Altman, M., "Seigniorial Tenure in New France, 1688-1739: An Essay on Income Distribution and Retarded Economic Development," Historical Reflections/Réflections historiques, 10, Fall, 1983, 335-75. Utilizes census material to examine the reasons for slow economic growth in New France. Unlike earlier authorities on the subject the author concludes that the seigniorial system was probably partly to blame because it altered the distribution of income which in turn changed the pattern of investment and kept the level of total output lower than it otherwise could have been. The findings are somewhat modified in a subsequent "Note on the Economic Burden of the Seigniorial System in New France, 1688-1739", same journal, 14, Spring 1987, 135-42. The latter draws upon new estimates made by the author of real GDP for New France over the period 1695-1739 which put in doubt the traditional view of the colony's relatively poor economic performance.
Brebner, J. B., The Neutral Yankees of Nova Scotia: A Marginal Colony during the Revolutionary Years, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1969.
Cell, G.T., English Enterprise in Newfoundland, 1577-1660, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1969.
Cole, C.W., Colbert and a Century of French Mercantilism, revised edition, 2 vols., Hamden, Connecticut, Archon Books, 1964.
Coleman, D.C., ed., Revisions in Mercantilism, London, Methuen, 1969.
Davis, R., The Rise of the Atlantic Economies, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1973.
Easterbrook, W.T. and H.G.J. Aitken, Canadian Economic History, Toronto, Macmillan, 1956, Part I. This remains the best broad overview of the colonial period and the early staple trades despite what now appears to be an excessive reliance on the traditional staples approach.
Easterbrook, W.T. and I. Parker, North American Patterns of Growth and Development: the Continental Context, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1990. See especially Chapter 2, "The Initial Phase," which analyzes the early colonial period within the context of Easterbrook's "centre-margin" approach elaborated in Chapter 1.
Egnal, M. and J. Ernst, "An Economic Interpretation of the American Revolution," William and Mary Quarterly, 29, January 1972, 3-32. The authors examine earlier explanations of the causes of the American Revolution and develop their own interpretation which suggests that a number of necessary and sufficient conditions existed which, in the light of British policies after 1763, made the Revolution inevitable. These included the growth of a strong and self-conscious colonial elite; involvement of the "lower orders" in the movement for independence; and broad economic changes which were transforming the Atlantic economy. The paper concentrates on the latter. The most fundamental change was the growth of trade, gradual in the years 1720 to 1745 and very rapid between 1745 and 1775.
Egnal, M., "The Economic Development of the Thirteen Colonies 1720-1775," William and Mary Quarterly, 32, April 1975. Finds that growth occurred in the Thirteen Colonies between 1720 and 1725 because of an increase in population which led to an expansion of total output and a rise in per capita income. The period from 1720 to the 1740's was one of rapid growth initially, but with stagnation setting in by the 1740's. Growth resumed between 1745 and 1760 after which there was a gradual slowing of growth. The growth of per capita incomes which occurred is attributed to productivity gains due to the adoption of new techniques, a rise in the market value of domestically produced goods relative to the prices of imported goods, and an increase in investment.
Elliot, G.R., "Frontiers and Forms of Enterprise: The Case of the North Pacific, 1785-1825," Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science, 24, May 1958, 251-61. Examines the "metropolitan" activities of Spanish, Russian and British entrepreneurs in the North Pacific region and finds that "...no one form of business enterprise is universally adequate." p. 260.
Gallman, R., "The Pace and Pattern of American Economic Growth," in L. Davis, R. Easterlin and W. Parker, eds., American Economic Growth, New York, Harper and Row, 1972.
Gibson, J.R., ed., European Settlement and Development in North America: Essays on Geographical Change in Honour and Memory of Andrew Hill Clark, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1978.
Graham, G., The Empire of the North Atlantic: The Maritime Struggle for North America, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1950.
Hecksher, E.F., "Mercantilism," Economic History Review, 7, November 1936, 44-54. A classic article on the subject by a leading authority.
Hecksher, E.F., Mercantilism, revised edition, 2 vols., New York, Macmillan, 1955.
Innis, H.A., "An Introduction to the Economic History of the Maritimes, Including Newfoundland and New England," in H.A. Innis, ed., Essays in Canadian Economic History, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1956, 27-42. "Throughout this paper an attempt has been made to emphasize the continuous and powerful effects of the underlying technique of industry on the economic, social, and political activities of the communities concerned. It has been assumed that the pull has been outwards from the land and that the frontier of New England history was toward the sea and not, as Turner has suggested, toward the land." p.39.
Johnson, E.A., Predecessors of Adam Smith, New York, Prentice-Hall, 1937.
Knorr, K.E., British Colonial Theories 1570-1850, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1944.
