Joshua Gee (1667–1730) was a British merchant, publicist and writer in economics who mainly focused on trade. Gee is best known for his book called ''The Trade and Navigation of Great Britain Consider'd'' which was first published in London, 1729, and had 20 editions worldwide.

Early life

Joshua Gee was born in 1667 probably in London. His father, John Gee (1635–1704) of Moyvoughley, was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

from

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. There is no information regarding his education.

Merchant

In London, by age 27, Gee became a master of the Grocers' Company by purchase (without serving an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

) and a freeman in London. By 1700 he was already trading with the

American colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centur ...

. In 1715, Gee and

Augustine Washington Augustine Washington Sr. (November 12, 1694 – April 12, 1743) was the father of the first U.S. president, George Washington. He served as an officer in the British Navy during the War of Jenkin's Ear although he belonged to the Colony of Virg ...

founded The Principio Company. It was backed by an association of British iron-masters, merchants, and capitalists. Principio produced

pig-iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silica ...

and bar-iron in the

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Maryland ...

and the

Province of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...

for sale in England. By 1723 Gee and his partners owned or controlled more than 12,000 acres of land in North America containing

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

deposits. In 1708. Gee and eight other men gave

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

a mortgage on his

Colony of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...

estate in order to raise money to pay debts.. In addition, he was a frequent advisor of the

Board of Trade and Plantations The Commissioners for Trade and Plantations was a body formed by the British Crown on 15 May 1696 to promote trade and to inspect and improve the plantations of the British colonies. It was the successor of various previous bodies set up in the seve ...

Personal life

In 1697, Gee married Sarah Hart (1673/4–1704), daughter of a tailor at the Peel Quaker meeting. They had five children, William (b. and d. 1696), Joshua (1697–1777), John (1699–1719?), Mary (1701–1702), and Sarah (1703–1740). In 1706, two years after Sarah died, Gee married Anna Osgood (d. 1730), widow of Salem Osgood and daughter-in-law of John Osgood, a Quaker silk and linen merchant. Anna had two daughters from her previous marriage, Rebecca (1695–1783) and Anne (b. 1699). They had a further four children; Samuel (1707–1746), Elizabeth (b. 1708), Osgood (b. 1710), and Mary (b. 1713). Gee died in 1730 at the baths in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, England.

Works

Gee may have been the author of two other works: ''An Impartial Enquiry into the Importance and Present State of the Woollen Manufacturers of Great Britain and The Grazier's Advocate'', or, ''Free Thoughts of Wool and the Woollen Trade.'' Both, works were published posthumously in 1742.

''The British Merchant'' (1713-1714)

The ''British Merchant'' was a journal created by Charles King to oppose the efforts of

Viscount Bolingbroke Viscount Bolingbroke is a current title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1712 for Henry St John. He was simultaneously made Baron St John, of Lydiard Tregoze in the County of Wilts. Since 1751, the titles are merged with the titles of ...

to establish commercial treaty and

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

, between England and France. Gee is believed to be a contributor to the twice-weekly issues of the journal from 1713-1714, where he postulated a mercantile system that emphasized the necessity of government directing and encouraging England's commerce.

''The Trade and Navigation of Great Britain Consider’d'' (1729)

In 1729, Gee published ''The Trade and Navigation of Great Britain Consider’d'', in London. This book gives an overview of British trade both historically and by national areas, and also comments on trade problems (for example devoting chapter 12 to “French fashions pernicious to England”). Most of this work focused on labour shortages in the American colonies Gee suggested that England transport domestic convicts, the poor and unemployed to work in the colonies. He also recommended creating free ports at

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and

Port Mahon A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

. Gee also encouraged foreign import-replacing production in the plantations. Between 1729 and 1780, at least 20 editions of the book were published. There are English editions published in London,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, French translations (the first in 1749), published in London,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, Dutch (1750), Spanish (1753), and German (in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, 1757). Historians say that the main reason behind the book's popularity was Gee's honesty explaining the policies which were actually carried out by the English.5. Reinert, E. (2017), 80 Economic Bestsellers. Working Paper in Technology Governance and Economic Dynamics No 74. Tallinn University of Technology & The Other Canon Foundation

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gee, Joshua 1667 births 1730 deaths English merchants English economics writers 18th-century English non-fiction writers 18th-century English male writers