1767-Jan.-07: An essay on colonial history noted that in 1732, West Indian enslavers successfully lobbied for a Parliamentary act to suppress North American t…

1767-Jan.-07: An essay on colonial history noted that in 1732, West Indian enslavers successfully lobbied for a Parliamentary act to suppress North American trade with foreign islands. The residents of the Caribbean sugar islands were reportedly jealous of the growing commercial prosperity and influence of the northern continental colonies. At the time, the North American population was viewed by London as numerous but too poor to exert significant political influence. This legislative victory illustrated the profound political power wielded by the West Indian plantocracy within the British imperial structure during the early eighteenth century.