| Abstract: |
In 1813 the EIC had lost its stranglehold on trade between India and Britain, but to the frustration of commercial lobbies China remained closed.¹ In cities such as Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow factory owners fumed at restrictions on their exports. For these men, free trade made calculated sense: Britain was the world’s biggest producer of cotton textiles and other manufactures. Food producers on the other hand, were wary of open markets, hence the bitter debates before the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. This is often seen as introducing a glorious era of London-led liberalisation.
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