Editing Board of Trade

{{short description|Committee of the United Kingdom Privy Council}}
{{about|the committee of the United Kingdom Privy Council|the more general article on business networks|Chamber of commerce|other uses|Board of Trade (disambiguation)}}
{{Cleanup|reason=The advisers are out of date|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox government agency
| name            = Board of Trade
| native_name     = The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of all matters relating to Trade and Foreign Plantations
| type            = Advisory board
| seal            = Coat of arms of the British Board of Trade.png
| seal_size       = 175px
| seal_caption    = Badge of the Board of Trade
| formed          = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} OR {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| status          = 
| headquarters    = 
| motto           = 
| employees       = 
| budget          = 
| minister_type   = [[President of the Board of Trade|President]]
| minister1_name  = [[Jonathan Reynolds]]
| chief2_name     = 
| chief2_position = <!-- up to |chief9_name= -->
| parent_department = [[Department for Business and Trade]]
| parent_agency   = 
| parent_agency_type = 
| website         = {{URL|https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/board-of-trade}}
| footnotes       = 
| embed           = 
}}
{{use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
The '''Board of Trade''' is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the [[Department for Business and Trade]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/board_of_trade |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922065254/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/board_of_trade |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 September 2019 |title=Definition of Board of Trade |website=[[Lexico]]}}</ref> Its full title is '''The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of all matters relating to Trade and Foreign Plantations''', but is commonly known as the Board of Trade, and formerly known as the '''Lords of Trade and Plantations''' or '''Lords of Trade''', and it has been a committee of the [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]. The board has gone through several evolutions, beginning with extensive involvement in colonial matters in the 17th century, to powerful regulatory functions in the [[Victorian Era]] and early 20th century. It was virtually dormant in the last third of the 20th century.  In 2017, it was revitalised as an advisory board headed by the [[International Trade Secretary]] who has nominally held the title of [[President of the Board of Trade]], and who at present is the only privy counsellor of the board, the other members of the present board filling roles as advisors.

==Overview==

The board was first established as a temporary committee of England's Privy Council to advise on colonial ([[Plantation (settlement or colony)|plantation]]) questions in the early 17th century, when [[English overseas possessions|these settlements]] were initially forming. The board would evolve gradually into a government department with considerable power and a diverse range of functions,<ref name="BoT&Va">{{cite web |last=Olson |first=Alison G. |title=The Board of Trade and Colonial Virginia |url=http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Board_of_Trade |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Virginia]] |access-date=9 March 2015}}</ref> including regulation of domestic and foreign commerce, the development, implementation and interpretation of the [[Navigation Acts|Acts of Trade and Navigation]], and the review and acceptance of legislation passed in the colonies. Between 1696 and 1782 the Board of Trade, in partnership with the various secretaries of state over that time,{{efn|[[Secretary of State (England)]] (to 1660), [[Secretary of State for the Southern Department]] (1660–1768), [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]] (1768-1782)}} held responsibility for colonial affairs, particularly in [[British America]]. The newly created office of [[Home Secretary]] then held colonial responsibility until 1801, when the [[Secretary of State for War and the Colonies]] was established.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4196 |title=Board of Trade and Secretaries of State: America and West Indies, Original Correspondence |website=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/american-west-indian-colonies.htm |title=American and West Indian colonies before 1782 |website=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]}}</ref>  Between 1768 and 1782 while with the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]], whose secretaryship was held jointly with the presidency of the Board of Trade, the latter position remained largely vacant; this led to a diminished status of the board and it became an adjunct to the new department and ministry concerns. Following the loss of the [[American War of Independence]], both the board and the short-lived secretaryship were dismissed by the king on 2 May 1782 and the board was abolished later by the [[Civil List and Secret Service Money Act 1782]] ([[22 Geo. 3]]. c. 82).<ref name="BHO3">{{cite book |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol3/pp28-37 |chapter=Council of trade and plantations 1696-1782 |series=Office-Holders in Modern Britain |volume=3 |title=Officials of the Boards of Trade 1660-1870 |pages=28–37 |publisher=[[University of London]] |location=London |date=1974 |via=[[British History Online]] |editor-first=John C. |editor-last=Sainty |editor-link=John Sainty (civil servant)}}</ref>

