Richard Cobden was significant because he was a major
force who pushed for the abolition of the Corn Laws in Great Britain. These laws had
restricted free trade in grain between Britain and other countries. When free trade is
restricted, the prices of goods tend to rise because the producers in a country do not
have to compete with those outside the country. This is what happened in Great
Britain.
Cobden was a small businessman who came from a
middle class background. In the course of his work, he came to believe in the need for
free trade. He felt that free trade would make life easier for average people in
Britain. He also hoped that free trade would bring about world peace because countries
would be tied together by trade and would not want to fight one another any
longer.
Cobden eventually became a member of Parliament.
In that capacity, he was the main negotiator of the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty that reduced
tariffs on trade between France and Britain.
No comments:
Post a Comment