Feast and Famine

2021 ◽  
pp. 15-30
Author(s):  
Jim Powell
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
American Civil War ◽  
British Trade ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cotton Trade

This chapter presents a picture of the British cotton trade on the eve of the American Civil War, describing both the pre-eminence of that trade and how it had been attained over the previous century and a half. The relative merits of three major recent studies of the history of cotton, notably Sven Beckert’s Empire of Cotton, are discussed. This is followed by a consideration of how the issue of slavery, and the threat to its survival, influenced the British trade before the war. There is a detailed description of how the Liverpool brokerage system controlled the trade in raw cotton and how it was intended to operate.

Losing the Thread

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Powell
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
American Civil War ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Cotton Trade

Losing the Thread is the first full-length study of the effect of the American Civil War on Britain’s raw cotton trade and on the Liverpool cotton market. It details the worst crisis in the British cotton trade in the 19th century. Before the civil war, America supplied 80 per cent of Britain’s cotton. In August 1861, this fell to almost zero, where it remained for four years. Despite increased supplies from elsewhere, Britain’s largest industry received only 36 per cent of the raw material it needed from 1862 to 1864. This book establishes the facts of Britain’s raw cotton supply during the war: how much there was of it, in absolute terms and in relation to the demand, where it came from and why, how much it cost, and what effect the reduced supply had on Britain’s cotton manufacture. It includes an enquiry into the causes of the Lancashire cotton famine, which contradicts the historical consensus on the subject. Examining the impact of the civil war on Liverpool and its cotton market, the book disputes the historic portrayal of Liverpool as a solidly pro-Confederate town. It also demonstrates how reckless speculation infested and distorted the raw cotton market, and lays bare the shadowy world of the Liverpool cotton brokers, who profited hugely from the war while the rest of Lancashire starved.

The American Civil War

2020 ◽  
pp. 246-271
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
American Civil War ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Henry Ward Beecher ◽  
North And South ◽  
Cotton Trade

Because of its position as a port in the cotton trade, Liverpool had a special role in the Civil War. This chapter considers the rival consular activities of North and South, and the secret local commissioning of battle-ships as well as the campaign by both sides to enlist British support. Henry Ward Beecher was one of the key figures in these activities.

Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Jim Powell
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
American Civil War ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Cotton Trade

This chapter describes the objectives of the book. No full-length work exists on the crisis in the British cotton trade during the American Civil War, and the only substantial study of the raw cotton market in Liverpool was made by Thomas Ellison 130 years ago. The book remedies these omissions. It has two objectives. First, to establish the factual record of Britain’s raw cotton supply during the civil war. Second, to examine the impact of the civil war on Liverpool, and on the operation of the raw cotton trade there, with specific reference to the role of the cotton brokers. The chapter discusses the existing historiography and its deficiencies, and describes the primary sources that underpin this study. It establishes the crucial, and neglected, importance of price to the trade in raw cotton.

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