Following the [[Treaty of Paris 1783]], with the continuing need to regulate trade between its remaining colonies, the independent United States and all other countries, a new Committee of Council on Trade and Plantations (later known as 'the First Committee') was established by [[William Pitt the Younger]]. Initially mandated by an [[Order in Council]] on 5 March 1784, the committee was reconstructed and strengthened by a second order, on 23 August 1786, under which it operated for the rest of its existence. The committee has been known as the Board of Trade since 1786, but this name was only officially adopted by section 65 of the [[Harbours and Passing Tolls, &c. Act 1861]] ([[24 & 25 Vict.]] c. 47). The new board's first functions were consultative like earlier iterations, and its concern with plantations, in matters such as the approval of colonial laws, more successfully accomplished. As the [[Industrial Revolution]] expanded, the board's work became increasingly executive and domestic. From the 1840s, a succession of acts of Parliament gave it regulatory duties, notably concerning railways, merchant shipping and joint-stock companies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=1&CATID=38&SearchInit=4&SearchType=6&CATREF=BT |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100915133842/http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=1&CATID=38&SearchInit=4&SearchType=6&CATREF=BT |archive-date=2010-09-15 |title=Records of the Board of Trade and of successor and related bodies |id=Department code BT |website=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]}}</ref>

{{boxquote|The Lords of the Committee of Privy Council appointed for the consideration of matters relating to trade and foreign plantations may be described in all Acts of Parliament, deeds, contracts, and other instruments, by the official title of "the Board of Trade" without expressing their names; and all Acts of Parliament, contracts, deeds, and other instruments wherein they are so described, shall be as valid as if the said Lords or any of them had been named therein.|source=Harbours and Passing Tolls, &c. Act 1861}}

This department was merged with the [[Minister of Technology|Ministry of Technology]] in 1970, to form the [[Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)|Department of Trade and Industry]]. The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (from 2009 [[Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills]]) was also President of the Board of Trade. The full board has met only once since the mid-20th century, during commemorations of the bicentenary of the board in 1986. In 2016, the role of President of the Board of Trade was transferred to the [[Secretary of State for International Trade]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/secretary-of-state-for-international-trade |title=Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade |website=[[GOV.UK]]}}</ref> The board was reconstituted in October 2017.

==History==
=== Origins ===
In 1622, at the end of the Dutch [[Twelve Years' Truce]], [[James I of England|King James I]] directed the [[Privy Council of England]] to establish a temporary committee to investigate the causes of various economic and supply problems, the decline in trade and consequent financial difficulties; detailed instructions and questions were given, with answers to be given "as fast as the several points shall be duly considered by you."<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Adam Anderson (economist) |first=Adam |last=Anderson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chpPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA294 |title=An historical and chronological deduction of the origin of commerce: from the earliest accounts. Containing an history of the great commercial interests of the British Empire... |volume=2 |pages=294–297 |date=1787}}</ref> This would be followed by a number of temporary committees and councils to regulate the colonies and their commerce.<ref name="BrCofT&P">{{cite book |first=Charles M. |last=Andrews |author-link=Charles M. Andrews |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/33313/33313.txt |title=British Committees, Commissions and Councils of Trade and Plantations 1622-1675 |date=1908 |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]}}</ref> The board's formal title remains "The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of all matters relating to Trade and Foreign Plantations".

In 1634, [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] appointed a new commission for regulating plantations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/charter_005.asp |title=Royal Commission for Regulating Plantations; April 28, 1634 |website=[[Avalon Project]] |publisher=[[Yale Law School]]}}</ref> It was headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury with its primary goals to increase royal authority and the influence of the Church of England in the colonies, particularly with the great influx of Puritans to the New World. Soon after, the [[English Civil War]]s erupted and initiated a long period of political instability in England and the resultant loss of productivity for these committees.<ref name="BoT&Va"/> The war would spread to varying degrees to the [[English overseas possessions in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms|English colonies]], depending on the internal demographics and political and religious division of each. Between 1643 and 1648 the [[Long Parliament]] would establish a parliamentary Commission for Plantations to take the lead in colonial and commercial affairs.<ref name="BrCofT&P"/> This period also saw the first regulation of royal [[tonnage and poundage]] and begin the modernization of [[HM Customs and Excise|customs and excise]] as growing sources of government revenue.

