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• Preface.
• A Select Collection of Early English Tracts On Commerce
• Thomas Mun, a Discoverse of Trade From England Vnto the East-indies: Answering to Diuerse Obiections Which Are Vsually Made Against the Same.
• Lewes Roberts, the Treasure of Traffike, Or a Discoourse of Forraigne Trade.
• Thomas Mun, England’s Treasure By Forraign Trade. Or. the Ballance of Our Forraign Trade Is the Rule of Our Treasure.
• Chap. I.: The Qualities Which Are Required In a Perfect Merchant of Forraign Trade.
• Chap. II.: The Means to Enrich This Kingdom, and to Encrease Our Treasure.
• Chap. III.: The Particular Ways and Means to Encrease the Exportation of Our Commodities, and to Decrease Our Consumption of Forraign Wares.
• Chap. IV.: The Exportation of Our Moneys In Trade of Merchandize Is a Means to Encrease Our Treasure.
• Chap. V.: Forraign Trade Is the Only Means to Improve the Price of Our Lands.
• Chap. VI.: The Spanish Treasure Cannot Be Kept From Other Kingdoms By Any Prohibition Made In Spain.
• Chap. VII.: The Diversity of Gain By Forraign Trade.
• Chap. VIII.: The Enhansing Or Debasing Our Moneys Cannot Enrich the Kingdom With Treasure, Nor Hinder the Exportation Thereof.
• Chap. IX.: A Toleration For Forraign Coins to Pass Currant Here At Higher Rates Then Their Value With Our Standard, Will Not Encrease Our Treasure.
• Chap. X.: The Observation of the Statute of Imployments to Be Made By Strangers, Cannot Encrease, Nor Yet Preserve Our Treasure.
• Chap. XI.: It Will Not Increase Our Treasure to Enjoyn the Merchant That Exporteth Fish, Corn Or Munition, to Return All Or Part of the Value In Money.
• Chap. XII.: The Undervaluing of Our Money Which Is Delivered Or Received By Bills of Exchange Here Or Beyond the Seas, Cannot Decrease Our Treasure.
• Chap. XIII.: The Merchant Who Is a Mere Exchanger of Money By Bills Cannot Increase Or Decrease Our Treasure.
• Chap. XIV.: The Admirable Feats Supposed to Be Done By Bankers and the Merchants Exchange.
• Chap. XV.: Of Some Excesses and Evils In the Commonwealth, Which Notwithstanding Decay Not Our Trade Nor Treasure.
• Chap. XVI.: How the Revenues and Incomes of Princes May Justly Be Raised.
• Chap. XVII.: Whether It Be Necessary For Great Princes to Lay Up Store of Treasure.
• Chap. XVIII.: How Much Treasure a Prince May Conveniently Lay Up Yearly.
• Chap. XIX.: Of Some Different Effects, Which Proceed From Naturall and Artificiall Wealth.
• Chap. XX.: The Order and Means Whereby We May Draw Up the Ballance of Our Forraign Trade.
• Chap. XXI.: The Conclusion Upon All That Hath Been Said, Concerning the Exportation Or Importation of Treasure.
• Samuel Fortrey, Englands Interest and Improvement.
• England’s Great Happiness; Or, a Dialogue Between Content and Complaint.
• Britannia Languens, Or a Discourse of Trade
• The Preface.
• The Introduction.
• Section I.: Trade National Or Private, Home Or Forreign Treasures Imported By Trade, Thence Land-rents, Populacy Increased, the Revenues of All Ranks of Men Depend Upon Trade, People and Treasure Make National Strength, Particular Advantages In Treasure,
• Sect. II.: The Several Kinds of Forreign Trade, of Trading With Home Or Forreign Navigation, Some General Application.
• Sect. III.: Of Forreign Trade Consisting In Exportation, of the Advantages of Home Manufactures, and Manufactures, Incidently Other Home Trades, and Imployments Are Considered; and Which of Them Enrich a Nation; of the Fishing-trade, and the Annual Export
• Sect. IV.: Of Forreign Trade From Port to Port, the Nature and Advantage of It, Differs From Meer Carriage, and Meer Importation; the Necessity of a Home Storehouse: the Ordinary Exporting of Money Or Bullion, of Dangerous Consequence; How to Be Avoided:
• Sect. V.: That Our Home and Forreign Market Is Incumbered, and Prejudiced By Extraordinary and Unequal Charges, and Cloggs In Our Merchandize Above What Are In Our Neighbour-nations, Viz. In the Building and Furniture of Our Ships, Victuals, Sea-mens Wa
• Sect. VI.: Other Cloggs On Our Trade, Viz. the Late Acts of Navigation, Which, With the Other Difficulties, Have Begot Monopolies; Made Our Navigation Yet Dearer, So Forreign Materials of Manufacture Cause Meer Importations, Hinder Our Forreign Vent of
• Sect. VII.: Forreigners Eased In Trade; Other Clogs and Difficulties Upon Ours; Want of Populacy, Incidently of Extream Prizes of Victuals, and How the Duration of Land-rents May Be Secured, Our People Restrained From Manufactures; the Abuse of the Act
• Sect. VIII.: That a Nation May Grow Poor By Forreign Trade, Viz. By an Excess of Meer Importations, Illustrated By Some Observations: This Facilitated By Exporting Money Or Bullion; the Fatal Consequences and Symptoms of a Consumptive Trade, Decay of Ma
