The Politics of Commerce

Andrew Dilley

doi:10.1177/2158244013510304

Abstract

In the last decade, historians studying Britain’s relations with the self-governing settlement empire (the dominions) have emphasized the role of shared culture and dense networks in shaping what Bridge and Fedorowich have called the “British world.” Recent scholarship has begun to discern a political life within this British world, at times resurrecting the term Greater Britain. This article builds on these developments through research on a neglected pan-imperial institution: the Congress of Chambers of Commerce of the Empire. The article shows that the Congress, which was dominated by chambers from Britain and the dominions, acted primarily as a business lobby seeking to shape aspects of pan-imperial economic governance. This conclusion highlights the need to place greater emphasis on patterns of politics and governance within the British World (or Greater Britain).

Highlights

Chambers of commerce emerged across the English-speaking world through the late-18th and 19th centuries as voluntary organizations formed to bring together businessmen in particular localities to articulate common interests and provide services for members (Bennett, 2011)
In June 1886, the London Chamber of Commerce announced that “the most important commercial congress which has ever been held in any country” would take place that August in London to coincide with the Indian and Colonial Exhibition
Growing British trade with the dominions and the large proportions of dominion trade conducted with Britain provided commercial elites with powerful incentives to seek to shape the framework of political economy within which they operated

Summary

Introduction

Chambers of commerce emerged across the English-speaking world through the late-18th and 19th centuries as voluntary organizations formed to bring together businessmen in particular localities (usually cities) to articulate common interests and provide services for members (Bennett, 2011). They formed associations and congresses on a national and supranational basis (Ilersic, 1960). In June 1886, the London Chamber of Commerce (a late-comer founded in 1882) announced that “the most important commercial congress which has ever been held in any country” would take place that August in London to coincide with the Indian and Colonial Exhibition. From 1892, any chamber could propose resolutions and content for discussion and the outcome of votes on resolutions were determined on the floor of the Congress. Intensive rounds of banquets, receptions, and garden parties accompanied congresses. Until 1911, a

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Findings

Conclusion