During the [[Interregnum (England)|Interregnum]] and [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]] three acts of the [[Rump Parliament]] in 1650 and 1651 are notable in the historical development of England's commercial and colonial programs. These include the first Commission of Trade to be established by an Act of Parliament on 1 August 1650.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/acts-ordinances-interregnum/pp403-406 |title=August 1650: An Act for the Advancing and Regulating of the Trade of this Commonwealth |website=[[British History Online]]}}</ref> The instructions to the named commissioners, headed by [[Henry Vane the Younger]], included consideration of both domestic and foreign trade, the trading companies, manufactures, free ports, customs, excise, statistics, coinage and exchange, and fisheries, as well as the plantations and the best means of promoting their welfare and rendering them useful to England. The act's statesmanlike and comprehensive instructions, along with an October act [[An Act for prohibiting Trade with the Barbadoes, Virginia, Bermuda and Antego|prohibiting trade with pro-royalist colonies]] and the Navigation Act of October 1651, formed the first definitive expression of England's commercial policy. They represent the first attempt to establish a legitimate control of commercial and colonial affairs, and the instructions indicate the beginnings of a policy which had the prosperity and wealth of England exclusively at heart.<ref>{{cite book |first=Charles M. |last=Andrews |author-link=Charles M. Andrews |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/33313/33313.txt |title=British Committees, Commissions and Councils of Trade and Plantations 1622-1675 |date=1908 |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |chapter=Control of Trade and Plantations During the Interregnum |page=24}}</ref>

It was the [[Lords of Trade and Plantations|Lords of Trade]] who, in 1675, originated the idea of transforming all of the colonies in America into [[Crown Colonies|Royal Colonies]] for the purpose of securing English trade against the French. They brought New Hampshire under the Crown, modified Penn's charter, refused a charter to the Plymouth colony, and taking advantage of the concessions of the charters of Massachusetts and New York, created the [[Dominion of New England]] in 1685, thereby transforming all the territory from the [[Kennebec River|Kennebec]] to the [[Delaware River|Delaware]] into a single crown colony.<ref>{{cite book |last=Andrews |first=Charles M. |author-link=Charles M. Andrews |title=The Colonial Background of the American Revolution |year=1958 |orig-year=1924 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |location=New Haven and London |pages=11–12|isbn=9780300000047 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKlWAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>

In 1696, [[William III of England|King William III]] appointed eight paid commissioners to promote trade in the [[British America|American plantation]]s and elsewhere. Staff appointed to serve the board in 1696 included a secretary, a deputy secretary, some clerks, office keepers, messengers, and a necessary woman; more staff such as a solicitor and a porter were added later.<ref name="BHO3"/> The [[Commissioners for Trade and Plantations|Lords Commissioners of Trade and Foreign Plantations]], commonly known as the Lords of Trade, did not constitute a committee of the Privy Council, but were, in fact, members of a separate body. The board carried on this work but also had long periods of inactivity, devolving into chaos after 1761 and dissolved in 1782 by an [[act of Parliament]] by the [[Rockingham Whigs]].

=== Reestablishment 1784 ===
[[William Pitt the Younger]] re-established the committee in 1784, and an [[Order in Council]] of 23 August 1786 provided the formal basis that still remains in force. A secretariat was established which included the president, vice president and board members. By 1793, the board still remained in its old structure, with 20 members including the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]].<ref name = Emsley9>{{harvp|Emsley|1979|p=9}}</ref> After 1820 the board ceased to meet regularly and the business was carried out entirely by the secretariat. The short name of "Board of Trade" was formalised in 1861.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/24-25/47/section/65/data.htm |title=Harbours and Passing Tolls, &c. Act 1861 |website=[[legislation.gov.uk]]}}</ref>
[[File:The Board of Trade.jpg|thumb|The Board of Trade circa 1808.]]
In the 19th century the board had an advisory function on economic activity in the UK and its [[British Empire|empire]]. During the second half of the 19th century it also dealt with legislation for patents, designs and trademarks, company regulation, labour and factories, merchant shipping, agriculture, transport, power etc. Colonial matters passed to the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|Colonial Office]] and other functions were devolved to newly created departments, a process that continued for much of the 20th century.

