Wars and financial crises ravaged eighteenth-century England and it was widely recognised that businessmen bore the brunt of the dislocation they caused. But how far did such destructive powers lead to the downfall of businesses and cause the fluctuations in the numbers of the bankrupts uncovered at the start of the previous chapter?

WAR

Between 1700 and 1800 England was involved in five major wars, covering a total of forty-six years: the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–13); the War of the Austrian Succession (1739–48); the Seven Years War (1756–63); the American War of Independence (1775–83); and the Revolutionary War (1793–1802). Some of these wars were more serious than others and conflict was never continuous or consistently destructive. At the very least, it is sensible to remember the distinction introduced earlier between the threat of war, the waging of war and the making of peace. Within this broad chronology, wars need to be looked at in terms of their impact on domestic and overseas trade on both the supply and the demand sides of economic activity. All these concerns centre on the impact of war on the competitive balance in the business world and the changing nature of risk and uncertainty produced. This is not to forget that wars created as well as destroyed opportunities, but just to emphasise that they increased the degree of unpredictability. If financiers or ironmasters could make their fortunes from war, plenty of other businessmen could lose them.

On the demand side, the most obvious impact of wars was felt in the closure of foreign markets, especially in Europe and America.