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ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION ON THE NORTHULST-COAST OF NEWFOUNDLAND, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO CONCEPTION BAY, 178'-1855

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Sean Thomas Cadigan, B.A. (hens .)

,

I.I.A.

A thesis submitted to the School of Graduotc Studies in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for t.le degrec of Doctor of Philosophy

Department o f History Memorial Universit) of Newfoundland

July 1991

me

author has granted an inevocabe roo- exdaslve licence allowhg the Nationl Uhrvy of Canadato reproduce, loan, disbibute or seU mpies of hislher thesis by my means and in env lormar f o m t . m m ( 1 this thesisavallabk tointerested persons.

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The author retains ownership of Ule copyright In htslher thesis. Neither the thesis nor I substantial exCracts frm it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without hisher per.

mission.

L'mteur a a d 6 une liceme i me l non exduske rwrrnettant A la BibliiM&ue nabonale au Canada de reproduire, wdier.

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&ue these B la disposition des krsonnes intk,ess6es.

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A b s t r a c t

T h i s t h e s i s examines a s p e c t s of n o r t h e a s t - c o a s t Nev- foundland s o c i e t y and economy from 1785 t o 1855, g i v i n g p a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n t o Conception Bay a s t h e l o n g e s t s e t t l e d and most economically developed p a r t of t h e c o a s t . w h i l e a w e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d Newfoundland h i s t o r i o g r a p h y s u g g e s t s t h a t it i s no longer a c c e p t a b l e t o see f i s h merchants as r e s p o n s i b l e f o r Newfoundland underdevelopment, t h i s view h a s s t i l l found a home i n some r e c e n t m a r x i s t w r i t i n g . This s t u d y d e p a r t s from t h e v i e r t h a t f i s h merchants a l o n e caused t h e c o l o n y ' s underdevelopment, f i n d i n g i n s t e a d a dynamic c l a s s r e l a t i m - s h i p based on a c c o m o d a t i o n between f i s h merchants and f i s h i n g f a m i l i e s . R e l a t i o n s between t h e s e two groups u n f o l d e d w i t h i n a s o c i e t y and economy shaped n o t only by a l i m i t e d r e s o u r c e endowment, b u t a l s o by t h e p o l i t i c a l and l e g a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e of a r e g i o n end of a f i s h i n g i n d u s t r y o f t e n marked by a n t a g o n i s t i c c a p i t a l i s t , c o l o n i a l and i m p e r i a l i n t e r e s t s .

F i s h i n g f a m i l i e s , u n a b l e t o see any way of producing a s i g n i f i c a n t amount of s u b s i s t e n c e o r c a p i t a l goods, had no c h o i c e b u t t o r e l y on meychant c r e d i t and purchase imported goods. Merchants were a b l e t o manipulate p r i c e s t o i n s u l a t e t h e m s e l v e s from c y c l i c a l v a r i a t i o n s i n p r i c e s and c a t c h e s , i n exchange f o r a c c e p t i n g t h e r i s k of extending c r e d i t i n both good y e a r s and bad. Merchants d i d n o t t h w a r t a g r i c u l t u r a l o r i n d u s t r i a l a l t e r n a t i v e s t o t h e f i s h e r y because l o c a l com-

modity producers could f i n d no resource b a s e from which

~ ~ C c e S S f U i l y t o begin such a c t i v i t y . The overhead c o s t s of c r e d i t , i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e f i s h e r y ' s labour requirements and l e g a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , ensured t h a t f i s h producers continued t o r e l y on family l a b o u r . Only with t h e advent of t h e Reform and L i b e r a l s t r u g g l e s f o r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l reform i n t h e 18205 would merchants be c a s t as t h e c l a s s a n t a g o n i s t s of f i s h i n g f a m i l i e s , s t i f l i n g t h e l a t t e r ' s every a t t e m p t t o break t h e merchants' h o l d over t h e i r l i v e l i h o o d s .

AcknOWledgementS

T h i s t h e s i s i s t h e p r o d u c t of f o u r y e a r s o f r e a d i n g and r e s e a r c h conducted under t h e s u p e r v i s i o n o f G.S. Kealey, R.E.

hMler and J.K. H i l l e r . Without t h e i r guidance and c o n t i n u i n g S u p p o r t t h i s Work would n o t e x i s t t o d a y . I f e e l g r a t e f u l t o have h a d a c c e s s t o Danny Vickers' t i m e and humour a s an u n o f f i c i a l s u p e r v i s o r over t h e P a s t t h r e e y e a r s . Other members of t h e Department o f H i s t o r y a t Memorial, a s w e l l as o f t h e Maritime S t u d i e s Research U n i t , have r e a d e a r l y v e r ~ i o n s of i n d i v i d u a l c h a p t e r s .

MY p e r s o n a l d e b t s are many. Along t h e way f e l l o w g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s Mark L e i e r , James Armour, Linda White, and J e f f Webb have never f a i l e d t o p r o v i d e companionship, i n t e l l e c t u a l s t i m u l a t i o n , and moral s u p p o r t . Irene W h i t f i e l d and Joan B u t l e r have p r o v i d e d f r i e n d s h i p and s u p p o r t t h a t I c o u l d never repay. Ii it were n o t f o r Irene's p a r t i c u l a r a s s i s t a n c e w i t h t h e t e c h n o l o g y of p r i n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s , I would n o t b e a b l e t o submit it t o d a y .

F i n a l l y , I c o u l d n o t have f i n i s h e d w i t h o u t t h e s u p p o r t of my f a m i l y . My w i f e , Sharon Cadigan, h a s u n f a i l i n g l y a u p p o r t e d my research and t h i s t h e s i s i s d e d i c a t e d t o h e r .

Funding f o r t h i s t h e s i s was p r o v i d e d by d o c t o r a l f e l l o w s h i p s from t h e S o c i a l Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada f o r t h e y e a r s 1987-1991.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I\bstract Acknowledgements List of Tables List of Figures

Page ii iv vii ir

Chapter

One Introduction: The Historiography of

Merchants and the Newfoundland Cod Fishery 1 TWO An Overview of Northeast-Coast Society

and Polity during the First Half of the

Nineteenth Century 60

Three Families, Merchants and the Fishery on the Northeast Coast of Newfoundland during the First Half o f the Nineteenth Century 124 Four Settlement and Agriculture Among Northeast-

Coast Fishing Families. 1785-1830 157 Five The Gender Division of Labour in the

Households of the Northeast-Coast Fishery o t Newfoundland, 1785-1855

Six The Role of the Wages and Lien System in Inhibiting the Use of Wage Labour in the Northeast-Coast Fishery

Seven Paternalism and Trade; Class Relations among Fishing Servants, Planters and

Merchants on the Northeast Coast 270 Eight Inventing a Potential: Reformers,

Agriculture and Government Relief, 1826-1855 318 Nine Inventing a Custom: Liberals. Boulton and the

Administration of Wage Law, 1825-1855 359

Ten Conclusion 411

Bibliography Appendix A Appendix B

LIST OF TABLES IN THE TEXT

Table 1.

2.

Page P r i c e s f o r S a l t Cod a t Newfoundland, 1796-1820 75 E s t i m a t e d Permanent P o p u l a t i o n , N o r t h e a s t C o a s t ,

1776-1833 84

P e r c e n t a g e o f t h e T o t a l E s t i m a t e d Northeast-Coast

P o p u l a t i o n by Area, 1776-1833 85

T o t a l Number o E Households, N o r t h e a s t C o a s t ,

N o r t h e a s t C o a s t , 1776-1833 87

Improved Acres p e e Household, N o r t h e a s t C o a s t ,

1776-1833 88

T o t a l Number o f P o s s i b l e N o r t h e a s t - C o a s t P r o l e t a r i a n Households, I n c l u d i n g P e r c e n t a g e of

T o t a l Households, 1776-1833 91

T o t a l Number of M a s t e r s per Household, N o r t h e a s t

C o a s t , 1776-1833 92

T o t a l Number o f Employed Male S e r v a n t s p e r Household, N o r t h e a s t C o a s t , 1776-1833 94 T o t a l Number of S t a g e s , T r a i n V a t s and F i s h i n g Boats p e r Household, 1776-1833 97 T o t a l Number o f Schooners and R a t i o t o Households.

