18th century London was as much a melting pot of different people and cultures as London today. London in 1776 was rapidly expanding, and in the midst of a construction boom as officials tried to keep pace with population growth. Recent renovations had made Britain’s capital the most well-lit and best-paved city in Europe. Entire neighbourhoods were built in weeks. The allure of the capital brought many seeking fame and fortune. The population of London doubled from around half a million at the beginning of the 18th century to just over a million by the start of the 19th.
‘Neither you nor Mr [Thomas] Cadell have wrote me anything concerning the new Edition of My Book, is it Published? does it sell well? does it sell ill? does it sell at all?’ – Adam Smith, 1777, University of London Archives
Yet even though London was a city of great wealth, it was also a city of great poverty. Some neighbourhoods, such as Whitechapel, were forgotten in the London rebuild. Here, freak accidents that destroyed lives, homes and businesses were common.
Unusually, London in 1776 was both a centre of trade and the home of a government and a court. In fact, in the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith cites only three cities that combine these centers of power: London, Lisbon and Copenhagen. This rarity, he argues, stems from the ordinary ‘idleness’ of those ‘maintained by the expence of revenue’ (state functions such as the government) ‘corrupting’ the industry of those ‘maintained by the employment of capital’ (private enterprise) (WN II.iii. 12, 336). In London, however, business interests of a few merchants were maintained at the expense of the economic interests of the rest of the country. In practice, this approach by government caused resentment amongst all except the select few who were favoured by the mercantile policy.
Smith’s critiques of government intervention into free markets were just one of the reasons why his book became a best-selling hit. Yet Smith was not entirely confident of his success. He needn’t have worried. Shortly after the release of the Wealth of Nations, he was appointed a commissioner of customs in Scotland, and given the chance to remake British trade policy on freer terms. Though he did not live to see it, the principle of free trade would result in the British Empire reaching new heights of dominance in the 19th century, long after the loss of its American colonies and the abolition of slavery.