When and why did Brazilian cotton become important to the Industrial Revolution in Britain? Between 1791 and 1801, Brazilian cotton represented 40 per cent of raw cotton imports in Liverpool, rivalling those from the West Indies. Using archival data between 1760 and 1808, this paper shows that Brazil benefitted from increasing British demand for a new variety of cotton staple that emerged with mechanised textile production. Previous explanations for the rise of Brazilian cotton trade attributed it to the revolutions in the Caribbean in the 1790s, and the American War of Independence, which ended in 1783. Evidence, however, suggests that these explanations are incomplete or incorrect. The United States did not export cotton to Britain before 1790, and British imports from the West Indies did not fall after the revolutions.

中文翻译：

---

工业革命期间英国巴西棉花贸易的兴起

巴西棉花何时以及为何对英国的工业革命变得重要？1791 年至 1801 年间，巴西棉花占利物浦原棉进口量的 40%，与西印度群岛的进口棉花相媲美。本文使用 1760 年至 1808 年之间的档案数据表明，巴西受益于英国对机械化纺织生产出现的新品种棉花的需求增加。先前对巴西棉花贸易兴起的解释将其归因于 1790 年代加勒比地区的革命以及 1783 年结束的美国独立战争。然而，有证据表明这些解释不完整或不正确。美国在 1790 年之前没有向英国出口棉花，而英国从西印度群岛的进口在革命之后也没有下降。