1776-1833 98

I n s o l v e n t E s t a t e of John Meaney. 1843 143 I n s o l v e n t E s t a t e of John Way, 1848 146 Account of P a t r i c k Power w i t h Ridley, H a r r i s o n 6

Co., 1840 274

ACLCCOUII~ of P e t e r Keefe w i t h Thomas Pynn, 1827 274 s t a t e m e n t of Wage Agreements and wages due t o t h e

Crew o f John Leary, 1833 286

16. Statement of William Walsh's Voyage of Fish and Oil, and Crew on Wages, 1833 286 17. Sample of Writs from the Northern Circuit Court,

1826-1955 446

Figure page

1 . Newfoundland 64

2 . S e t t l e m e n t s i n Conception aay, 1805 66 3 . N o r t h e a s t Coast Demographic Zones 69

4 . The French Shore o f Newfoundland 78

5 . F i s h i n g Area E x p l o i t e d b y N o r t h e a s t - c o a s t R e s i d e n t s , Excluding the French Shore 7 9

CHAPTER ONE:

I n t r o d u ~ t i o n : The H i s t o r i o g r a p h y of Merchants and The Newfoundland C o d f i s h e r y

Many h i s t o r i a n s of Newfoundland have f o r a long time been preoccupied w i t h t h e q u e s t i o n o f t h e i s l a n d ' s ecanomic development o r , more p r e c i s e l y . i t s underdevelopment r e l a t i v e t o o t h e r r e g i o n s .of Canada and t h e North At'.antic world.

E a r l y h i s t o ; ,agraphy s p l i t i n t o two s c h o o l s of thought. The most commonly h e l d v i e i was t h a t Eng1i.-s West Country merchants dominated Newfoundland, r e s t r i c t i n g i t s f u n c t i o n t o t h a t of a g i g a n t i c f i s h i n g s t a L i o n designed t o s e r v e i n m e r c a n t i l i s t f a s h i o n t h e E n g l i s h m i g r a t o r y f i s h t r a d e . The l o c a l development a f a g r i c u l t u r e , s e t t l e m e n t , and s e t t l e r i n s t i t u t i o n s was f o r b i d d e n . This s c h o o l peaked i n D. W.

Prowse's 1895 h i s t o r y , a c e l e b r a t i o n if t h e achievement of c o l o n i a l Self-government with its accompanying economic d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n p o l i c i e s designed t o e n d Newfoundland's r e l i a n c e on t h e f i s h merchants' t r a d e . '

J.D. Rogers, a B r i t i s h b a r r i s t e r (who t o o k an e a r l y i n t e r e s t i n ~ e x f o m ~ d l a n d ' s h i s t o r i c a l geography1

,

r e j e c t e d t h e view t h a t f i s h merchants had d e l i b e r a t e l y apposed d i v e r b i f i c a t i o n o f Newfoundland's economy beyond t h e f i s h t r a d e . He a g r e e 3 t h a t West Country merchants involved i n t h e p r e - s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y m i g r a t o r y f i s h e r y opposed widespread s e t t l e m e n t a t Newfoundland, b u t suggested t h a t , i n t h e long run, Newfoundland's poor s o i l and c l i m a t e allowed few

2 econonic a l t e r n a t i v e s t o t h e f i s h e r y t o emerge. The economy c o u l d not develop beyond t h e f i s h e r y throughout t h e nine- t e e n t h c e n t u r y because t h e lack of a g r i c u l t u r a l s t i m u l i f o r i n d u s t r i a l d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n i n t e n s i f i e d r e s i d e n t s ' r e l i a n c e on a f i s h e r y dominated by t h e t r u c k system and i n t e r n a t i o n a l trade.'

Although b o t h Prowse and Rogers' work preceded s t a p l e and Marxist a n a l y s e s of Newfoundland development, elements emerge i n t h e i r work which would l a t e r become important themes i n t h e h i s t o r i o g r a p h y of e a r l y 19th-century New- foundland. On thd one hand t h e r e s t a n d Prowse's omnivorous f i s h merchants, g r a s p i n g and c a p r i c i o u s i n t h e i r d e s i r e t o p r o t e c t t h e p r o f i t s of t h e i r monopoly o v e r t h e supply of fishing f a m i l i e s i n exchange, through t r u c k , f o r f i s h , f i s h o i l , and s e a l p r o d u c t s : a c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n of t h e f i s h merchant a s v i l l a i n which has found v a r i e d e x p r e s s i o n i n t h e iependency s t u d i e s o f David Alexander, as w e l l as t h e marxist s t u d i e s of Steven A n t l e r and, more r e c e n t l y , Gerald Side..3 On t h e o t h e r hand stand a number of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s which r e j e c t t h e s i m p l i c i t y o f blaming greedy merchants f o r e x p l o i t i n g f i s h i n g f a m i l i e s , n o t i n g t h a t t r u c k between t h e two groups involved i n t h e f i s h e r y was a complex a d a p t a t i o n o v e r time t o t h e i r j o i n t economic dependence on s a l t c o d markets i n a r e g i o n with few o t h e r resources t o encourage a l t e r n a t i v e economic a c t i ~ i t y . ~

The i n t e r p r e t a t i o n p r e s e n t e d i n t h i s t h e s i s i s a a a r s i s t

3 perSPBctive on economic and social developments on New- foundland's northeast coast from 1785 to 1855, but one which departs from the previous marxiat view that fish merchants alone caused the colony's underdevelopment. It will examine instead a complex class relationship based on accommodation between fish merchants and fishing families as both tried to advance their interests within a society and economy shaped not only by a limited resource endowment, but also by the political and legal infrastructure of a region and of a fishing industry often marked by antagonistic capitalist, colonial and imperial interests. I do not accept that Newfoundland underdevelopment was a function of inherent merchant ~onservatism; rather. a dynamic class relationship between fish producers and merchants, defined by fishing families' struggle to gain a livelihood and merchants' struggle :o gain a profit, entrenched household commodity production dependent on merchant credit.

Fishing families, unable to see any way of producing a significant amount of subsistence or capital goods, had no choice but to rely on merchant credit and purchase imparted goods. Merchants were able to manipulate prices to insulate them891ves from cyclical variations in prices and catches, in exchange for accepting the risk of extending credit in both good years and bad.l Merchants did not thwart agricultural or industrial alternatives to the fishery because local commodity producers could find no resoume base from which

4

~ ~ C ~ e S S f u l l y to begin such activity. The overhead costs of credit, in addition to the fishery's labour requirements and legal infrastructure, ensured that fish producers continued to rely on family labour. Only with the advent of the Reform and Liberal struggles for constitutional reform in the 18208 would merchants be cast as the class antagonists of fishing families, stifling the latter's every attempt to break the merchants' hold over their livelihoods.

Thi8 chapter will explore how a number of historiagra- phic traditions, reread here to a certain extent in marxist language, have shaped this departure from the view of fish merchants as a class whose exploitation necessarily caused northeast-coast underdevelopment. First, the works of Keith Matthewe, C. Grant Head and W. Gordon Xandcock an this period forcefully suggest that merchants cannot be blamed for Newfoundland's social and economic problems. Second, the image of the conservative merchant which emerges from the work of Steven Antler and Gerald Sider resembles the image of the merchant which emerged from marxist debater about the transition to capitalism, development and dependency in colonial history, and the protoindustrialization debate.6 The material presented in the transition, dependency, and prot~ind~strialization controversies does not support seeing merchants as being hostile to diversification beyond economic activity they dominated in the colonial world. Third, aspects of staple approaches to colonial development suggest

5 deemphasizing the role of merchants in colonial economic and social growth, in favour of examining how early societies organized labour to produce staples as a result of the influence of the technological or resource requirements on the commodity's men~facture.~ This last suggestion does net mean that the staple model is technologically or geograph- ically deterministic, but rather that staple exploitation, as Rosemary Ommer has demonstrated, takes place within a larger class-defined structural and institu:ianal m a t r i ~ . ~ Rn understanding of northeast-coast society during the firat half of the 19th century can benefit from an understanding of how resource and structural forces shaped the class relation- ship between fish merchants and fishing families.

