The Context of Bordeaux's Eighteenth-Century Trade with the British Isles

This chapter is the culmination of the author’s career-long research into Irish trade and merchant communities during the eighteenth century. Cullen begins by outlining the Irish merchant communities in Saint-Malo, La Rochelle, and Nantes, which preceded the Irish community in Bordeaux, at least in terms of size and prominence. Bordeaux’s emergence as the home of the largest Irish trading community did not occur until the 1730s, and it remained the most prominent Irish community in France until the French Revolution. Cullen demonstrates how Bordeaux–Ireland trade worked, and the role of London and other cities in financing the trade. He ultimately argues that while Bordeaux was hardly the only place in France that influenced Ireland and was influence by Ireland, it was foremost among all the cities in France where the Irish settled in large numbers.