The original commission comprised the seven (later eight) [[Great Officer of State|Great Officers of State]], who were not required to attend meetings, and the eight paid members, who were required to attend. The board, so constituted, had little real power, and matters related to trade and the colonies were usually within the jurisdiction of the [[secretary of state|secretaries of state]] and the Privy Council, with the board confining itself mainly to colonial administration.

===20th century reforms===

==== Lloyd George as President (1905–1908) ====

{{Further|Education Act 1902#The failed Education Bill of 1906}}

[[File:ChurchillGeorge0001.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Lloyd George and [[Winston Churchill]] in 1907]]

In 1905, [[David Lloyd George]] entered the new Liberal Cabinet of [[Henry Campbell-Bannerman|Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman]] as [[President of the Board of Trade]].<ref name = "CrosbyWithRadical">{{cite book|last = Crosby| first = Travis L. |title=The Unknown Lloyd George: A Statesman in Conflict|year=2014|chapter = With Radical Intent?|publisher = I. B. Tauris | location = London|isbn=9781780764856}}</ref>{{rp|63}}

The first priority on taking office was the repeal of the [[Education Act 1902]]. Lloyd George took the lead along with [[Augustine Birrell]], President of the Board of Education. Lloyd George was the dominant figure on the committee drawing up the bill in its later stages and insisted that the bill create a separate education committee for Wales.<ref name="CrosbyIntheCabinet">{{cite book|last=Crosby|first=Travis L.|title=The Unknown Lloyd George: A Statesman in Conflict|chapter = In the Cabinet|year=2014|publisher=I. B. Tauris|location=London|isbn=9781780764856}}</ref>{{rp|74–77}} The bill passed the House of Commons greatly amended but was completely mangled by the House of Lords. No compromise was possible and the bill was abandoned, allowing the 1902 act to continue in effect.<ref>Neil D. Daglish, "Lloyd George's Education Bill? Planning the 1906 Education Bill". ''History of Education'' (1994). 23#4: 375–384. doi:10.1080/0046760940230403.</ref> Nonconformists were bitterly upset by the failure of the Liberal Party to reform the Education Act 1902, its most important promise to them, and over time their support for the Liberal Party slowly fell away.<ref name="Richards1972">{{cite journal|last=Richards|first=Noel J.|date=January 1972|title=The Education Bill of 1906 and the Decline of Political Nonconformity|journal=[[The Journal of Ecclesiastical History]]|publisher=Cambridge University Press|volume=23|issue=1|pages=49–63|doi=10.1017/S0022046900055615|s2cid=145486496}}</ref>

According to Martin Roberts, Lloyd George headed a department of 750 experts that was responsible for supervising British industry, commerce and transportation.  Using their pool of expertise, he initiated a series of reforms that were quickly endorsed by the Liberal Parliament.<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Roberts |title=Britain: 1846-1964, The Challenge of Change |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2001 |page=147}}</ref>   One of the first actions was the [[Census of Production Act 1906]] ([[6 Edw. 7]]. c. 49), which generated a [[Survey of production]]—an up-to-date compendium of detailed statistics necessary for regulating specific industries.  The [[Merchant Shipping Act 1906]] upgraded the minimum working conditions, and the safety protections for both British sailors, and crews of foreign ships that used British ports.<ref>{{cite book |first=Bentley Brinkerhoff |last=Gilbert |title=David Lloyd George: A Political Life: Architect of Change, 1863-1912 |date=1987 |pages=325–327}}</ref>  The [[Patents and Design Act 1907]] gave financial protection to British designs to stop unfair foreign copies. In the long term, his most important innovation was the [[Port of London Act 1908]] creating the Port of London Authority. It merged numerous inefficient and overlapping private companies and gave unified supervision to Britain's most important port. That enabled London to compete more effectively with Hamburg and Rotterdam.<ref>{{cite book |first=Bentley Brinkerhoff |last=Gilbert |title=David Lloyd George: A Political Life: Architect of Change, 1863-1912 |date=1987 |pages=327–328}}</ref>

Lloyd George also turned his attention to strikes and industrial disputes in shipyards. He was instrumental in settling the serious threat of a national railway strike in 1907. While almost all the rail companies refused to recognise the unions, he persuaded them to recognise elected representatives of the workers who sat with the company representatives on conciliation boards—one for each company. If those boards failed to agree then an arbitrator would be called upon.<ref name="CrosbyIntheCabinet"/>{{rp|69–73}}<ref>{{cite book |first=Bentley Brinkerhoff |last=Gilbert |title=David Lloyd George: A Political Life: Architect of Change, 1863-1912 |date=1987 |pages=314–319}}</ref>