H.A. Innis offered the first analysis of Newfoundland's developmental problems stemming from an economy dominated by the cod staple, although within an essentially descriptive treatment of the international cod industry's effects on the histery of the British and French empires. Innis denonstra- ted at points a fundamental concern in explaining New- foundland's long-tern underdevelopment in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Altho7:gh identifying a late- sixteenth and early-seventeenth century English mercantile hostility to Newfoundland settlement, Innis never identified merchants as being responsible for the colony's economic problems. Instead, concerned to explain why Newfoundland lagged behind other parts of North America which early relied

6 on t h e c o d s t a p l e , he e x p l a i n e d i t s underdevelopment i n t e r m s of t h e l a c k of economic a l t e r n a t i v e s t o , o r even supplements o f , t h e cod f i s h e r y . Merchants were q u i t e w i l l i n g t o change and a d a p t t o t h e improved economic o p p o r t u n i t i e s of a s e t t l e d f i s h e r y , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n r e s p o n s e t o t h e d i s r u p t i o n of t h e m i g r a t o r y f i s h e r y d u r i n g t h e wars of t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y . g I n n i s saw merchants' use of t r u c k i n t h e Newfoundland f i s h e r y as a compromise between fishermen's need f a r c r e d i t a t t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h e season, b e f o r e merchants knew what p r i c e s f o r f i s h would be l i k e , and merchants' need t o o f f s e t d e b t s which c o u l d r e s u l t i f p r i c e s dropped a t t h e s e a s o n ' s end.1° He f e l t t h a t t h e r e was n o t h i n g i n h e r e n t l y bad a b o u t t r u c k , b u t f o r a number of g e o g r a p h i c a n d t e c h n o l o g i c a l reasons i t p e r s i s t e d i n Newfoundland. Unlike t h e New England f i s h e r y , where c l o s e r a c c e s s t o mid-range f i s h banks en- c o u r a g e d the growth of a l o c a l c a p i t a l i s t e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l schooner f i s h e r y t h a t expanded i n t o t h e c o a s t a l t r a d e of N o r t h America, t h e Newfoundland f i s h e r y was e i t h e r i n s h o r e , i n c r e a s i n g l y p r o s e c u t e d by s m a l l - b o a t f a m i l y u n i t s of p r o d u c t i o n , o r remained a l a r g e - s h i p bank f i s h e r y . Without a l t e r n a t e resources, Newfoundland remained dominated b y a m e r c a n t i l e c o r n u n i t y i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e f i s h e r y o n l y a s a s h o r t - t e r m c r e d i t p r o s p e c t . Newfoundland's merchant com- munity remained t i e d t o t h e f i s h e r y ' s weak and impoverished t r o p i c a l markets where f i s h p r i c e s f l u c t u a t e d r a p i d l y , a n d t o s o u r c e s of s u p p l i e s of a g r i c u l t u r a l and manufactured Imports

7 i n markets where p r i c e s remained h i g h . Newfoundland was

"squeezed" between t h e p r i c e s t r u c t u r e s o f e x t e r n a l world m a r k e t s i n which t h e "merchant and t h e t r u c k system s e r v e d as b u f f e r s 9 ' between d i s c r e p a n c i e s i n export and i m p o r t p r i c e s , f o r c i n g Newfoundland f i s h i n g f a m i l i e s t o a b s o r b t h e d i f - f e r e n c e by f o r c i n g down t h e "standard o f l i v i n g . " l l

The i m p l i c i t .image o f t h e f i s h merchants which emerges from I n n i s ' work i s not one o f a c l a s s opposed t o New- f o u n d l a n d ' s development, b u t r a t h e r a group of e n t r e p r e n e u r s f a c e d w i t h l i t t l e a l t e r n a t e economic a c t i v i t y with which t o t r a d e , and l i t t l e reason t o use anything b u t t r u c k i n t h e f i s h e r y . The e x p l i c i t d e n i a l of f i s h merchants' h o s t i l i t y t o Newfoundland's s e t t l e m e n t a n d c o l o n i a l development i s t h a t of K e i t h M a t t h e w . H i s h i s t o r y o f t h e i r r o l e i n t h e New- foundland f i s h e r y d e n i e d t h a t they opposed a r e s i d e n t f i s h e r y , s e t t l e m e n t , o r d i v e r s i f i e d economic a c t i v i t y . Matthews d e p a r t e d from I n n i s by a r g u i n g t h a t even t h e e a r l i e s t merchants demonstrated no h o s t i l i t y t o s e t t l e m e n t , o n l y t o s e t t l e r s f a t t e m p t s t o use government r e g u l a t i o n t o i n j u r e t h e migratory cod f i s h e r y by e n g r o s s i n g s h o r e p r o p e r t y e s s e n t i a l i n l a r g e - s c a l e p r o p r i e t a r y schemes. West Country m e r c h a n t s were u s u a l l y q u i t e w i l l i n g t o p r o f i t from t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o t r a d e w i t h Newfoundland r e s i d e n t s , and, by i n c r e a s i n g l y r e l y i n g on a year-round p o p u l a t i o n t o guard p r o p e r t y and c a t c h f i s h , a c t u a l l y encouraged s e t t l e m e n t . Furthermore, merchants s e i z e d on new economic a c t i v i t i e s by

8 r e s i d e n t s , p a r t i c u l a r l y in s e a l i n g , salmon f i s h i n g , and f u r t r a p p i n g . Merchants and f i s h e r m e n a l i k e c h a f e d a t imperial a t t e m p t s t o l i m i t s e t t l e m e n t , and did n o t oppose d i v e r s i f i e d economic a c t i v i t y . R e s i d e n t s r e l i e d on truck for merchants' import8 because they could n o t f i n d l o c a l a l t e r n a t i v e s , and c y c l i c a l depressions i n t h e f i s h t r a d e demanded t h a t b o t h merchants and fishermen r e l y o n t h e leeway a f f o r d e d by t r u c k ' s c r e d i t a n d d e b t n a n i p u l a t i o n s . l Z

C. Grant Head's h i s t o r i c a l geography of e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y Newfoundland r e i n f o r c e s t h e p e r s p e c t i v e t h a t mer- c h a n t s d i d not oppose the development o f s e t t l e m e n t . E a r l y p r o p r i e t a r y c o l o n i a l schemes f a i l e d h e argued because t h e y were based on p o l i c i e s of c o m e r c i a l economic d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n which Newfoundland's r e s o u r c e s c o u l d n o t s u s t a i n . C o l o n i s t s hoped t o combine a c o m e r c i a l f i s h e r y w i t h c o m e r c i a l a g r i c u l t u r e , a f u r t r a d e , a n d l o c a l timber p r o c e s s i n g . While t h e s e l a t t e r a c t i v i t i e s proved t o be u s e f u l s u b s i d i a r y o n e s , t h e y c m l d not alone s u p p o r t e x t e n s i v e s e t t l e m e n t . Landed p r o p r i e t o r s withdrew from Newfoundland by l e a v i n g f i s h merchants t o d e a l v i t h r e s i d e n t f i s h i n g f a m i l i e s as t h e migratory t r a d e d e c l i n e d l a t e r i n t h e e i g h t e e n t h century.

S e t t l e m e n t dispersed s p a r s e l y around t h e c o a s t s n o t because p e o p l e f l e d o f f i c i a l opponents o f s e t t l e m e n t as myth would have i t , b u t t o be n e a r t h e cod s t o c k s i n i s o l a t e d harbours and bays with goad s h o r e r e s o u r c e s f o r c a t c h i n g a n d c u r i n g f i s h . 1 3 Resident f i s h l n g people, i n Head's a s well as

9 Matthews' work, b u i l t t h e i r own communities s u p p o r t e d , n o t h i n d e r e d , b y merchant c r e d i t d e s p i t e o f f i c i a l i m p e r i a l n e g l e c z .

