The British Textile Trade in South America in the Nineteenth Century

This book explores the marketing chain of British textile exports to South America and sheds light on South Americans' consumer behaviour.

Manuel Llorca-Jaña (Author)

9781107480940, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 October 2014

410 pages, 38 b/w illus. 36 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.6 kg

'In this exceptional monograph, Manuel Llorca-Jaña argues that the southern cone of Latin America (what is today Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile) in the nineteenth century was a large, dynamic, and competitive market for British textiles … an enormous achievement and a substantial increase in our understanding of the early nineteenth century in Latin American trade.' Peter Sims, Economic History Review

This is the first work on British textile exports to South America during the nineteenth century. During this period, textiles ranked among the most important manufactures traded in the world market and Britain was the foremost producer. Thanks to new data, this book demonstrates that British exports to South America were transacted at very high rates during the first decades after independence. This development was due to improvements in the packing of textiles; decreasing costs of production and introduction of free trade in Britain; falling ocean freight rates, marine insurance and import duties in South America; dramatic improvements in communications; and the introduction of better port facilities. Manuel Llorca-Jaña explores the marketing chain of textile exports to South America and sheds light on South Americans' consumer behaviour. This book contains the most comprehensive database on Anglo-South American trade during the nineteenth century and fills an important gap in the historiography.

Part I. The Trade Data: 1. Introduction
2. Britain's textile exports to the Southern Cone: the data
Part II. The Market Chain: 3. The main links in the market chain
4. Knowing, adapting to, and managing demand
5. Contracts and commissions
6. Paying for textiles: return remittances
Part III. Explaining the Data: 7. Developments in the industrialising core
8. Developments in the Southern Cone
9. Conclusions.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], History of the Americas [HBJK], British & Irish history [HBJD1], History [HB]