Streights, etc. Since we were supplanted in the spice-trade by the Dutch, and since great part of the pepper-trade is gone by the lots of Bantam,our chief investments or importations from the East Indies have been in callicoes, wrought silks, drugs, saltpetre, raw silks, cottons, and cottn-yarn, goats wool, or carmania wool, and other products of those countries; part of which commodities are for our own use, but a much greater part, in times of peace, were brought up here for the consumption of France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Italy, and our plantations.