Newfoundland h i s t o r i o g r a p h y h a d , by the l a t e 1910s.

decLSive1y s h i f t e d away from viewing merchants a s h o s t i l e t o Newfoundland's e a r l y l o c a l s o c i a l a n d economic development, o r e v e n as the prime movers i n Newfoundland h i s t o r i c a l development. H i s t o r i a n s a n d geographers looked t o t h e i n t e r a c t i o n between merchants and f i s h i n g p e o p l e t o under- s t a n d Newfoundland's p a s t . W. Gordon Handcock's 1977 essay

"English Migration t o Newfoundland" r e p r e s e n t s t h e maturation o f t h i s emphasis on t h e i n t e r a c t i o n of f i s h i n g p e o p l e and m e r c h a n t s w i t h i n Newfoundland's r e s o u r c e c o n s t r a i n t s . Handcock's a n a l y s i s of t h e i s l a n d ' s demographic development dernonst.rated t h a t West Country merchants f a c i l i t a t e d s e t t l e - ment b y encouraging d i v e r s i f i e d p r o d u c t i o n in f u r s , s e a l i n g a n d s h i p - b u i l d i n g , as w e l l as i n c r e a s i n g l y r e l y i n g o n t h e p r o f i t s from t r a d i n g w i t h r e s i d e n t s . Merchants, b y supplying servants f r o m t h e l e s t Country, a n d l a t e r I r e l a n d , a l s o p r o v i d e d t h e aource m a t e r i a l Eoi e a r l y r e s i d e n t population development. l4

Handcock found t h a t West Country m e r c h a n t s were, i n f a c t , s o i m p o r t a n t in a c t u a l l y e s t a b l i s h i n g s e t t l e m e n t a t Ner€oundland t h a t , i n h i s l a t e r monograph, he d e s c r i b e d t h e p r o c e s s as t h e " m e r c a n t i l e system of s e t t l e m e n t . " Population growth proceeded by merchants' abandoning c o n t r o l over

1 0 p r o d u c t i o n t o f i s h i n g people, withdrawing i n t o s u p p l y i n g and m a r k e t i n g a c t i v i t i e s . Handcock i g r e e d w i t h Matthew.' and G r a n t Head's e a r l i e r assessments of t r u c k an an accommodation which proved t o b e t h e o n l y way f i s h i n g f a m i l i e s c o u l d g u a r a n t e e access t o s u b s i s t e n c e and c a p i t a l goods f o r m e r c h a n t s on a year-to-year b a s i s , given t h e l a c k of a l t e r - n a t i v e l o c a l s u p p 1 i e s . l )

The work of Shannon Ryan f u l l y e x p l o r e d t h e problems o f Newfoundland's r e l i a n c e on t h e markets o f s o u t h e r n Europe, B r a z i l and t h e West I n d i e s . Ryan, a s had I n n i s b e f o r e , S u g g e s t e d t h a t , given Newfoundland's tough c l i m a t e and i m p o v e r i s h m e n t i n a l t e r n a t e r e s o u r c e s , t h e c o l o n y was d e p e n d e n t upon markets beyond i t s c o n t r o l for t h e s a l e of s a l t f i s h . The low c a p i t a l r e q u i r e m e n t s of p r o d u c t i o n i n a n i n d u s t r y dominated by a f r e e - a c c e s s resource, e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e inshore f i s h e r y , allowed Newfoundland's p o p u l a t i o n t o grow much g r e a t e r p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y than any i n c r e a s e i n s a l t f i s h p r o d u c t i o n d u r i n g t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . Such c o n d i t i o n s e n s u r e d a c o n t i n u i n g t e n s i o n between s t a g n a n t p r o d u c t i o n a n d p o p u l a t i o n growth. The consequence o f such t e n s i o n was the r e s t r i c t i o n of Newfoundland's i n t e r n a l market. The growth o f a family-based i n s h o r e f i s h e r y , created by t h e demise o f an o u t p o r t p l a n t e r f i s h e r y as merchant c a p i t a l cc > c e n t r a t e d i n S t . John's, a g g r a v a t e d t h e f i s h e r y ' s impoverishment and encouraged producers t o make a p o o r e r q u a l i t y f i s h cure. This t e c h n o l o g i c a l d e g r a d a t i o n p u t

11 Newfoundland i n a weak p o s i t i o n r e l a t i v e t o new, b e t t e r o r g a n i z e d s a l t f i s h s u p p l i e r s l i k e Norway through t h e 1860s, 1870s a n d 18809.16

David Alexander opposed emphasizing t h e s t a p l e as t h e s o l e d e t e r m i n a n t i n N e w f o u n d l a n d ' s u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t . Alexander b a s e d h i s a l t e r n a t e a n a l y s i s an t h e manner i n which Newfoundland's dominant c o n s e r v a t i v e m e r c a n t i l e and p o l i t i c a l S t r a t e g i e s o f f e r e d no lea?-rerm development a l t e r n a t i v e s t o s t a g n a t i n g p r o d u c t i o n i n t h e family-based f i s h e r y . He a r g u e d t h a t t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y w i t n e s s e d t h e growth o f a s e t t l e d f i s h e r y , the end o f merchant c a p i t a l ' s investment i n a c t u a l p r o d u c t i o n , a n d t h e withdrawal of marketing and c a p i t a l accumulation t o S t . John's. Merchants l e f t p r o d u c t i o n t o f i s h i n g f a m i l i e s , and looked o n l y t o t h e s h o r t - t e r m p r o f i t s i n t h e f i s h e r y ' s e x t e n s i v e growth. Mercantile r e f u s a l t o i n v e s t f i n e d c a p l t a l i n t h e f i s h e r y e n s u r e d t h a t Newfoundland could n o t c r e a t e a developed resource b a s e t o s e c u r e i n t e r n a l d o m e s t i c d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n o r b e t t e r e x t e r n a l markets f o r f i s h . I n A l e x a n d e r ' s view Newfoundland's developmental problem was n o t n e c e s s a r i l y under-endowment i n resources but r a t h e r over- domination by s h o r t - s i g h t e d merchants and p o l i t i c i a n s . His work s u g g e s t e d t h a t merchants s h o u l d have i n v e r t e d much more c a p i t a l i n t h e f i s h e r y and t h a t p o l i t i c i a n s should have encouraged s u c h investment i f m e r c h a n t s f a i l e d t o d o s o . 1 7

G e r a l d S i d e r ' s work d i r e c t l y a d d r e s s e d t h e problem of merchant c a p i t a l . He s u g g e s t e d t h a t Newfoundland's develop-

12 ment c a n n o t b e explained b; s t a p l e resource p r o d u c t i o n i n S a l t cod. I t was n o t t h e " n a t u r a l a t t r i b u t e s , technology and exchange of t h e .commodityq' which d e f i n e d t h e p r o v i n c e ' s s o c i a l f o r m a t i o n , b u t t h e r e l a t i o n s of s a l t cod's p r o d u c t i o n . S i d e r b e l i e v e d t h a t c l a s s . not s t a p l e c o m o d i t y , was c a u s a - t i v e i n Newfoundland h i s t o r y , t h a t t h e c u l t u r a l hegemony of merchant c a p i t a l over a l l of s o c i e t y was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e p r o v i n c e ' s underdevelopment. The i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l dynamics of c l a s s r e l a t i o n s , between production and t h e market, gave r i s e t o t h e m e r o h a n t - c o n t r o l l e d family f i s h e r y of t h e n i n e t e e n t h century. Through a l a r g e l y uneuplgred mechanism, S i d e r a s s e r t e d t h a t merchants engineered t h e i m p o v e r i s h m n t of p e t t y p r o d u c t i o n . This impoverishment Subsequently i n h i b i t e d d o m e s t i c c a p i t a l formation t h r o u g h t r u c k by p r e v e n t i n g t h e development of l o c a l a l t e r n a t i v e s t o merchant domination, reducing t h e amount of cash i n d o m e s t i c c i r c u l a t i o n , g i v i n g merchants no reason t o a l t e r t h e f i s h - e r y ' s structure i n t h e l a t e n i n e t e e n t h and t w e n t i e t h cen- t u r i e s , a n d b e i n g d i a l e c t i c a l l y r e i n f o r c e d by a " t r a d i t i o n a l - ism"

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an autonomous, v i l l a g e - b a s e d producer c u l t u r e - s u p p l a n t i n g c a p i t a l i s m i n t h e o u t p o r t s . l a