• Sect. IX.: That a Consumptive Trade Must Render a Nation Still Weaker and Weaker: How Far the Meer Establishment of Absolute Power, Or Meer Liberty and Property, May Alter the Case.
• Sect. X.: Further Presumptions of Our Late National Overballance In Trade; an Account From the Mint In November 75. and Thence Our Former Ballance of Trade Estimated.
• Sect. XI.: Particular Decays In Our Exportations, and the Beneficial Parts of Our Trade; Instances In the Decay of Our Foreign-trade For Woollen Clothing, In the Several Countries and Ports We Traded To, In the Sinking of the Foreign Price of This Manufac
• Sect. XII.: Instances In Late Increases and Excesses of Our Forreign Importations, and Therein of the Decay of Some Other of Our Own Manufactures Which Supplyed Our Home Uses, Viz. In Linnens of All Sorts, More Dear Fine Linnens Used; Incidently of the
• Sect. XIII.: That a Considerable Part of Our Late Treasure Is Exhausted: Application to Our Publick and Private Revenues: Objections Answered, Viz. the Plenty of Money to Be Let On Securities, Stores of Money In London, Stocks In Merchandize, the Over
• Sect. XIV.: People and Treasure the True Pillars of the National Strength: the Odds In the Different Vse and Imployment of People. the Absoluteness of the French Monarchy No Cause of the Present French Grandure: the Late Application of the French Co
• Dudley North, Discourses Upon Trade
• The Preface.
• A Discourse Concerning the Abatement of Interest.
• A Discourse of Coyned Money.
• Postscript. Upon Farther Consideration of the Foregoing Matters, I Think Fit to Add the Following Notes.
• Considerations On the East-india Trade
• To the Reader.
• Chap. I.: The Objections Against the East-india Trade; Viz. the Exportation of Bullion For Manufactures to Be Consum’d In England; the Loss of the Labourer’s Employment; the Abatement of Rents Are Enforc’d.
• Chap. II.: The Exportation of Bullion For Indian Manufactures, Is an Exchange of Less For Greater Value.
• Chap. III.: A More Open East-india- Trade, Is More Profitable to the Kingdom.
• Chap. IV.: The East-india Trade Does Not So Much Diminish the Riches of Some Private Persons, As It Increases the Riches of the Kingdom.
• Chap. V.: The East-india Trade Is the Way to Increase Our Bullion.
• Chap. VI.: The East-india Trade Must Increase Our Exportations.
• Chap. VII.: Notwithstanding the Idleness of the Mint, the Money and the Bullion Are Increas’d.
• Chap. VIII.: The Increase of Paper Money Is to Be Ascrib’d to the Increase of Real Money, Rather Than the Apparent Plenty of Money to the Increase of Current Paper.
• Chap. IX.: The Kingdom Is Not More Impoverish’d By the Consumption of Indian Than of English Manufactures.
• Chap. X.: The East-india Trade Destroys No Imployment of the People Which Is Profitable to the Kingdom.
• Chap. XI.: The East-india Trade Is the Most Likely Way to Inlarge the Business In the Present Manufactures.
• Chap. XII.: By Being the Cause of the Invention of Arts and Engines, of Order and Regularity In Our Manufactures, the East-india Trade, Without Abating the Wages of Labourers, Abates the Price of Manufactures.
• Chap. XIII.: The East-india Trade Is the Most Likely Way to Set On Foot New Manufactures For Imployment of the People.
• Chap. XIV.: The East-india Trade Does Not Abate the Rents, By the Exportation of Bullion, By the Diminution of Consumers, By the Abatement of Wages; the Importation of Indian Manufactures Is Less Likely to Abate Rents Than the Importation of the Unwro
• Chap. XV.: The Importation of Indian Manufactures Abates Only the Price of Labour, But Raises the Price of the Produce of the Estate.
• Chap. XVI.: And This Is Confirm’d By Examples.
• Chap. XVII.: The East-india Trade Does Not Abate the Rents of the Landholder By Destroying His Monopoly.
• Chap. XVIII.: The Fishing-trade Is Not So Profitable As the Importation of Irish Cattel, Or of Indian Manufactures; and Is More Likely Than Either to Abate the Rents of England.
• Chap. XIX.: The Herring-fishery Not Practicable In the Present Circumstances of England; the Dutch Can Sell Cheaper.
• Chap. XX.: The Way to Bring England to Be Contented With As Little Profit In the Fishing-trade As Holland.
• Chap. XXI.: That the Way to Enable England to Catch and Cure Their Herrings As Cheap As Holland, Is, First to Have Materials For That Trade As Cheap: and That This Is Most Likely to Be Done, By Discharging the Customs Upon Such Things, By Making the T
• Chap. XXII.: The Way to Make English Labour In the Fishing-trade As Cheap As That of Holland; That the People Here Must Cohabit As Close Together; and the Most Probable Methods For Effecting This, Are to Erect a Free-port, to Impower Parishes to Send

