American shipping and trade in warfare, or the benefits of European conflicts for neutral merchants : The experience of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars,1793-1815

This paper analyses the increase in United States maritime trade during the French wars (1793-1815). It shows how the independence from Great Britain changed the range of opportunities open to North American merchants but implied also new challenges and problems, which the United States government tried to meet. The paper argues that the main factor explaining the growth of American trade and shipping is the demand for neutral carrying services and the changing conditions in colonial trade that warfare imposed upon belligerents. Two case studies illustrate the argument. First, the paper shows how American ships contributed to the import and export trade in Bordeaux (France) and suggests that the arrangements were beneficial both to American and to French merchants. Second, it looks at the growing involvement of American ships in infra-Mediterranean trade. Both case studies point to the relevance of American neutrality during European conflicts