Newfoundland's underdevelopment, S i d e r argued, is t h e r e s u l t of o u t p o r t s o c i e t y b e i n g r e s t r a i n e d by merchant c a p i t a l . The i s l a n d saw l i t t l e i n d u s t r i a l c a p i t a l i s t development b e c a u s e merchants, b y dominating t h e exchange of s a l t f i s h , h a r n e s s e d household commodity production t o a

13 l a r g e r g l o b a l c a p i t a l i s m . S i d e r u s e d "merchant c a p i t a l , " an a b s t r a c t i o n u s e d by Marr t o t h e o r i z e a b o u t how only change i n t h e production, not c i r c u l a t i o n , of commodities e f f e c t e d r e v o l u t i o n a r y s o c i a l t r a n s f o m a t i o n , 1 9 as a s u r r o g a t e f o r

"merchants" In order to c o n s t r u c t a t h e o r y about how t h e y d e l i b e r a t e l y undermined t h o s e economic and s o c i a l develop- ments which would h a v e allowed p r o d u c e r s g r e a t e r indepen- dence. A l t h o u g h c i t i n g Mattheus, Handcock, and G r a n t Head, S i d e r i g n o r e d t h e i r f i n d i n g s a b o u t merchants' encouragement of d i v e r s i f i e d p r o d u c t i o n t o ensure a r e t u r n on t h e i r c r e d i t , and s u g g e s t e d t h a t merchants "imposed s p e c i f i c i t y o f product demand" o n f i s h i n g f a m i l i e s , r e f u s i n g t o t a k e anything b u t s a l t f i s h . T h e o r e t i c a l l y , t h e n a t u r e of merchant c a p i t a l was not i n n o v a t i v e , t h e r e f o r e , S i d e r p r o p o s e d , merchants' unwil- l i n g n e s s t o inconvenience t h e m s e l v e s by t r a d i n g i n goods o t h e r than s a l t f i s h

'. . .

may well be

. . .

^{a key} element in t h e domination of merchant c a p i t a l o v e r its producers, and p a r t of t h e package of c o n s t r a i n i n g a l t e r n a t i v e s ( t o c o m o d i t y p r o d u c t i o n ) i n the c o m ~ n i t i e a . " ~ ~ S i d e r f u r t h e r m o r e r e t u r n e d t o t h e old h i s t o r i o g r a p h i c argument, long l a i d t o r e s t by Matthews and Grant Head, t h a t t h e s t a t e , a c t i n g as the merchants' e x e c u t i v e , d i s c o u r a g e d a l t e r n a t i v e p r o d u c t i o n by p r o h i b i t i n g a g r i c u l t u r e , not r e c o g n i z i n g p r o p e r t y owner- s h i p , and d e l i b e r a t e l y opposing t h e f o r m a t i o n of a l a n d e d g e n t r y .Z1

P a r t o f S i d e r ' s argument appears t o be t h a t c a p i t a l i s t

14 productive r e l a t i o n s can emerge o u t of any r e g i o n a l r e s o u r c e base. Newfoundland's n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y c o d f i s h e r y c o u l d have given r i s e t o p r o d u c t i o n dominated by the p l a n t e r s '

(independent r e s i d e n t producers1 u s e o f wage labour. B u t a s i d e f r o m o p p o s i n g a g r i c u l t u r a l development, merchant c a p i t a l a p p a r e n t l y e n g i n e e r e d t h e f a m i l y f i s h e r y ' s s u p p l s n t - ing o f t h e p l a n t e r f i s h e r y b y r e f u s i n g t o f o l l o w t h e custom of g u a r a n t e e i n g p l a n t e r s ' s e r v a n t s ' wages through t h e r e c o g n i t i o n of s e r v a n t s ' l i e n on c a t c h e s . Without a guaran- t e e d wage, p l a n t e r s found s e r v a n t s u n w i l l i n g t o h i r e o u t t h e i r l a b o u r 1 t h i s f o r c e d p l a n t e r s down i n t o p e t t y produc- t i o n a l o n g s i d e those who u s e d t o b e wage l a b o u r e r s . S i d e r p a r t l y b a s e d h i s argument on A n t l e r ' s l a r g e l y u n s u b s t a n t i a t e d p r o p o s i t i o n t h a t B r i t i s h r e g u l a t i o n o f t h e Newfoundland f i s h e r y p r e v e n t e d the development o f l o c a l i n s t i t u t i o n s which might have e f f e c t i v e l y p r o t e c t e d s u c h r i g h t s o f l i e n and f r e e mal.ket exchange. By 1810, a c c o r d i n g t o A n t l e r , p l a n t e r s h a d been p r e v e n t e d from competing w i t h l a r g e f i s h merchants b y m e r c h a n t - o r i e n t e d c o u r t r u l i n g s a g a i n s t the wages a n d s u p p l y l i e n system.22 This i n t u r n c e n t r a l i z e d c o n t r o l of t h e f i s h e r y i n merchant hands and p r e v e n t e d t h e c r e a t i o n of wage l a b o u r and c a p i t a l i s t r e l a t i o n s i n t h e f i s h e r y . Merchants e x p l o i t e d t h e f i s h e r y by i m p o v e r i s h i n g f i s h i n g f a m i l i e s through t h e use of b a r t e r as t h e i r means a f purchasing s a l t cod f o r r e s a l e . Families were never g i v e n c a s h , b u t r a t h e r were given accounts i n which s u p p l i e s were balanced a g a i n s t

15 c a t c h e s ; o v e r a l l , some f a m i l i e s ' success b a l a n c e d a g a i n s t o t h e r s ' l o s s e s s o t h a t t h e p a t t e r n was one o f c o n t i n u i n g d e b t t o t h e m e r c h a n t ~ . ~ 3

S i d e r ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of f i s h merchants a s a c t i v e opponents of development comes fmm h i s c o n f l a t i n g t h e c ~ m p l e x m o t i v a t i o n s of a grouF of c a p i t a l i s t s w i t h a r e l a - t i v e l y s i m p l e m a r x i s t d e f i n i t i o n of merchant c a p i t a l as c o n s e r v a t i v e i n t h a t it p l a y s t h e p a r t of a p a r a s i t e , l i v i n g o f f t h e w e q u a l exchange of s u r p l u s e s , b u t n o t c o n t r i b u t i n g to changes i n t h e node of producing t h o s e s u r p l u s e s . The h i s t o r i o g r a p h i c antagonism between t r s d e and production, w i t h i t s i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h e d e f i n i t i o n of t h e concept of merchant c a p l t a l hegemony used by S i d c r i n p a r t i c u l a r , emerged From t h e English-language d e b a t e s o v e r t h e t r a n s i t i o n t o c a p i t a l i s m which began w i t h p'aurice Dobb's U J i e S i n

of C a n i t a l i s m . Dobb's book was a t h e o r y of S t a g e s i n h i s t o r i c a l development: European feudalism; a l a t e s i x t e e n t h

-

e a r l y s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y t r a n s i t i o n of p r i m i t i v e BCCUmulation; and an e i g h t e e n t h - n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y m a t u r a t i o n of i n d u s t r i a l c a p i t a l i s m . Dobb d i s a g r e e d with t h e n o t i o n t h a t p r i m i t i v e accumulation c o n s i s t e d of money and t r a d e i n s u r p l u s p e n e t r a t i n g t h e s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y of t h e f e u d a l manorial economy. I n s t e a d he proposed t h a t t h e c l a s s r e l a t i o n s of f e u d a l i s m were r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e i r own demise t h r o u g h a "complex i n t e r a c t i o n of t h e market and t h e s e i n t e r n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s " , t h e l a t t e r b e i n g c a u s a t i v e . A

