G#246;teborg Papers in Economic History - G#246;teborgs universitet.pdfVIP

Göteborg Papers in Economic History ___________________________________________________________________ No. 4. june 2006 ISSN: 1653-1000 Flexibility and protectionism ______________________________________ Swedish trade in sugar during the early modern era Klas Rönnbäck Flexibility and protectionism. Swedish trade in sugar during the early modern era * Klas Rönnbäck klas.ronnback@econhist.gu.se (To be published in report from conference “Varudistribution och marknadsintegrering på randen till industrisamhället”, Gothenburg, February 2006) Abstract: Sugar was of the utmost importance for the development of a transatlantic trade during the early modern era. This working paper explores the impact of institutions and institutional changes of the colonial trade in sugar focusing on one country on the European semi-periphery, namely Sweden. Through protectionist policies, Swedish merchants were able to catch a significant share of the Baltic trade in colonial goods, despite the country having no colonies of its own. This in turn enabled a diversification of the sources of colonial goods. Trade in sugar became highly flexible during the period, rapidly changing in response to a changing international market. Protectionist policies also enabled the development of a domestic sugar manufacture, which flourished during the late 18th and early 19th century. When Swedish trade policy was liberalized around the 1850s, the domestic industry went through hard times from the international competition. The introduction of sugar beet w