Abstract
Malachy Postlethwayt gave vent to the most comprehensive expression of mercantilist thought on behalf of British imperial interests. Fay (1934, p. 3) justifiably called Postlethwayt, alongside Joshua Gee, a major ‘spokesman’ for 18th-century England. Postlethwayt’s mercantilist vision emphasized (1) the slave trade to Africa and slavery in the Caribbean as vital stimuli to development of British manufactures; (2) the Royal African Company as an instrument of management of ‘the African trade’; (3) the necessity of competition with France for control of the slave trade; and (4) the general principle that government must promote trade and industry.
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References
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Darity, W. (2018). Postlethwayt, Malachy (1707–1767). In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_387
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_387
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