16 f o u r t e e n t h - c e n t u r y demographic d e c l i n e l e d t o a d e c r e a s e i n f e u d a l l o r d s ' revenue ( t h e y had fewer p e o p l e t o squeeze r e n t from). In v e s t e r n Europe, l a n d l o r d s , t o a t t r a c t o r r e t a i n labour, began t o r e l y an c o n t r a c t u a l payment r a t h e r t h a n p o l i t i c a l a p p r o p r i a t i o n of s u r p l u s , w h i l e i n e a s t e r n Europe l a n d l o r d s t i g h t e n e d f e u d a l o b l i g a t i o n s over s e r f s . Such d i f f e r e n t responses arose because i n w e s t e r n Europe t h e growth o f towns s h i f t e d p r o d u c t i o n from t h e s u b s i s t e n c e of demesne or household t o t h a t o f l o c a l markets. Money payment f o r l a n d l o r d s f a c i l i t a t e d exchange i n t h e s e markets b e t t e r t h a n d i d t h e y i e l d o f unfree labour on t h e demesne. Contrac- t n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s l e d t o d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n among p e a s a n t s , Some p o s s e s s i n g t h e c a p i t a l t o h i r e t h e i r l e s s p r o d u c t i v e neighbours i n o r d e r t o accumulate more c a p i t a l : a s t a g e of p e t t y commodity p r o d u c t i o n . Merchants accumulated t h e s u r p l u s o f unequal exchange fmm t h i s p r o d u c t i o n , g a i n i n g t h e advantage of s u r p l u s b y r e s t r i c t i n g p e t t y commodity producers t o l o c a l r e t a i l tr;de. Merchants, e i t h e r descendant from t h e a r i s t o c r a c y o r a s c e n d a n t iram r u r a l o r u r b a n - a r t i s a n s 1 p e t t y p r o d u c t i o n , g a i n e d t h e monopoly of wholesale t r a d e i n exchange f o r t h e i r f i n a n c i a l propping up of t h e Eeudal r u l i n g c l a s s . Only when a s i g n i f i c a n t p r o p o r t i o n of merchants were t h e m s e l v e s excluded by monopoly d i d merchant c a p i t a l pene- t r a t e p e t t y commodity p r o d u c t i o n through t h e p u t t i n g - o u t system (an a t t e m p t t o i n c r e a s e s u r p l u s a p p r o p r i a t i o n i n l o c a l markets b y lowering p r o d u c t i o n c 0 s t s . 1 ~ ~

17 Dobb's work a p p e a r s t o suggest t h a t c a p i t a l i s m was t h e outcome Of merchant c a p i t a l a c t i v i t y , s i n c e some merchants were forced t o c o n c e n t r a t e on g a i n s from unequal exchange i n l o c a l P e t t y p r o d u c t i o n . Merchant investment i n p r o d u c t i o n was. however. o n l y t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e c o n d i t i o n s f o e a q u a l i t a t i v e s h i f t w i t h i n p e t t y p r o d u c t i o n , as a c a p i t a l i s t element rose t o s u b o r d i n a t e o t h e r s from t h e "very r a n k s from which i t had s o r e c e n t l y r i s e n . " For Dobb, t h e f i n a l n a t u r e of merchant c a p i t a l was c o n s e r v a t i v e i it c o u l d not c r e a t e , only f a s t e n an t o change a l r e a d y o c c u r r i n g i n the made of production.25

The a s s e r t i o n t h a t merchant c a p i t a l was n o t t h e source of c a p i t a l i s t development sparked t h e t r a n s i t i o n d e b a t e of t h e 1950s. a d e b a t e o v e r "prime movers" i n h i s t o r y . P a u l Sweery c r i t i c i z e d Dobb by a r g u i n g t h a t t r a d e was a prime mover, i n s i n u a t i n g i t s e l f through merchant c a p i t a l i n t o f e u d a l c l a s s r e l a t i o n s , u l t i m a t e l y d e s t r o y i n g them.2S Dobb*s r e p l y simply r e i t e r a t e d h i s s u g g e s t i o n t h a t demographic c r i s i s , n o t merchant c a p i t a l , undermined f e u d a l i s m from w i t h i n . Z 7 Kohachim Takahashi supported Dabb i n t h a t he f e l t t h a t i n t e r n a l f e u d a l c r i s e s d i d e s t a b l i s h t h e c o n d i t i o n s of p r o d u c t i o n f o r exchange r a t h e r than use which allowed d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n among producers, t h e emergence o f we??

l a b o u r , and t h e beginning o f c a p i t a l i s t p r o d u c t i o n . But Takahashi remained u n s a t i s f i e d w i t h Dobb's i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . He wondered why t h e p u t t i n g - o u t system l e d t o c a p i t a l i s n i n

18 western Europe, but n o t i n e a s t e r n Europe. Takahashi concluded t h a t Dobb d e s c r i b e d two ways of e s t a b l i s h i n g c a p i t a l i s m which i b f l u e n c e d each o t h e r : " i n Western Europe, Way No. I (producer-merchant), i n e a s t e r n Europe and U i a , Way No. I1 (merchant-manufacturerl

."

Capitalism, he suggested, was r e l a t e d t o i t s resource b a s e , and t h a t t h e c o n d i t i o n s which l e d t o t h e growth of commercial a g r i c u l t u r e e x i s t e d i n Western Europe, e n s u r i n g t h e e a r l y m a t u r i t y of a m e r c a n t i l e c l a s s which s u b o r d i n a t e d p r o d u c t i v e a c t i v i t y i n o t h e r r e g i o n s t h r o u g h unequal exchange.28 Rodney H i l t o n Supported Takahashi's p o s i t i o n , s u g g e s t i n g t h a t a combination of s o c i a l , economic, p o l i t i c a l , and resource f a c t o r s c o u l d determine a c a u s a t i v e r o l e f o r merchant c a p i t a l i n t h e growth of C a p i t a l i s t p r o d u c t i o n i n some areas.29

I n t h e f i n a l a n a l y s i s , however, Dobb opposed any a t t e m p t t o s u g g e s t t h a t t h e c a p i t a l i s t mode of production c o u l d be c h a r a c t e r i z e d by t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of production f o r t r a d e i n d i s t a n t markets. Marketing was o a t c a p i t a l i s m ; c a p i t a l i s m was t h e r e o r g a n i z a t i o n of p r o d u c t i o n , n o t exchange. Dobb d i s a g r e e d w i t h t h e llotion t h a t t h e t r a d i n g and exchange a c t i v i t i e s of merchant c a p i t a l c o u l d s t i m u l a t e t r a n s i t i o n s from n a n - c a p i t a l i s t p r o d u c t i o n t o c a p i t a l i s m . The i n t e r n a l m a t e r i a l c o n d i t i o n s of f e u d a l , n o n - c a p i t a l i s t p r o d u c t i v e r e l a t i o n s were r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e i r own demise through a 'complex i n t e r a c t i o n between t h e e x t e r n a l impact of t h e market and t h e s e i n t e r n a l r e l a t i o n ~ h i p s . " ~ ~ Dobb'r work

1 9 c l e a r l y l i n k e d t o g e t h e r production and c i r c u l a t i o n i n an e x p l a n a t i o n of t h e t r a n s i t i o n from f e u d a l i s m t o c a p i t a l i s m , b u t s p a r k e d a d e b a t e over which one was t h e o r i g i n a l "prime mover" i n c a p i t a l i s m ' s genesis.31

Debates about t h e t r a n s i t i o n t o i n d u s t r i a l c a p i t a l i s m i n t h e colonies of c a p i t a l i s t Europe have absorbed much of t h e i r energy i n t h e c o n c e p t u a l v o r t e x c r e a t e d by t h e "prime mover"

d e b a t e . H i s t o r i a n s do not have t o d e b a t e t h e u l t i m a t e o r i g i n s of c a p i t a l i s m , a n d t h u s do n o t have t o e s t a b l i s h o r d i s e s t a b l i s h merchant c a p i t a l ' s c r e d e n t i a l s i n s u c h a t ~ a n s i t i o n , t o s t u d y c o l o n i a l s o c i a l r e f o r m a t i o n . Yet much of t h e work t h a t followed t h e o r i g i n a l t r a n s i t i o n d e b a t e c o n t i n u e d t o focus on t h e prime mover q u e s t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e work of Andre Gunder Frank and I m a n u e l W a l l e r s t e i n .

