Thu Feb 8 06:20:51 EST 2007
ABSTRACTS IN ECONOMIC HISTORY
(c) 2007 EH.Net
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Name: Christina Gathmann
Email: cgathman at stanford.edu
Institution: Stanford University
Co-author:
Henning Hillmann
Stanford University
Department of Sociology
450 Serra Mall, Building 120
Stanford, CA 94305-2047
Email: hhillman at stanford.edu
Title: From Privateers to Navy: How Seapower Became a Public Good
Internet Address of abstracted work: not available
By mail:
Hoover National Fellows Program 2006-07
Hoover Institution
Stanford, CA 94305-6010
Language: English
Abstract:
Privateers or corsairs, commissioned by their respective sovereigns
to raid enemy merchant ships during wartime, were highly successful
in disrupting international trade in the 16th and early 17th century.
During the 18th century however, state-funded navies in England and
France increasingly replaced these privately sponsored war efforts.
We argue that the emergence of global trade and coordinated warfare
at sea led to the demand for a publicly funded navy, which eventually
crowded out privateering. To support this claim, we use unique
quantitative data from privateering cruises and navy strength between
1688 and 1815 collected from French and British archival sources. Our
results demonstrate that privateering worked well in a local setting
but became less effective in fighting wars on a global scale. The
findings of this paper identify the conditions under which public
goods like national defense emerged as a public good supplied by the
state.
Bibliography: Gathmann, Christina and Henning Hillmann. "From
Privateers to Navy: How Seapower Became a Public Good." Stanford
University, working paper. 2007.
Subject: S
Geographical Area: 4
Country/Region: Britain, France
Time Period: 0
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