Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 English Expansion into Spanish America and the Development of a Pro-martime War Argument
- PART I PRO-MARITIME WAR ARGUMENTS DURING THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION
- PART II IMPACT ON REALITY
- Chapter 4 Impact on Reality: Naval Policy
- Chapter 5 Impact on Reality: Legislation
- Chapter 6 The South Sea Company and its Plan for a Navel Expedition in 1712
- PART III PRO-MARITIME WAR ARGUMENTS AFTER 1714
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 6 - The South Sea Company and its Plan for a Navel Expedition in 1712
from PART II - IMPACT ON REALITY
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 English Expansion into Spanish America and the Development of a Pro-martime War Argument
- PART I PRO-MARITIME WAR ARGUMENTS DURING THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION
- PART II IMPACT ON REALITY
- Chapter 4 Impact on Reality: Naval Policy
- Chapter 5 Impact on Reality: Legislation
- Chapter 6 The South Sea Company and its Plan for a Navel Expedition in 1712
- PART III PRO-MARITIME WAR ARGUMENTS AFTER 1714
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
As we saw in Chapter 4, expeditions to Spanish America did not materialise during the War of the Spanish Succession, and the only large-scale colonial expedition that was actually undertaken was destined for Quebec. At that time, however, there was another attempt to gain access to the wealth of Spanish America: the plan for establishing the South Sea Company, proposed by Robert Harley.
It is well known that the South Sea Company, which later triggered a famous financial crisis in 1720, was originally established to resolve the government's floating debts contracted during the War of the Spanish Succession. It is also known that the company was awarded the Asiento, that is, the exclusive right to trade slaves to the Spanish-American colonies, and was also granted the right to send annual ships with cargoes in return for undertaking the government's debts. However, it is far less known that the company was planning to send a naval expedition to the Pacific in 1712.
Economic or financial historians who look at the history of the South Sea Company tend to discard this expedition as a mere bluff contrived by Harley to assist his peace negotiations with France. John G. Sperling views the proposed expedition as a ‘farce’ and offers the ministry's need to cover up the peace negotiations as the only plausible explanation. Likewise, P.G.M. Dickson, following Sperling's interpretation, sees this expedition as ‘no more than a flight of fancy’.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Britain and Colonial Maritime War in the Early Eighteenth CenturySilver, Seapower and the Atlantic, pp. 160 - 188Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2013