Problems of perspective : the myth of free trade Britain and fortress France -- The history of British economic policy -- The unbearable lightness of drink : assessing the effects of British tariffs on French wine -- The beginnings : trade and the struggle for European power in the late 1600s --...

In War, Wine, and Taxes, John Nye debunks the myth that Britain was a free-trade nation during and after the industrial revolution, by revealing how the British used tariffs--notably on French wine--as a mercantilist tool to politically weaken France and to respond to pressure from local brewers...

The literature on British economic history presumes that Britain was a free trader after the repeal of the Corn Laws. Thus her tariff levels were below those which were optimal for maximizing utility. Presumably, if the optimal British tariff was positive and greater than the levels established...