The Making of the British Atlantic

This year marks the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Utrecht and the 250th anniversary of the Treaty of Paris. Both treaties reshaped the world and had profound consequences for the future of Britain and North America, as Jeremy Black explains.

Benjamin Franklin's 1763 appeal to British colonies in North America to unite against the threat of France.The 18th century was crucial to both the development of Britain and of North America. Naval mastery and the commercial dominance of the North Atlantic that came with it were central to the growth of the British economy, to its focus on trade – especially long-range trade – to export opportunities, jobs, liquidity, investment income and customs, all set against the background of the Industrial Revolution.

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