The historiographical case for this book of essays, located in European economic history, emanates from a recognition by scholars in the field that the histories of Europe’s national economies are both punctuated and, positively as well as negatively, correlated with their states’ engagement in warfare. The wars investigated here began with the French Revolution and continued for some 15 years of military conflict attributable to Napoleon’s drive to establish imperial hegemony over the states and societies of Western Europe. These “French Wars” conditioned the diverse outcomes observed for the economic development of Europe’s national economies in ways that persisted for decades after the Treaty of Vienna restored peace to the continent in 1815.
To explore connections between this major geopolitical conjuncture in European History and its range of impacts on the growth of national economies, the editor recruited a team of senior economic historians to write chapters on Britain, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the international economy. Regrettably, but unavoidably, the book is not comprehensive enough to include chapters on major polities such as Belgium, Scandinavia, Russia and the United States as well as the Ottoman and European empires overseas. Their rates, patterns and potential for economic growth were clearly, and in some economies significantly, affected by the warfare unleashed by the Revolution in France and propagated by Napoleon. Fortunately, our Network was able to invite Alejandra Irigoin and Bishnu Gupta to present papers on South America and India. We also invited a range of academics and graduate students with relevant expertise and/ or interests in connections between mercantilist warfare and economic growth to participate in our conferences. We are particularly grateful for the contributions made by Steven Broadberry, Joel Felix, William Godsey, Reka Juhaz, Nuno Palma, Hamish Scott, Chistopher Storrs, Peer Vries, and Patrick Winton to this collaborative endeavour.
The logistical and administrative tasks involved in these programmes are complex and time consuming. The formulation of a mission statement to obtain generous funding from the Leverhulme Trust for this venture could not have succeeded without efficient help from Loraine Long. The travail involved in publication could not have proceeded in a time of Covid without the daily support and intellectual enthusiasm of my wife, Cassy. Wendel Scholma has acted with patience and understanding to ensure that the manuscript was delivered on time and properly formatted for Brill. The commitment of
Patrick O’Brien
March 2021