Anglo-American Diplomacy and the British West Indies (1783-1789)

Abstract

On the eve of the American Revolution colonial trade with the islands of the British West Indies had reached considerable proportions. Close to 40% of the ships leaving the ports of New York and Boston alone sailed directly to the English possessions in the Caribbean, and an estimated 500 sloops and schooners were involved in both direct and indirect commerce. The year 1767 saw a total of 2000 vessels cleared through American ports for the West Indies.The landowners in the West Indies were highly dependent upon the American colonies for supplies of foodstuffs (including livestock) and lumber. Therefore agricultural America had an outlet for its primary products, while the West Indian planter had a steady market for his sugar economy. In effect the trade with the BWI had become, on the eve of the Declaration of Independence, a cornerstone of American commerce. The importance of this trade can, and has, been documented. But no better than by the remark of Paul Revere shortly after the famous midnight ride. Traveling through the major commercial areas of New England, Revere reported “a sentiment in favor of Congress, so constituted, in order to place a restriction on the trade of the West Indies.” Actually the colonies were not about to injure this trade. After Boston harbor was shut down, John Adams remarked that its commerce was “an essential link in a vast chain, which has made New England what it is, the southern provinces what they are, the West India islands what they are.”