Monopoly, economic thought, and the Royal African Company

The following account of the legislative and public debate surrounding the monopoly of the Royal African Company is taken from a larger project seeking to examine economic ideas and discourse during the reigns of William III and Mary, and of Anne. Given that virtually all economic literature at the end of the seventeenth century was addressed to, and attempted to inform, debates concerning the effectiveness and applicability of economic policy, this study attempts to analyze this literature within its political and legislative context. ¹ The process of economic policy-making in Parliament was extremely fragmentary and usually instigated by private interest groups without government coordination (except, notably, in revenue matters). In this sense, the state’s interest in economic affairs was “reactive”; it took little interest in directing economic affairs and acted only when spurred by the initiatives of interested groups and individuals from London and the provinces. ² The reactive nature of the state, in conjunction with the rise of Parliament as the key policy-making body within government, allowed for a relatively open political culture and broad participation in the making of economic policy.