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Originally Posted by DeepIron
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Originally Posted by August
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Originally Posted by DeepIron
Makes me wonder what would have happen in the US during the Civil War if the British and the French had taken up the cause of the Confederacy, which they were inclined to do. Fortunately, a guy named Charles F Adams kept both Britain and France from recognizing Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy.
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Adams or not I think there was no way that the British at least would ever recognize the Confederacy as long as they maintained the institution of slavery. |
The British abolished slavery in 1807 and most certainly wouldn't have recognized the Confederacy as you point out. On the other hand, the British did have a large investment in the cotton the South provided and England did build a number of commerce raiders for the Conferate Navy so some support was realized. |
Another point is that there was a cotton glut in Europe at that time, and Britain and France both needed someone to refine and manufacture the extra cotton that they couldn't. That someone was the
United States.