Charles Davenant facts for kids
Charles Davenant (1656–1714) was an English economist, politician, and writer. He believed in mercantilism, a way of thinking about how countries get rich. He was a Tory member of Parliament for St Ives and Great Bedwyn.
Life of Charles Davenant
Charles Davenant was born in London in 1656. His father was Sir William Davenant, a famous poet. Charles went to Cheam grammar school and Balliol College, Oxford. He left Oxford without finishing his degree. Later, he managed his father's theatre. He also earned a law degree and became a member of Doctors' Commons, a group of lawyers.
Early Career and Politics
In 1678, Davenant became a Commissioner of the Excise. This meant he helped collect taxes for the government. He earned £500 a year. At first, taxes were collected using a "farming system," where people paid to collect taxes. In 1683, Britain stopped this system, and Davenant's salary went up to £1000 a year.
In 1685, he was elected to Parliament for St Ives. But in 1688, the Glorious Revolution happened. King James II was sent away, and William of Orange became king. Davenant lost his job as Commissioner of the Excise. He also lost money he had loaned to James II.
Seeking New Roles
After losing his job, Davenant tried to get new government positions. He applied to be Controller of the Excise in 1692 and 1694. He did not get the job, possibly because Charles Montagu, a powerful government official, objected. In 1696, his friends in government, like Godolphin, faced political problems. Godolphin resigned, and Davenant lost his main supporter for a public job.
Return to Parliament and Reputation
In 1698, Davenant returned to Parliament, representing Great Bedwyn. He joined the Tory party, which became the main party in Parliament. Around 1701, some people thought he might have been secretly working for the French government. There was no proof that he took bribes, but these rumors hurt his public image.
Later Government Positions
In 1702, Queen Anne became queen. Davenant's friends, including Godolphin and Harley, gained power. In September 1702, Davenant was chosen to help negotiate the union of Scotland and England. In June 1703, he became the Inspector General of Imports and Exports. This job involved tracking goods coming into and leaving the country.
In 1705, Davenant visited Holland. He wanted to study how trade was happening during the war with France.
Final Years and Writings
In 1710, Godolphin lost his job, which put Davenant's position at risk. To stay in favor with the Tory party, Davenant wrote new books. These books changed some of his earlier ideas. For example, he argued that the Dutch were benefiting from trade with France, while Britain was doing most of the fighting in the war.
Charles Davenant died in London in 1714.
Charles Davenant's Writings and Ideas
When he was 19, Davenant wrote a play called Circe. As an economist, he strongly supported mercantilism. This idea suggests that a country should export more goods than it imports to become wealthy. In his economic writings, he believed the government should control trade with colonies. However, he thought trade within England should be free.
Here are some of his important works:
- An Essay on the East India Trade (1697)
- Two Discourses on the Public Revenues and Trade of England (1698)
- An Essay on the probable means of making the people gainers in the balance of Trade (1699)
- A Discourse on Grants and Resumptions and Essays on the Balance of Power (1701)
Ideas on War and Finance
In 1694, Davenant published An Essay on the Ways and Means of supplying the War. In this book, he criticized how England was paying for its war with France. He thought that borrowing money for a long time was bad for trade. He also felt that land taxes were unfair because they affected different parts of the country unevenly.
In 1695, he wrote Memorial Concerning the Coyn of England. He argued against making England's coins worth less to pay for the war.
Trade and Economic Balance
In 1696, Davenant published A Memorial Concerning a Council of Trade. This promoted his idea that trade needed protection. He also wrote A Memorial Concerning Credit and the Means and Methods whereby it may be Restored. This was likely an attempt to gain favor and get a job in the Excise department.
His Essay on the East India Trade (1696) argued against protecting English textiles from Indian competition. He believed that trade with India actually helped Britain's overall trade balance. He thought that restricting imports would stop Britain from re-exporting goods to Europe. This would reduce the government's income. He also worried that if Britain didn't supply Indian goods, the Dutch would.
In 1697, he published Discourses on the Publick Revenues and on the Trade of England, Part 1. He strongly argued against long-term borrowing to fund government spending. He believed that high taxes to pay off debt hurt trade, industry, and landowners. He thought land tax was unfair because it put the heaviest burden on wealthy landowners. He feared they would have to sell their land to "monied men."
Part 2 of Discourses on the Publick Revenues and on the Trade of England (1698) further explained the idea of the "general balance of trade." This book might also have been written to show his support for the East India Company, hoping they would hire him.
Political Writings
In 1699, Davenant published An Essay on the probable Methods of making a People Gainers in the Balance of Trade. This book included ideas from Gregory King about England's natural resources. The last part of the book was a strong attack on the ruling Whig party. Later that year, he wrote A Discourse of Grants and Resumptions. This discussed how the king and queen gave away Irish lands to their friends. Davenant's writings began to mix economic ideas with political comments. He often wrote to gain favor and secure jobs.
In 1701, he published Essays upon I The Balance of Power II The Right of Making War, Peace, and Alliances III Universal Monarchy. This was a very strong attack on King William III's foreign policy.
He also wrote The True Picture of a Modern Whig (1701) to defend the Tory party. His book Tom Double Returned out of the Country (1701) explained his ideas on trade and public finance. He worried that the Whig party would restart the war with France. This would lead to more debt and higher taxes on landowners. He feared that landowners would go bankrupt, and others would gain political power.
His book Essays upon Peace at Home and War Abroad (1703) promoted "moderation" and an anti-party view. This angered his Tory friends because it went against their policies. This made him seem like someone who changed his views to benefit himself.
Later Economic Views
In 1704, Davenant wanted to collect trade numbers from the past 25 years. His request was denied because of the high cost of hiring clerks. He wrote, but did not publish, Memorial Concerning the Free Trade now Tolerated between France and Holland. In this, he showed a positive view of the Dutch, which was unusual for him.
In 1709, Davenant published Reflections upon the Constitution and Management of Trade to Africa. In this, he returned to his usual distrust of the Dutch. He argued for renewing the Royal African Company's special right to trade in Africa. He said this was needed to compete with the Dutch and pay for forts. He published this anonymously, and it is thought he might have been paid to write it.
In 1712, Davenant published two Reports to the … Commissioners for … Public Accounts. These reports had a lot of data. They continued his argument that Holland benefited from trade with France, while Britain took on heavy debt during the war. He also suggested that trade with France could be good for England.
Key Economic Contributions
Charles Davenant is known for his work on the Law of Demand. This idea explains how the price of something affects how much people want to buy it. Some think he developed this with Gregory King, while others believe Davenant expanded on King's work. Davenant used these ideas to argue that borrowing money for war was bad for England's economy. He thought that excise taxes (taxes on goods) were a better way to fund the government.
Davenant is also credited with being the first to discuss the idea of the Balance of Trade as important for a country's financial health. He believed that if a country imported more goods than it exported, money would flow out of the country. In 1695, he suggested that selling more goods than buying was the best way to pay for the war, instead of taking on long-term debt and raising taxes on landowners.
In his Essay on the East-India Trade (1696), he argued that imports should not be restricted. He believed England re-exported many goods from India. Stopping imports would prevent these re-exports and reduce government income. He also feared that if Britain did not supply Indian imports, the Dutch would take over the European market. He seemed to understand basic ideas about how much people want to buy things and how businesses compete fairly.
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