ABSTRACT
The history of the eighteenth-century English Board of Trade has hardly been regarded as a success story by the historians who have written it. The Board’s establishment coincided in time with a period of rapid proliferation of London interest groups with American connections. By the standards of developing nations Britain was remarkably successful in accommodating interest groups in the early eighteenth century, and the Board of Trade appears to have contributed substantially to its success. Aware for the first time of the uses of London politics, American interest groups turned to London interests to assist them in local politics. The Board’s main functions were those of particular concern to the Anglo-American interests, and in handling the issues the Board was particularly responsive to their pressure. Thus, ministers often denied the highest aspirations of English interests while relying on the Board of Trade to ‘neutralise’ the groups as best they could.
