Exclusively

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As Exclusif (French) refers to the demand for exclusive use of its own overseas territories ( colonies ) for the benefit of the French motherland in the Age of Mercantilism .

Basics

Since maintaining one's own colonies usually caused enormous costs - for example through protection by means of a powerful war fleet - under all circumstances all profits that could be made from the exploitation of these colonies had to go to the motherland. This included the sale of goods produced in the motherland (everything that could not or only partially be produced in the colony: fabrics for the clothing of the slaves, manufactured products such as candles, soap or metal goods, as well as agricultural products such as butter, salted meat and wine), as well the transport of the overseas goods acquired in return and finally the profitable re-export of these goods to other countries.

In addition, in the age of mercantilism, foreign trade profits could be achieved primarily by the fact that all raw materials produced in one's own colonies (such as raw sugar obtained from sugar cane or unprocessed cotton) were processed exclusively in one's own country (refining the sugar, manufacturing cotton fabrics). The processing process promoted the local trade, the subsequent sale of the products manufactured in their own country not only achieved an active trade balance, but possibly also had a negative impact on the trade in the importing country (as in the case of the trade agreement concluded between England and Portugal in 1703 , which facilitated the import of cloths from English production in Portugal and thus permanently weakened Portuguese textile production).

Rules of the Exclusif

  • The colonies were supposed to trade exclusively with the motherland: “  On a établi que la Métropole pourrait seule négocier avec les Colonies, et cela avec grande raison parce que le but de leur établissement a été l'extension du commerce, non la fondation d'une ville ou d'un empire  »( Montesquieu , Esprit des Lois , XXXI, 21). The plantation owners of the French colonies in the West Indies were forbidden to directly purchase slaves on the African Guinea coast (instead: transatlantic triangular trade ), just as trade between the overseas trading bases was strictly forbidden.
  • The products produced in the colonies were not allowed to compete with products of the mother country - for example, the import of rum as one of the by-products of the West Indian sugar plantations was forbidden for a long time out of consideration for French brandy production.
  • No manufacturing industry was allowed to be built in the overseas possessions themselves. Even the tiniest nail for closing the sugar barrels should come from the mother country, the sugar should reach France in its raw form ("sucre brû t") and not already processed ("sucre terré" or "sucre blanc").
  • In return, French trade was responsible for the complete purchase of overseas goods and - which was much more serious - for supplying its own colonies.

History of the Exclusif up to the end of the 18th century

The origin of the Exclusif lies in the right granted exclusively to the French West India Company to exploit overseas possessions as compensation for their contribution to the taking over and maintenance of the colonies. However, since it soon became apparent that the trading company was unable to cope with the use of the extensive colonial property, it was itself who relaxed the prohibitive system. In 1669, all French ships were allowed to sail with the Antilles Islands for a fee based on the value of the colonial goods. However, the prerequisite was that they only called at French ports on their return to Europe. At the same time, foreign ships were excluded from calling at the French overseas ports. After about ten years of existence the inadequacies of the trading company became more and more apparent and it was dissolved; the islands and their trade came under the direct supervision of the French crown. This tightened the regulations in 1675 so that each ship on its return from the colonies was only allowed to enter the same French port from which it had departed.

Because of the smuggling that has existed at all times, the Exclusif could never be fully enforced. The French crown tried several times to defend itself against the clandestine trade by threatening harsh penalties (from the confiscation of the ship to jail and high fines to the galley penalty ), but the smugglers always found ways and means - for example by reloading the goods from ship to ship on the high seas - to bypass the system.

One consequence of the Exclusif was the inadequate supply of the overseas possessions with necessary goods such as food or labor, which appeared again and again, and which in the meantime intensified. The prohibitive principle had to be relaxed, especially in times of war: for example, during the Anglo-French colonial war of 1744–1748, when goods bought in other European countries could be brought to the Antilles Islands on French ships. The resulting trade relations between the colonists and foreign merchants in Europe were difficult to suppress again after the end of the war and the renewed closure of the West Indian ports, and the plantation owners called for free trade more and more often.

In particular, as a result of the colonial war of 1755–1763 , which went to the disadvantage of France , the Exclusif was relaxed after the end of the war ( Exclusif mitigé ), because the understanding prevailed that the system was not suitable for delivering all goods required overseas from the war-exhausted motherland can. In August 1763, for example, the French king released the importation of cattle for slaughter, stockfish (salted and dried cod), timber and other goods as well as the export of syrup and molasses for foreigners, after violent protests by foreign imports to the Antilles islands under great pressure advised French trader, he had to withdraw the measure three years later. Further easing followed towards the end of the 1960s: in 1767 the ports of Cérénage on Sainte-Lucie and Môle Saint-Nicolas on Saint Domingue were declared free ports, a year later the harsh penalties for violating the Exclusif - especially the galley penalty - were repealed and in 1769 trade between Guadeloupe and Martinique released. Increased complaints from the colonists led to the lifting of the ban on the import of rum into France (out of consideration for the production of brandy in France, the import of alcohol made from syrup or molasses has been prohibited since 1713 under the pretext that rum is harmful to health).

After the end of the North American War of Independence , in the course of which the Exclusif was partially relaxed, but the smuggling had nevertheless reached a climax, a number of the most important ports in the West Indies were finally opened on August 30, 1784 (Saint-Pierre in Martinique, Pointe-à -Pitre on Guadeloupe, Cérénage on Sainte-Lucie, Cap Français, Port-au-Prince and Les Cayes on Saint-Domingue) finally released for restricted trade with foreigners. From now on the import of certain foodstuffs, cattle for slaughter, wood and other urgently needed goods was allowed, the Exclusif mitigé had prevailed.

See also

literature

  • Jean Tarrade: Le commerce colonial de la France à la fin de l'ancien régime: l'évolution de régime et l'Exclusif de 1763 à 1789 . 2 volumes. Paris 1972
  • Charles-André Julien : Les Français en Amérique de 1713 à 1784 . Paris 1977
  • CA Banbuck: Histoire politique, économique et sociale de la Martinique sous l'Ancien Régime (1635–1789) . Paris 1935