ABSTRACT
The Jacobites were backed in wartime by France and, since Britain was at war with France for most of this period, indeed from 1689 to 1697 and from 1702 to 1713, this posed a serious security challenge. The commercial background to major expansion in British trade from the late seventeenth century was protectionist. In the mid-seventeenth century, protectionism focused on the Dutch, who were the dominant commercial force of the period. The role of commercial competition in rivalry with France was less significant than that of political factors, but trade issues certainly played a role in diplomacy and also in exacerbating tensions, for example, encouraging the ebbing of peace in 1701–2. In 1710, Port Royal, the major French base in Nova Scotia, was captured, and the Utrecht Settlement of 1713 left Britain with Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Hudson Bay. The ‘Glorious Revolution’ was also followed by important political, governmental and fiscal changes that played a major role in fostering trade.
