An Essay on the State of England: In Relation to Its Trade, Its Poor, and Its Taxes, for Carrying on the Present War Against France

In Short

This seventeenth-century treatise serves as a blueprint for national economic reform during the Nine Years' War. The author, a Bristol merchant, argues that England’s survival against France requires a radical shift in how the state handles its land, manufacturing, and trade policies. By advocating for the protection of domestic industry, the regulation of colonial commerce, and the moral rehabilitation of the poor through labor, the book seeks to stabilize England’s finances. It remains a significant historical artifact for its early, clear-eyed articulation of mercantilist philosophy and state-led economic planning.

The Story

The narrative begins with a direct appeal to the King, establishing the stakes of the conflict with France. The author contends that the war is a struggle for religion, liberty, and property, but warns that the nation’s treasury is dangerously overextended. He identifies the three pillars of English wealth—land, manufacture, and foreign trade—and insists that the current methods of taxation are stifling these vital sectors. By taxing land and trade too heavily, the government is essentially killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

The author then pivots to a detailed examination of England’s trade, dividing it into domestic and foreign spheres. He expresses a deep skepticism toward the "middlemen" of the economy—those who buy and sell without adding value—arguing that their growth encourages sloth and litigiousness. Instead, he champions the physical production of goods. He details the potential of various industries, from cotton-wool and hemp to glass and earthenwares. He suggests that if the state encourages these sectors and discourages the export of raw materials, England can stop relying on foreign imports and become self-sufficient.

Moving to foreign trade, the author critiques the existing monopolies, such as the East India Company, which he believes serve private interests while harming the broader national economy. He argues that trade should be opened to more participants, which would increase competition and boost the quality of English goods. He pays particular attention to the colonies, proposing that England consolidate its control over plantation products like sugar and tobacco to ensure they are processed at home. He views trade as a zero-sum game, where France, in particular, acts as a "tavern" that drains England of its wealth in exchange for luxury goods.

The final act of the argument shifts to the "poor." The author frames the issue of poverty not as a failure of charity, but as a crisis of idleness. He traces this malaise to the proliferation of alehouses and the decline of the "English spirit" of industry. He calls for systematic reforms to ensure that the populace is gainfully employed, suggesting that work is the only true barrier against vice. He concludes with a proposal for the reform of the insurance industry, which he claims has been corrupted by "stockjobbers" who turn business into a reckless gamble. The work ends as a sincere, if didactic, invitation to future writers to refine these ideas, reaffirming that the author’s only goal is the prosperity of his native country.

How It Unfolds

The call to arms The author establishes that England’s financial stability is the primary defense against the French threat. He demands that the state shift its focus from taxing the "vitals" of the nation to actively securing its commercial prosperity.

The anatomy of industry The text breaks down the domestic economy, separating productive manufacturing from the parasitic nature of retail and litigation. He paints a vision of an England where local crafts, from glassblowing to weaving, replace expensive foreign imports.

The critique of monopoly The author challenges the established trading companies, arguing that they act as monopolies that restrict the nation’s natural growth. He advocates for a more open, competitive market that would lower costs for the consumer and increase employment.

The colonial agenda The focus shifts to the plantation economy, where the author maps out a plan for strict control over trade routes. He argues that England must force its colonies to act as feeders for the home country’s manufacturing base.

The moral economy The final movement connects economic health to the work ethic of the poor. He argues that idleness is a systemic disease caused by modern luxury and lax laws, and that only by enforcing labor can the nation restore its moral and financial footing.

The People

John Cary, the author and merchant from Bristol, is the central voice throughout. He is a man of rigid convictions, viewing the world through the lens of national utility. He wants a state that is as disciplined in its economics as it is in its military strategy. Standing in his way are the "stockjobbers" and "monopolists"—men who, in his view, manipulate the markets for private gain, creating artificial scarcity and fueling the very idleness that ruins the common man.

The "poor" are treated not as individuals but as a collective asset to be managed. To Cary, they are a resource that has been squandered by bad laws and the proliferation of alehouses. He wants to transform them from a burden on the state into a productive, laboring class. The "gentlemen" of England also appear as a target, specifically those who fear that manufacturing might lower the value of their land; Cary aims to persuade them that a thriving trade is the only thing that will actually raise land rents. By the end, the reader sees a vision of a transformed citizenry, where even the lowest peasant is incentivized to value their own property and labor over the "slothful dependence" on a benefactor.

In Its Own Voice

"A War, which may strain the Nerves and Sinews of our Treasure before it be ended, and therefore as in Martial Discipline great Wisdom must be used to secure those Posts where the Enemy bends most of his Forces, so here 'tis Prudence to strengthen our Treasure, by advancing and securing our Trade which must bring it in."

The author justifies his focus on economics by framing it as a direct necessity for winning a long, expensive war.

"Laws concerning Trade whose sole Strength are Penalties (and especially such as end in Death) rarely reach the thing aimed at; but practicable Methods, whereby one thing answers another, and all conspire to carry on the same Design, hanging like so many Links in a Chain, that you cannot reach the one without stepping over the other, these are more likely to prevent Mischiefs."

Cary argues for the efficacy of systemic, structural regulation over simple, violent punishments.

What It's Really About

The central question is how a nation can achieve self-sufficiency in an age of imperial competition. The work is a defense of mercantilism, predicated on the belief that a country’s power is measured by its ability to export finished goods while hoarding gold and silver. Beneath the discussion of trade routes and manufacturing techniques lies a profound anxiety about national identity and character. The author fears that wealth and luxury are making the English people soft and lazy, and he sees the reorganization of trade as a way to physically and morally "harden" the populace. He treats the nation as a single, living body whose health is determined by the circulation of goods and the labor of its limbs.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the history of economic thought will find this an essential, primary-source look at the mechanics of the early British Empire. It is a dense, argument-heavy text that does not shy away from the granular details of customs, duties, and colonial commodity flows. Because it was written in 1695, the prose carries the formal, slightly circuitous weight of the period, and the reader must be prepared for long, compound sentences that mirror the complexity of the author's arguments.

You will find it difficult if you are looking for a light historical narrative, but deeply rewarding if you want to understand the mindset of the merchants who built the global trade networks of the eighteenth century. What stays with you is the author’s uncompromising, almost clinical, approach to his fellow citizens; he views the entire population as a tool to be optimized for the state’s survival. It is an honest, unvarnished look at a time when policy and patriotism were inextricably linked to the ledger. You will walk away with a clear understanding of why these early thinkers believed that the strength of a nation was not in its gold, but in the sweat of its people.