W a l l e r s t e i n ' s and Frank's work was p a r t of a 1960s-70s r e a c t i o n a g a i n s t m a r x i s t o r r o s t o u i a n i d e a s t h a t t h e r e were s t a g e s o f economic growth t h r o u g h which economies must p a s s i n o r d e r t o develop. L a t i n American n a t i o n - s t a t e s d i d n o t , d e s p i t e a t t e m p t s t o a p p l y e i t h e r model i n s t u d y and P r a c t i c e , t a k e t h e paths of t h e f i r s t i n d u s t r i a l i z e d r e g i o n s , and s o underdevelopment t h e o r i s t s came t o t h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a t a h i s t o r y of g l o b a l c a p i t a l i s m meant t h a t t h e c o l o n i e l world c o u l d n o t r e p l i c a t e t h e h i s t o r y of i t s Thus, t h e dependency approach r e j e c t e d t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f European madels of c a p i t a l i s t development t o t h e c o l o n i a l world because t h e v a r y p r o c e s s o f c a p i t a l i s t imperialism

,

v i a t h e

2 0 a c t i o n of merchant c a p i t a l , t r a n s f e r r e d t h e s u r p l u s of p e r i p h e r a l areas t o t h e c a p i t a l i s t core.33 T h i s body of thought d i d n o t t a k e i s s u e with t h e Dobb view of t h e o r i g i n a l European t r a n s i t i o n , but a r g u e d t h a t it should n o t be a p p l i e d t o o t h e r r e g i o n s i n p e r i o d s subsequent t o t h e development of European c a p i t a l i s m .

Andre Gunder Frank took a p o s i t i o n s i m i l a r t o t h a t of Sweezy by a r g u i n g t h a t t r a d e s t i m u l a t e d c a p i t a l i s t develop- ment i n Europe, e s p e c i a l l y through t h e q u e s t f o r p r e c i o u s metals i n t h e New There i s a t a u t o l o g y here:

c a p i t a l i s m was founded b y t r a d e which was i n s t i g a t e d by c a p i t a l i s m . Frank's work i s t h e h i s t o r y of t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l i m p l i c a t i m s o f western European c a p i t a l i s m ' s growth through t r a d e w i t h some p a r t s o f the world which had t h e p e c u l i a r combination of s t a p l e s needed f o r c a p i t a l i s t p r o d u c t i o n and i n d i g e n o u s s o c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s t h a t provided cheap labour s u b s i d i z e d through s l a v e r y o r debt peonage. These c i r - cumstances prompted European s u p e r e x p l o i t a t i o n o f c o l o n i a l s o c i e t i e s . 3 5 Frank openly admitted t h a t he had n o t uncovered t h e o r i g i n s of European c a p i t a l i s m , b u t was sure t h a t marketing on a world s c a l e a c c e l e r a t e d its growth and shaped t h e n a t u r e of c a p i t a l i s m i n c o l o n i a l s o c i e t y , a n d f e l t t h a t t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f s t a p l e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e manner i n which i m p e r i a l i s t and c o l o n i a l s o c i e t i e s organized themselves around t h e i r p r o d u c t i o n was an important form of n o n c a p i t a l - ist accumulation e n c o u r a g i n g g l o b a l c a p i t a l i s t d e v e l ~ p m e n t . ~ ~

21 Like Frank, I m a n u e l W a l l e r s t e i n saw c a p i t a l i s m as a world-system Which began with t h e f i r s t production of commodities f o r market exchange i n Europe d u r i n g t h e f i f - t e e n t h c e n t u r y . Merchants a n d exchange a c c e l e r a t e d c a p i t a l - i s t development by l i n k i n g areas o f t h e world i n a h i e r a e c h i - c a l c h a i n of commodity p r o d u c t i o n over t i n e a n d p l a c e between areas with more c a p i t a l i s t s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s and p l a c e s w i t h n o n c a p i t a l i s t ones. The most advanced c a p i t a l i s t r e g i o n s , core areas, expanded t h e i r development by e x t r a c t i n g t h e s u r p l u s p r o d u c t i o n of s e m i - p e r i p h e r a l and p e r i p h e r a l a r e a s , e s s e n t i a l l y by buying cheap ( t h e s u r p l u s e x t r a c t e d from l e s s - f r e e l a b o u r i n primary p r o d u c t s ) and s e l l i n g d e a r (marketing p r o d u c t s whose v a l u e was i n c r e a s e d by wage-labour p r o d u c t i o n ) i n b o t h p e r i p h e r a l ' a n d o t h e r regions.37

W a l l e r s t e i n ' s a n a l y s i s r e s t e d an t h e i d e a t h a t o r i g i n a l p r i m i t i v e accumulation, p r o l e t a r i a n i z a t i o n , f o r c e d c a p i t a l - i s t s , through working-class o r g a n i z a t i o n and demands f o r a g r e a t e r s h a r e o f s u r p l u s v a l u e , t o engage i n areas charac- t e r i z e d by l e s s p r o l e t a r i a n i z a t i o n t o r e p l a c e t h e g r e a t e r s h a r e of s u r p l u s v a l u e b e i n g l o o t t o workers a t home.38 W a l l e r s t e i n d i d not reek t o a x p l a i n o r i g i n a l c a p i t a l i s m t h r o u g h t h e "development o f underdevelopment," but s u g g e s t e d t h a t once p r o d u c t i o n f o r exchange, not use, developed i n Europe, c a p i t a l i s m r a p i d l y s u b o r d i n a t e d areas p e r i p h e r a l t o t h a t p r o d u c t i o n . He d e f i n e d c a p i t a l i s m by b o t h t h e develop- ment of wage-labour b a s e d p r o d u c t i o n a n d t h e c i r c u l a t i o n

22 between t h a t mode of p r o d u c t i o n and o t h e r s based on s l a v e e y , cash-cropping, share-cropping or tenancy. These modes were d e f i n e d by r e g i o n a l l a b o u r o r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e technology o f commodity production, and r e g i o n a l resource b a s e s . The c a p i t a l i s t core, t h r o u g h t h e power of t h e n a t i o n - s t a t e , imposas c e r t a i n t y p e s o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d s o c i a l r e l a t i a n - s h i p s on p e r i p h e r a l and semi-peripheral arear, depending on t h e combination of t h e s e d e f i n i n g f a c t o r s . 3 9

W a l l e r s t e i n b e l i e v e d t h a t merchants played an a c t i v e role i n t h e g e n e r a t i o n o f c a p i t a l i s m . By t r a d i n g t h e p e t t y production of town and c o u n t r y i n areas of r a p i d l y d i s i n - t e g r a t i n g f e u d a l i s m (due t o demographic c r i s i s and p e a s a n t f l i g h t t o towns1 with areas i n which p r i m i t i v e a c c u n u l a t i o n was l e s s pronounced, merchants provided s u r p l u s e s which h e l p e d commodity producers accumulate enough c a p i t a l whereby they c o u l d expand p r o d u c t i o n on t h e b a s i s aE wage l a b o u r . England, France, end t h e United Provinces, t h e areas of Europe w i t h t h e b e s t combination of a r a b l e land, dense p o p u l a t i o n , and t r a d e f a c i l i t i e s t o encourage b o t h commercial a g r i c u l t u r e and r e l a t e d manufacture, became t h e world's f i r s t c a p i t a l i s t c o r e s by t h e end o f t h e s i x t e e n t h c e n t u r y . 4 0

Robert Brenner d i s a g r e e d with Frank's and w a l l e r s t e i n ' s s u g g e s t i o n t h a t t r a d e and merchants c o u l d p l a y a c a u s a t i v e r o l e i n c a p i t a l i s t development. ^As a r e s u l t o f h i s p a r t i n t h e t r a n s i t i o n d e b a t e which now b e a r s h i s name, Brenner b e l i e v e d t h a t h i s t o r i c a l change emerged o n l y from c l a s s

23 Struggle between producers and t h e i r e ~ p l o i t e r s . ~ ~ This emphasis on the h i s t o r i c a l primacy of productive r e l a t i o n s i n s o c i a l and economic development became t h e essence of h i s a t t a c k on Frank and Wallerstein: c l a s s struggle, not t h e i n t e r a c t i o n of merchant c a p i t a l and resources, determined whether o r not imperialism would see the development of capitalism within colonial s o c i e t i e s . Brenner a s s e r t e d t h a t Wallerstein saw capitalism only a s t h e r e s u l t of peripheral underdevelopment

