To be Waterproof or to be soaked: importance of packing in British textile exports to distant markets: The cases of Chile and the River Plate, c.1810-1859

摘要

The literature on Anglo-South American trade during the first half of the19th century has taken British exports for granted. There are no specificconsiderations of textile exports, which were the backbone of British trade tothe continent. Accordingly, when explaining the growth of British exports,historians have paid tribute solely to economic developments in SouthAmerica. Important developments taking place in Britain have long beenneglected. This paper provides the first account of the impact that improvementsin the packing of textiles to protect against seawater damages had onBritish exports to distant markets, focusing on the particular markets of Chileand the River Plate c.1810-1859.