Lebergott, S., The Americans: An Economic Record, Norton, New York, 1984.
McClelland, P., "The Cost to America of British Imperial Policy," American Economic Review, 59, May 1969, 370-85. The percentage of colonial GNP sacrificed because of British interference with overseas trade is estimated at less than 3 per cent. The geographic diversion was minor and the goods affected were a small percentage of total American GNP. The planters of Virginia and Maryland were the hardest hit, but even they almost never mentioned these matters in their list of grievances against Britain.
McCusker, J.J. and R.R. Menard, The Economy of British America, 1607-1789, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1985.
Mun, T., England's Treasure by Forraign Trade, Oxford, Blackwell, 1949. "Although a Kingdom may be enriched by gifts received, or by purchase taken from some other Nations, yet these are things uncertain and of small consideration when they happen. The ordinary means therefore to encrease our wealth and treasure is by Forraign Trade, wherein wee must ever observe this rule; to sell more to strangers yearly than wee consume of their in value." p.5.
Nettles, C.P., "British Mercantilism and the Economic Development of the Thirteen Colonies," Journal of Economic History, 12, Spring 1952, 105-14. Examines the effect of British mercantilist policies on the development of both the southern and northern colonies and suggests that these policies were the cause of retarded growth and the development of the slave economy in the south, whereas they stimulated the growth of domestic manufacturing and a vigorous shipping industry in the north. After 1763 the cessation of British military spending and the imposition of heavier taxes on the colonies contributed to the dissatisfaction which manifested itself in the American Revolution.
North, D.C. and R.P. Thomas, The Rise of the Western World: A New Economic History, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1973.
Pritchard, J.S., "The Pattern of French Colonial Shipping to Canada before 1760," Revue française d'histoire d'Outre-Mer, 63, 1976, 189-210.
Ransom, R., "British Policy and Colonial Growth," Journal of Economic History, 28, September 1968, 427-35. Shows that there were significant opportunities for the British to compromise in their policies with respect to trade, commerce and industry, but that such opportunities were ignored, thereby contributing to the pressures building up in the colonies to break the imperial connection.
Reid, J., "Economic Burden: Spark to the Revolution?" Journal of Economic History, 38, March 1978, 143-47. Presents a model in which political activity such as war is determined by three forces: sentiment, loyalty and acquiescence. The pattern of colonial protest suggests that specific economic considerations did motivate the masses on both sides of the conflict, but may not have been the major cause of it. Also see the comment by S. DeCanio, same issue.
Shepherd, J.F. and G.M. Walton, Shipping, Maritime Trade and the Economic Development of Colonial North America, London, Cambridge University Press, 1972.
Thomas, R.P., "A Quantitative Approach to the Study of the Effects of British Imperial Policy upon Colonial Welfare: Some Preliminary Findings," Journal of Economic History, 25, December 1965, 615-38. Compares the economic situation of the colonies in the period 1763 to 1772 to what it would have been if they had been independent and subject to the same trading laws other countries outside the Empire faced in trading with Britain. Finds that the colonies were subjected to a net burden with respect to both their exports and imports, but that there was no effect on colonial shipping earnings. Overall, the per capita burden was 42 cents in 1770 and 26 cents on average over the years 1763 to 1772. Given an estimated per capita average income of $100, concludes that American colonists did not experience a substantial loss as a consequence of the British mercantilist system.
Trudel, M., Introduction to New France, Toronto, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968.
Upton, L., The United Empire Loyalists: Men and Myths, Toronto, Copp Clark, 1967.
Weaver, S.R., "Taxation in New France: A Study in Pioneer Economics," Journal of Political Economy, 22, October 1914, 736-55. Discusses the adaptation of European institutions to North American circumstances. The tax system in New France is depicted as a largely accidental arrangement arising out of efforts to regulate access to the fur trade, a system based on expediency rather than theory.
Wilson, C., "Mercantilism: Some Vicissitudes of an Idea," Economic History Review, 10, December 1957, 181-88. Reviews the literature on mercantilism seeking common ground among the various schools. The evidence supports the contention that there was no uniform body of mercantilist doctrine, but that four main propositions might be accepted by most mercantilists, namely that wealth is essential to power, power is essential to wealth, wealth and power should be objectives of national policy, and that although there may be circumstances in which military security requires economic sacrifices there is a long-run harmony between money and power.
Wilson, C., "Treasure and Trade Balances: The Mercantilist Problem," Economic History Review, 2, 1949, 152-61. Before a system of international lending became established, bullion transfers were indispensable for making purchases, for bridging the gap between purchases and sales and to finance trade deficits. Governments and "practical men of trade" were familiar with these uses of precious metals and the debates over mercantilism tended to take such matters for granted.
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