CHAP. II.

The Exportation of Bullion for Indian Manufactures, is an exchange of less for greater Value.

BUT now ’tis time to think of Answers to these Objections. And to the First, viz. The Exportation of Bullion and the Consumption of Indian Manufactures, may be said, That the Exportation of Bullion for Indian Manufactures, is an exchange of less for greater value; that ’tis the most likely way to import more Bullion; that the Kingdom is not more impoverish’d by the Consumption of Indian than by that of English Manufactures.

To Export Bullion for Indian Manufactures, is to exchange less for greater value;The things that may be exchang’d abroad, it is to exchange Bullion for Manufactures more valuable, not only to the Merchant, but also to the Kingdom. Certainly the worth of every quantity of Silver is not infinite: There must be some way to state, determine, and compare the value of this with other things. No Man will say, that all the Manufactures in England are not worth a Shilling; or that the least quantity of Silver is more valuable to the Kingdom than the greatest of such things. The Manufactures, or other things, which are sufficient to procure from a Foreign Country any quantity of Bullion, are of so much value: Thus if an Hundred Yards of Cloth may be exchang’d with Spain for an Hundred Pounds in Money, they are of equal value; and therefore, more than an Hundred Yards being sufficient to procure a greater Sum, must needs be more valuable. So that this is certain, our Manufactures, or other things, or how much soever of them it is, that may be exchang’d with a Foreign Country for Bullion, are as valuable to the Kingdom as so much Bullion.

