Read Online A Call to Arms by William C. Hammond - Free Book Online

squeezed it tenderly.
    It was not until Thursday—the day Richard and Katherine were formally introduced to Joan Cabot in her home on Beacon Street, where Katherine was invited to spend the afternoon getting to know Joan and her family—that Jack Endicott broached the subject of business. He and Richard, together with Caleb and Will and Geoffrey Hunt, were together in the Long Wharf shipping office of Cutler & Sons, which doubled asthe North American headquarters of C&E Enterprises. Clerks worked busily at desks set against two windows through which they could see the firms’ ships tied up a few feet away, taking precise note of what cargoes were going where and to whom, careful to keep the accounts of the two companies separate. To date, the not-inconsequential earnings posted by the sugar and rum production of Cutler & Sons had been dwarfed by the commercial juggernaut that defined the spice trade of C&E Enterprises. The net earnings due the Cutler family from C&E Enterprises were distributed in equal shares to family members in Massachusetts, England, and Barbados, just as the earnings from Cutler & Sons were distributed. Although C&E comprised a much larger number of shareholders, the Cutler family’s 50 percent share of C&E’s annual earnings significantly exceeded the annual net earnings of Cutler & Sons.
    â€œWhat effect do you think the war will have on business?” Endicott asked with concern. “I am referring specifically to the business of C&E Enterprises, although I am mindful of the implications to Cutler & Sons.”
    â€œNone that I can see, Jack,” Caleb replied. “The war, such as it is, is confined to the Mediterranean. Our customers in Europe are not affected. We can still serve them through Antwerp and Rotterdam and London.”
    â€œI was actually speaking of the war in Europe,” Endicott said brusquely. “It has far greater ramifications for C&E. Bonaparte may decide at any moment to close the Dutch ports. Who’s to stop him? The Batavian Republic,” referring to the successor to the Republic of the United Netherlands, “is nothing more than a French puppet state. Napoléon could shut down the spice trade at any time, notwithstanding the British victory at Copenhagen.”
    Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson’s victory over a combined Danish and Norwegian fleet at Copenhagen the previous year had effectively destroyed the League of Armed Neutrality engineered by Tsar Alexander I of Russia to enforce free trade with France, and had kept the Baltic Sea open to British ships.
    â€œWhy would he do that?” Caleb queried. “What would he gain? The French desire our spices as much as anyone else. And his taxes on those spices are helping the French finance the war in Europe.”
    â€œAs do British taxes,” Endicott countered, “for the British, whenever we ship through London. Which to my mind is why Napoléon may try to close down the spice trade entirely.”
    â€œWith respect, Mr. Endicott,” said Geoffrey Hunt, who often served as the voice of reason in business discussions, “that is something Napoléon cannot do. He may control much of Europe, but the Royal Navy controlsthe seas, and thus the trade routes to the Orient. If Napoléon were to cut off the spice trade to Europe, he would both enrage his own citizenry and lose the tax revenues generated by those imports. With virtually all trade then going through London, the British Exchequer would receive a bonanza in tax revenues. Napoléon would be cutting off his nose to spite his face.”
    â€œAnd there’s talk of peace,” Richard added. “Rumor has it that King George is finally willing to concede the British monarchy’s claim to the French throne. His government is also prepared to formally recognize the French Republic.”
    â€œI concede your points,” Endicott grumbled. “But it still troubles me.”
    C HRISTMAS