Towns, Trade and Finance

From the eighteenth century, many towns in Europe were growing in area and in population. Out of the European cities whose population doubled between and , were in Britain. The largest of them was London, which served as the hub of the country’s markets, with the next largest ones located close to it. London had also acquired a global significance.

By the eighteenth century, the centre of global trade had shifted from the Mediterranean ports of Italy and France to the Atlantic ports of Holland and Britain. Still later, London replaced Amsterdam as the principal source of loans for international trade. London also became the centre of a triangular trade network that drew in England, Africa and the West Indies. The companies trading in America and Asia also had their offices in London.

In England the movement of goods between markets was helped by a good network of rivers, and an indented coastline with sheltered bays. Until the spread of railways, transport by waterways was cheaper and faster than by land. As early as , English rivers provided some , miles of navigable water, and except for mountainous areas, most places in the country were within miles of a river. Since all the navigable sections of English rivers flow into the sea, cargo on river vessels was easily transferred to coastal ships called coasters.

By , at least , sailors worked on the coasters.