And so without doubt are the Manufactures, or other things, which may be sold in England for Money;and much more those that may be exchang’d at home for Bullion, are as valuable. these are certainly as valuable to the Kingdom as so much Money, that is, as so much Bullion. For these are better than the Manufactures which wou’d be exported abroad for so much Bullion. We cannot certainly know how many things must be carried out of England to purchase Bullion; but in general we may be assur’d, that more or better will not be sent abroad for any quantity of Bullion, than can be bought for the same in England. The Merchant wou’d soon be weary of such a Trade. The Cloth which he bought for an Hundred Pounds in England, he will expect to sell for more in Foreign Markets; or, if he shall expect no more abroad, he certainly bought his Cloth for less at home. So that of this we may be sure, better Manufactures will not be exported to procure Bullion than can be bought for the same in England. And therefore, if those that may be exchang’d with any Foreign Country for any quantity of Bullion, are of so much value; without doubt, the Manufactures that may be exchang’d in England for Bullion, are as valuable to the Kingdom as so much Bullion.

The Manufactures that may be exchang’d with Foreign Countries,And therefore, the Manufactures return’d from India for Bullion, are more valuable. and much more those that may be exchang’d in England for any quantity of Bullion, are of so much value to the Kingdom. But certainly, better are return’d from the East-Indies for the Bullion sent thither, than wou’d be bought for the same in England. This is the very cause of Complaint against the Trade, and it is also Matter of Fact. Wherefore, better Manufactures are return’d from India for the Bullion sent thither, than those which are prov’d to be equivalent to the same. And thus the exchange is of less for greater value.

Again, That the Kingdom is a gainer by this Exchange; the Manufactures return’d from India for Bullion, are not only better than those that might be exchang’d in England, or abroad, for so much Bullion; they may also themselves be exported and sold for more in Foreign Markets.

The Consumption of Indian Manufactures here in England will last but little longer, the Prohibition is drawing on apace, yet still the Bullion is running out as much as ever for Manufactures, which must not be consum’d at home, and which therefore must be carried out to Foreign Markets. Now the Merchants wou’d never venture their Money to India for Manufactures which must not be sold in England at all, and which cannot be sold in Foreign Markets for more Bullion. Wherefore, to Trade with Bullion into the East-Indies, is to Exchange the same for Manufactures which may be exchang’d for more abroad, that is, to exchange less for greater value.

Lastly,The Manufactures return’d the Principal, and more valuable Riches. The true and principal Riches, whether of private Persons, or of whole Nations, are Meat, and Bread, and Cloaths, and Houses, the Conveniences as well as Necessaries of Life; the several Refinements and Improvements of these, the secure Possession and Enjoyment of them. These for their own sakes, Money, because ’twill purchase these, are to be esteemed Riches; so that Bullion is only secondary and dependent, Cloaths and Manufactures are real and principal Riches. Are not these things esteem’d Riches over all the World? And that Country thought richest which abounds most with them? Holland is the Magazin of every Countries Manufactures; English Cloth, French Wines, Italian Silks, are treasur’d up there. If these things were not Riches, they wou’d not give their Bullion for ’em; or they would soon convert ’em into Bullion, without staying for the Market. The summ of this is, to shew, that Cloaths are part of the true and principal Riches, and therefore more valuable in their own nature; and that Bullion is only secondary and dependent, and therefore by nature not so valuable; wherefore to exchange Bullion for Cloaths, is to exchange the Riches naturally not so valuable, and which are of no use but to be exchang’d, for the more valuable Riches, and which are of more immediate use; consequently, to exchange Bullion for more Cloaths, for more Manufactures than are to be had elsewhere for the same Bullion, is to exchange the less for the greater value: To export Bullion to the East-Indies for the Manufactures of those Countries, is to exchange the Bullion for more and better Manufactures, than are elsewhere to be procur’d for so much Bullion; it is consequently to exchange the less for the greater value.

To exchange Bullion for Indian Manufactures, is to exchange the same for Manufactures more valuable than the Manufactures which were exported to procure, and are equivalent to so much Bullion: is to exchange the same for Manufactures which may themselves be exchang’d for more Bullion; is to exchange the secondary, for more of the principal Riches than are elsewhere to be had upon the same Terms: And therefore it is sufficiently prov’d, that the Exchange of Bullion for Indian Manufactures, is an Exchange of less for greater value.