====Churchill as President 1908–1910====

[[H. H. Asquith]] succeeded the terminally ill prime minister on 8 April 1908 and, four days later, [[Winston Churchill]] was appointed President of the Board of Trade, succeeding Lloyd George who became [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]. He continued the reform impulse Lloyd George had launched.<ref>{{cite book |first=Roy |last=Jenkins |title=Churchill: A biography |publisher=Pan Macmillan |date=2012 |pages=142–166}}</ref>  One of Churchill's first tasks was to arbitrate in an industrial dispute among ship-workers and employers on the [[River Tyne]]. He afterwards established a Standing Court of Arbitration to deal with future industrial disputes, establishing a reputation as a conciliator.  In Cabinet, he worked with Lloyd George to champion [[Liberal welfare reforms|social reform]].{{sfnp|Jenkins|2012|page=143}} He promoted what he called a "network of State intervention and regulation" akin to that in Germany.<ref>{{cite book |first=Randolph S. |last=Churchill |title=Winston S. Churchill |volume=2 1901-1914 Young Statesman |date=1967 |pages=267–304 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin company Boston |url=https://archive.org/details/winstonschurchil0002rand}}</ref> 

Churchill's main achievements came in 1909. First was the [[Labour Exchanges Act 1909|Labour Exchanges Bill]]. It set up over 200 [[labour exchange]]s with [[William Beveridge]] in charge. The unemployed would come in and be assisted in finding employment.  He also promoted the idea of an unemployment insurance scheme, which would be part-funded by the state.{{sfnp|Jenkins|2012|pages=150–151}}<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Roberts |title=Churchill: Walking with destiny |date=2018 |pages=128–129}}</ref>  Secondly he introduced the [[Trade Boards Act 1909|Trade Boards Bill]], creating trade boards which investigated the sweated trades and enabled the prosecution of exploitative employers. Passing with a large majority, it established the principle of a [[minimum wage]] and the right of workers to have meal breaks. Churchill introduced the [[Coal Mines Regulation Act 1908|Mines Eight Hours Bill]], which legally prohibited miners from working more than an [[eight-hour day]].{{sfnp|Jenkins|2012|page=150}}

[[Sydney Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton|Sydney Buxton]] served as president between 1910 and 1914. His main role was passage of numerous specific trade and commerce laws.

===Since 1973===

From 1973, international trade policy of the United Kingdom was a competence of the [[European Economic Community]], and later of the [[European Union]]. The board was reconstituted in October 2017, after the UK had voted to [[Brexit|leave the European Union]] in June 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-41586496 |title=Board of Trade revived by government |first=Ian |last=Pollock |date=12 October 2017 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> In its most recent iteration in 2017, only privy counsellors can be actual members of the board, while others are appointed as advisers.<ref name=Sept2020advisers>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-new-board-of-trade |title=Government announces new Board of Trade |date=4 September 2020 |website=[[GOV.UK]]}}</ref>

==Members==
There is only one standing member in the Board, who is its President.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-05-19/49069|title=Board of Trade: Membership|website=UK Parliament|date=8 June 2020}}</ref>

===Ministers===
The Board is held accountable to Parliament through ministers attached to the Board, who are not necessarily members.
* [[President of the Board of Trade]]
* [[Vice-President of the Board of Trade]]
* [[Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade]]