--

surplus t r a n s f e r taking precedence o v e r innovation i n production. Peripheries' export i n d u s t r i e s determined t h e i r r o l e in c a p i t a l i s t development. This, s t a t e d Brenner was a "techno-determinism" which m a r r i s t s could not accept as t h e b a s i s f o r understanding c o l o n i a l h i s t o r y . Wallerstein and Frank could net explain c a p i t a l i s t development by me of i t s consequences, surplua appropria- t i o n , t h e r e f o r e n e i t h e r could account f a r Western Europe's c a p i t a l i s t o r i g i n s , l e t alone the beginning of c a p i t a l i s t development in North

Brenner's European-oriented model of c l a s s s t r u g g l e and change cannot provide a b e t t e r explanation for t h e s p e c i f i c d i r e c t i o n s taken by c a p i t a l i s m ' s i n t e r n a t i o n a l

A more persuasive explanation i s t h a t of Frank t h a t t h e development of c a p i t a l i s m on a world s c a l e involved as much the export o r t r a n s f e r of European c a p i t a l i s t s o c i a l r e l a - t i o n s t o some colonies as it did t h e c i r c u l a t i o n of corn- modities i n primary a c c u m u l a t i ~ n . ~ ~ Wallerstein t a o was

24 aware t h a t i n d u s t r i a l c a p i t a l i s m matured i n what had been some p e r i p h e r a l areas, and e x p l a i n e d such growth i n t e r m s of i t s tendency t o occur i n areas t h a t had r e s o u r c e s which a t t r a c t e d n o t merely European t r a d e , b u t a l s o t h e migration o f Europeans with c a p i t a l i s t e x p e c t a t i o n s

-

or a c a p i t a l i s t hegemonic c u l t u r e : t h e w h i t e s e t t l e r phenomenon o f c o l o n i a l s e t t l e m e n t i n t h e United S t a t e s , Canada, A u s t r a l i a , New Zealand and South ~ f r i c a . ~ ~

C r i t i c s of dependency t h e o r y have suggested a r e e v a l u a - t i o n o f t h e r o l e of merchant c a p i t a l i n world c a p i t a l i s t development. Robert 5. D u P l e s s i s c a u t i o n e d a g a i n s t o v e r e s - t i m a t i n g t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n of unequal exchange t o growth i n t h e c a p i t a l i s t core and underdevelopment i n i t s p e r i p h e r i e s . Merchant c a p i t a l s h o u l d b e r e c o n s i d e r e d , suggested DuPlessis, a s c o n t r i b u t i n g t o s o c i a l and economic changes i n many d i v e r s e ways i n a l l r e g i o n s of t h e c a p i t a l i s t world, l i n k i n g t o g e t h e r t h e c l a s s formations o f core, p e r i p h e r y and semi- p e r i p h e r y i n ways t h a t were n o t always d i s a d v a n t a g e o u s t o non-core r e g i o n s . 4 6 DuPlessis t h o u g h t t h a t h i s t o r i a n s should c o n s i d e r u s i n g t h e p e r s p e c t i v e of p r o t o - i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n theorists t o a v o i d opposing exchange and p r o d u c t i o n i n t h e s t u d y of r e g i o n a l c l a s s formation. I n American h i s t o r i o - graphy, McCusker a n d Menard a l s o advocated abandoning t h e world-systems approach a l t o g e t h e r f o e a more s e n s i t i v e a n a l y s i s i n c o r p o r a t i n g t h e s t a p l e model [which t h e y narrowly d e f i n e d i n t e r m s o f d i r e c t l i n k a g e from e x p o r t a c t i v i t y ) ,

25 demography and proto-ind~strialiration.4~

Both dependency theory, with its implicit staple approa~h, and proto-industrialization theory rejected the view that merchants were constant opponents of economic development or transformation. Proto-indus:eialization theory directly challenges any easy acceptance of merchant capital as a hegeaonic conservative force in social forma- tion. At first thought to be only a first phase in in- dustrial capitalist development, proto-industrialization came to be seen as a form of industrialization in which merchant capital played a leavening role. Early work, focussing on the transition tram feudalism, placed peoto-industrialization within the framework of a Malthusian-like demographic crisls in feudal productive relations whereby households in marginal agriculture, to supplement their subsistence, agreed to manufacturing for merchants as the latter put out work to avoid town w i l d restrictions. Proto-industrialization was the means by which these families could utilize their surplus labour during lulls in the seasonal round of agric~lture.~~

Merchants benefitted from unequal exchange with the house- holds of a waning feudal countryside by using petty produc- ers' subsistence agriculture to subsidize low wages.

Merchants could thus buy manufactures from these households at low prices, and sell them in other markets at higher prices. To break the cultural and structural limits of petty production's subsistence-oriented nature (the leakage of

2 6 m a t e r i a l s from exchange between merchant and producer allowed by t h e d i s p e r s a l of P e t t y p r a d u c e r s throughout t h e c a u n t r y - s i d e , and producers' c u l t u r a l p r o c l i v i t y t o not. work much beyond t h e needs of s u b s i s t e n c e ) some merchants e v e n t u a l l y began t o i n v e s t t h e p r o f i t s fmm t h e i r unequal exchange a s f i n e d c a p i t a l i n production. At t h e same t i m e , producers' e a r n i n g s from p u t t i n g - o u t work expanded t h e consumer market f o r manufactured goods. By t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , as steam technology developed, such f i x e d c a p i t a l i n c r e a s i n g l y t o o k t h e form o f f a c t o r ? p r ~ d u c t i o n . ' ~

The p r o t a - i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n l i t e r a t u r e i d e n t i f i e s a sometimes r e v o l u t i o n a r y r o l e f o r merchant c a p i t a l i n t h e European t r a n s i t i o n t o i n d u s t r i a l c a p i t a l i s m . I n t h e New World, d i s c o v e r e d and e x p l o i t e d from i t s i n c e p t i o n by merchant c a p i t a l , t h e r o l e of t h e merchant i n t h e t r a n s i t i o n may or may not have played a s i m i l a r r o l e . C h r i s t o p h e r C l a r k h a s found t h a t merchant c a p i t a l p l a y e d a c a u s a t i v e r o l e . through t h e i n t e r m e d i a r y of p u t t i n g - o u t , i n t h e t r a n s i t i o n t h e r e from household family p r o d u c t i o n t o industrial c a p i t a l - i m . 5 0

BY^ why should merchant c a p i t a l p l a y such a r e v o l u t i o n - a r y r o l e i n some p a r t s of t h e New World, end not o t h e r s ?

~ i k e w a l l e r s t e i n ' s world-systems a n a l y s i s , p r o t o - i n d u s t r i a l i - z a t i o n t h e o r i s t s assumed t h a t c o l o n i a l expansion i n t o t h e New World was an a t t e m p t by European merchants t o o r g a n i z e p r o d u c t i v e r e l a t i o n s t h e r e i n unequal exchange w i t h mare

27 mature forms of capitalism.51 One of Wallerstein's critics suggested, in a manner very similar to the staple model advanced by Baldwin, that the reason same parts of the New World made an industrial transition lies in the very social organization of production of the comadities mercli~.lts first began to trade in. Alan Smith proposed that plantation comodities in areas in which indigenous forms of social organization already existed to provide unfree labour gave little incentive for change in productive relations. The profit margins of trade with camodities produced by unfree labour gave merchants little reason to want to disturb their business. But in other areas, primarily in the northeastern United States and Central Canada, commodity production did not encourage the use of such labour. The labour costs of cultivating grain, tobacco and livestock were not so high as to preclude family labour as the most productive unit. The proliferation of petty production based on family labour encouraged the proto-industrial development of a society similar, in its productive relations, culture, and institu- tions, to that of capitalist western ~ u r o p e . ~ ~ Such growth encouraged merchant capital to fasten itself on to the opportunities provided by a new industrial capitalism freeing itself from subordination to its parent social formation.

The key here is to understand that the interaction of resource and class development in the New World could create conditions which encouraged the production of nonplantation