A Study On British "Country Trade" In The 18^th Century From The Perspective Of Global History

The 18th century was the period when the"country trade"of Britain gradually became prosperous,and it was also the period when the"country trade"in the Indian Ocean world was relatively prosperous.Studying British"country trade"in the 18th century combining the perspective of global history will enrich our understanding of the British"country trade"and the related historical process.It can also improve the understanding and application of global history theory.The British"country trade"rose at the end of the 17th century.The rise of the British"country trade"was the results of the superior structure and equipment of the British ships,the support and protection of the British East India Company and the British government,the trade opportunities in the Indian Ocean world,and the cooperation of Asian merchants.From the end of the 17th century to the middle of the 18th century,the center of the British"country trade"trended in the west,that is,the trade developed mainly in the western Indian Ocean world.Because in the West Indian Ocean,British country traders obtained trade preferential treatment,had competitive advantage in trade.The intercontinental trade of the British East India Company helped the British country traders solve the problem of finding return goods.The decline of the power of Netherlands and France,accompanied by the withdrawal of some Asian merchants from the"country trade",gave the British country merchants more trade opportunities,greater trade space and less trade resistance and competition.The British"country trade"in the West Indian Ocean developed rapidly.By the middle of the18^th century,British country traders accounted for most of the trade between Bengal and the west coast of India and accounted for at least half of the westward"country trade".On the contrary,in the east Indian Ocean,British country traders have fewer markets,and the Netherlands,France,and Denmark created strong resistance and competition.Although the British"country trade"in the east Indian Ocean has made some progress with the support of the British East India Company and the British government,its development was relatively limited.And only the partial trade routes of the British eastward"country trade"have gained initial development.From the middle of the 18th century to the end of the 18th century,the British"country trade"center shifted eastward.During this period,political turbulence in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea in the west Indian Ocean economy area caused the trade environment to deteriorate.The increase in the number of Calcutta’s export to Europe made Bengal goods more expensive and lose competitive advantage in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.The British"country trade"in the west Indian Ocean declined.In the East Indian Ocean,as the power of the Britain increased and the power of the Netherlands and France was weakened,British country traders’trade market expanded,trade competition decreased,and trade resistance significantly reduced.The deficit position of the Britain in China-British trade stimulated British country traders to expand"country trade"to China.The arms trade opportunities on the east coast of the India led to the development of"country trade"there.The British"country trade"on the east coast of the India flourished and surpassed it on the west coast,and the British eastward"country trade"also flourished.The rapid growth of the British"country trade"in the east Indian Ocean made up for the shortcoming of the British"country trade"in the west Indian Ocean and promoted the prosperity of the British"country trade".By the end of the 18th century,British country merchants had a dominant position in the Indian coast trade,India-Southeast Asia trade,and India-Southeast Asia-China trade.However,in China-Southeast Asia trade,British country merchants failed to replace the dominance of Chinese merchants.The development of the British"country trade"has effects on the overall pattern of"country trade"in the Indian Ocean world and the Asia-Europe trade.Regarding the overall pattern of"country trade"in the Indian Ocean world,the British"country trade"has brought about three major changes.Firstly,the"Gujarat-Coromandel-Malacca"trade axis was dismantled.Bengal replaced the Coromandel coast and became the trading center of the Indian.China became the main center of"country trade"in the Indian Ocean world.Secondly,Trade link between the eastern Indian Ocean Economic Regions was even stronger.Thirdly,trade link between all the economic regions of the Indian Ocean world was further strengthened.The influence of the British"country trade"on the Asia-Europe trade embodied in three aspects.First of all,the British country merchants incorporated more Indian Ocean World trading ports into the British East India Company’s intercontinental trade network,expanding the market scale of Asia-Europe trade.Secondly,the British country merchants created more complicated trade routes,providing more and closer trade routes for the British East India Company’s intercontinental trading ships in the Indian Ocean world,and promoting the formation of a more cohesive whole of the Eurasian intercontinental trade network.Moreover,the British country merchants collected trade information at the trading ports of the Indian Ocean World,and passed the information about the trade market to the British East India Company,which promoted deeper trade links between Asia and Europe.