== Current advisers ==
Advisers to the Board appointed in September 2020 or sitting {{lang|la|ex officio}}.<ref name=Sept2020advisers /> {{needs update|date=August 2024}}
* [[Secretary of State for Scotland]]
* [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]]
* [[Secretary of State for Wales]]
* [[Minister of State for Trade|Minister for Trade Policy]] (invited when relevant to Ministerial portfolio)
* [[Minister of State for Investment|Minister for Investment]] (invited when relevant to Ministerial portfolio)
* [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exports|Minister for Exports]] (invited when relevant to Ministerial portfolio)
* [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade|Minister for International Trade]] (invited when relevant to Ministerial portfolio)
* [[The Honourable#Australia|The Hon]] [[Tony Abbott]], [[Order of Australia|AC]]
* Karen Betts
* Libby Hart, CEO Libby London
* Anya Hindmarch
* Ruth Chapman
* [[Anne Boden]], [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]]
* [[Daniel Hannan|Lord Hannan of Kingsclere]]
* [[The Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]] [[Patricia Hewitt]]
* Emma Howard Boyd <ref>[https://www.gov.uk/government/people/emma-howard-boyd www.gov.uk]</ref>
* [[Michael Liebreich]]
* [[William Russell (Lord Mayor)|William Russell]], [[Lord Mayor of London]]
* [[Doctor (title)|Dr]] [[Linda Yueh]]

==See also==
* [[President of the Board of Trade]], complete list and links
*[[Imperial Lighthouse Service]]

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading and works cited==

* Basye, Arthur Herbert. ''The Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, commonly known as the Board of Trade, 1748-1782'' (Yale University Press, 1925) [https://books.google.com/books?id=OPbSAAAAMAAJ&dq=History+%22Board+of+Trade%22&pg=PP11 online].

* Black, Alistair, and Christopher Murphy. "Information, Intelligence, and Trade: The Library and the Commercial Intelligence Branch of the British Board of Trade, 1834–1914." ''Library & Information History'' 28.3 (2012): 186-201.
* Brown, Lucy M. ''The Board of Trade and the free-trade movement, 1830-42'' (Clarendon Press, 1958).

* {{cite book |title=British Society and the French Wars 1793-1815 |first=Clive |last=Emsley |author-link=Clive Emsley |year=1979 |publisher=Macmillan Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aD5dDwAAQBAJ |isbn=978-1-349-16115-7 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* Dickerson, Oliver Morton. ''American colonial government 1696-1765: A study of the British Board of Trade in its relation to the American colonies, political, industrial, administrative'' (1912) [https://books.google.com/books?id=TBgOAAAAIAAJ&dq=History+%22Board+of+Trade%22&pg=PA7 online].
* Gilbert, Bentley B. ''David Lloyd George: A Political Life: vol 1 The Architect of Change 1863-1912'' (1987) pp 285–334.
* Olson, Alison G. "The board of trade and London-American interest groups in the eighteenth century." ''Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History'' 8.2 (1980): 33-50.
* Rosevear, Stephen. "Balancing business and the regions: British distribution of industry policy and the Board of Trade, 1945–51." ''Business History'' 40.1 (1998): 77-99.
* {{cite journal |last=Root |first=Winfred T. |author-link=Winfred Trexler Root |title=The Lords of Trade and Plantations, 1675-1696 |journal=American Historical Review |volume=23 |issue=1 |date=October 1917 |pages=20–41 |jstor=1837684 |jstor-access=free |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|doi=10.2307/1837684 }}

* Smith, Hubert Llewellyn. ''The Board of Trade'' (1928) a major history, 288pp [https://ia903402.us.archive.org/26/items/dli.ministry.10371/E03081_The_Board_of_Trade_text.pdf online]; also see [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2224105 online review]

* Steele, Ian Kenneth. ''Politics of Colonial Policy: The Board of Trade in Colonial Administration 1696-1720'' (Clarendon Press, 1968).

==External links==

* {{cite web |url=http://www.berr.gov.uk/aboutus/corporate/history/outlines/BT-1621-1970/page13919.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609155119/http://www.berr.gov.uk/aboutus/corporate/history/outlines/BT-1621-1970/page13919.html |archive-date=2009-06-09 |title=History of the Board of Trade |website=[[Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform]]}}

* {{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/board-of-trade |title=Board of Trade |website=[[GOV.UK]]}}
* {{Gutenberg author|id=32313}}
* *{{cite web |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol3 |series=Office-Holders in Modern Britain |volume=3 |title=Officials of the Boards of Trade 1660-1870 |editor-first=John C. |editor-last=Sainty |editor-link=John Sainty (civil servant) |location=London |date=1974 |publisher=University of London |via=[[British History Online]]}}

{{Privy Council (United Kingdom)}}

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[[Category:Board of Trade|*]]
[[Category:1622 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Economic history of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Public bodies and task forces of the United Kingdom government]]
[[Category:Governance of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Trade in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]