Colonies, Commerce, and Constitutional Law: Rid Yourselves of Ultramaria and Other Writings on Spain and Spanish America

One of the most important studies of colonialism written in the nineteenth century, Colonies, Commerce, and Constitutional Law is a major theoretical analysis of the harmful effects of colonies on commerce and constitutional democracy. The four pioneering essays collected in this volume were written by Bentham in the early 1820s; three have never been published before.
Colonies, Commerce, and Constitutional Law is a major theoretical analysis of the harmful effects of colonies on commerce and constitiutional democracy, and is one of the most important studies of colonialism written in the nineteenth century. Of the four essays collected in this voloume, three have been edited directly from the original manuscript sources. The only essay to have appeared in print, Observations on the Restrictive and Prohibitory Commercial System', is generally regarded as an early classic statement of the beneficial effects of freedom of trade. In the these pioneering essays written in 1820-2, Bentham provided a penetrating critique of colonialism from within the liberal utilitarian tradition. Applying his general principles to the case of Spain and Spanish America, he argued that any attempt by Spain to maintain dominion over her Empire, or even to maintain a claim to the dominion was fundamentally misguided. Colonies were not a source of wealth to the colonizing country, but rather led to the imposition of increased taxation. This book is intended for scholars of modern British, European, and Latin American history; especially historians of ideas; historians of