Revelations of the Diplomatic History of the 18th Century

72 Marx took the data for his calculations from A. Anderson, An Historical and Chronological Deduction of the Origin of Commerce, from the earliest accounts. Containing an history of great commercial interests of the British Empire, Vols. I, III, IV, London, 1787, 1789.

73 The Balance of Trade doctrine — one of the tenets of mercantilism. According to it a country’s prosperity depends totally on the constant inflow of bullion from abroad, and to secure. this it is necessary to attain a favourable balance of foreign trade.

74 Marx has in mind the book: S. Puffendorf, De Rebus gestis Friderici Wilhelmi Magni, Electoris Brandenburgici, commentariorum Libri novendecim. Berolini, 1695.

75 The Russian or Muscovy Company (its real name: Merchant Adventurers for the Discovery of Lands, Countries, Isles, not before known or frequented by any English) — an English trade company founded in the mid-sixteenth century which enjoyed some privileges from the Russian Government. However, the Company’s intentions to get hold of the Russian market and also its plans to seize the North of Russia and the Volga route in 1612 during the period of the Polish and Swedish intervention caused dissatisfaction on the part of the Russian Government and merchants. The result of it was that in 1649 the Company virtually ceased to exist. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, during the War of the Spanish Succession (see Note 51), the Company was re-established as England was in great need of shipbuilding materials.

76 The publication date of these petitions is not known.

77 This refers to the fact Marx wrote about as early as June 1854 in his article “The Formation of a Special Ministry of War in Britain. — The War on the Danube. — The Economic Situation": “For the measure announced by Sir J. Graham in last Monday’s House of Commons, viz.: The non-blockade of the port of Archangel, The Morning Herald accounts in the following laconic paragraph: ‘There is a house at Archangel which bears the name of the Chancellor of the Exchequer'”.

78 See Note 54.

79 Marx has in mind the Polish emigrant to the USA and contributor to the New-York Daily Tribune Adam Gurowski, the French historian and writer Elias Regnault and the German philosopher and journalist Bruno Bauer, who wrote a great deal on the Eastern question and European foreign policy during the Crimean war.

80 The fortress of Kars was captured by Russian troops during the Crimean war in November 1855. See K. Marx’s series of articles “The Fall of Kars”.

81 The Suez Canal was built from 1859 to 1869. Ferdinand de Lesseps, a French diplomat and engineer, obtained a concession for the building and exploitation of it on November 30, 1854. The British Government was against the project at first, fearing the expansion of French influence in Egypt and the Middle East.