How much did the British of the 1600s make from the United States? Was it more than they spent in the cost of the colonization? was the gain greater than that to be had from other investment opportunities?
Almost certainly. And even neglecting any direct resource extraction, by my estimation it was worthwhile colonizing simply so that the USA exists. The UK benefits from gains from trade with the US and it is almost certainly better both politically and economically to have the country based on British heritage rather than whatever the alternative would have been.
Furthermore, how much did the British of 1600 care about the British of 2013? Did they really care more about them than the Americans of 2013?
It seems rather likely that the did. National identity and formally acknowledged power tends to be important to the people with power then.
Are the British of the Elizabethan era less connected to the Americans of today than the British today?
Only a little less. The dilution from immigration and the excessive amounts of slave importing makes some difference. The symbology of the rebellion also seems like the kind of thing that matters a bit since it involves a greater degree of change to the cultural legacy. Even so the connection is still rather strong and certainly comparable. It remains a “fork”.
Almost certainly. And even neglecting any direct resource extraction, by my estimation it was worthwhile colonizing simply so that the USA exists. The UK benefits from gains from trade with the US and it is almost certainly better both politically and economically to have the country based on British heritage rather than whatever the alternative would have been.
My understanding of economic history is that the Marxist/Leninist interpretation of empire as profitable remains controversial and that a great many believe empire is better interpreted as related to national prestige and private interests engaged in rentseeking/‘privatizing gains and socializing losses’, and that it’s questionable that England did receive in excess profits (above and beyond what it would have received from free trade) anywhere near what it spent on things like the British Navy or the French and Indian War (with Jacques Marseille arguing the same thing about the French empire).
Almost certainly. And even neglecting any direct resource extraction, by my estimation it was worthwhile colonizing simply so that the USA exists. The UK benefits from gains from trade with the US and it is almost certainly better both politically and economically to have the country based on British heritage rather than whatever the alternative would have been.
It seems rather likely that the did. National identity and formally acknowledged power tends to be important to the people with power then.
Only a little less. The dilution from immigration and the excessive amounts of slave importing makes some difference. The symbology of the rebellion also seems like the kind of thing that matters a bit since it involves a greater degree of change to the cultural legacy. Even so the connection is still rather strong and certainly comparable. It remains a “fork”.
My understanding of economic history is that the Marxist/Leninist interpretation of empire as profitable remains controversial and that a great many believe empire is better interpreted as related to national prestige and private interests engaged in rentseeking/‘privatizing gains and socializing losses’, and that it’s questionable that England did receive in excess profits (above and beyond what it would have received from free trade) anywhere near what it spent on things like the British Navy or the French and Indian War (with Jacques Marseille arguing the same thing about the French empire).