The Politics of Commerce

Abstract

In the last decade, historians studying Britain’s relations with the self-governing settlement empire (the dominions) have emphasized the role of shared culture and dense networks in shaping what Bridge and Fedorowich have called the “British world.” Recent scholarship has begun to discern a political life within this British world, at times resurrecting the term Greater Britain. This article builds on these developments through research on a neglected pan-imperial institution: the Congress of Chambers of Commerce of the Empire. The article shows that the Congress, which was dominated by chambers from Britain and the dominions, acted primarily as a business lobby seeking to shape aspects of pan-imperial economic governance. This conclusion highlights the need to place greater emphasis on patterns of politics and governance within the British World (or Greater Britain).