ABSTRACT
This chapter is devoted to the latter part of the eighteenth century, when conflicting commercial and political interests in North Eurasian trade reached a peak, before turning into a state of disorder during the French Wars. The first section contextualizes the exponential growth of Anglo-Russian trade through the Danish Sound during the last quarter of the eighteenth century. The second section addresses the significant territorial and regime changes that occurred in North Eurasia’s border basins in the latter decades of the eighteenth century, and highlights Russia’s, Prussia’s, and Britain’s predominant role in these territorial changes. It addresses Prussia’s economic policies in the annexed territories of Poland-Lithuania, especially the Prussian battle against Danzig, and demonstrates how these policies provoked an important shift in commodity flows from the hinterland of the Baltic ports. Furthermore, it describes the decisive impact of Britain’s pursuit of its economic interests in the Baltic and the Black Sea. After a failed attempt to establish a free port in Danzig in 1790, Britain no longer opposed to Prussia’s claims on Danzig and accepted Russia’s territorial gains on the Black Sea coast, arguing that this turn of events would be in their best commercial interest. The remainder of this chapter discusses the far-reaching consequences of these strategic decisions, focusing, in particular, on the impact of the Continental Blockade (1806–1813) and the Russo-Ottoman War (1806–1812) on North Eurasian trade.
