Problems of French trade with the North in the eighteenth century

"There is a paradox as regards France and her trade with the North during the eighteenth century. Whilst her trade balance remained well in surplus, France appeared to be excluded from her own trade east of the Sound. Mercantile transactions were in the hands of foreign merchants and French shipping rarely ventured into the Baltic. Traditionally, many reasons have been put forward in order to explain this weakness. As regards shipping, it is asserted that foreign ship-owners, particularly the Dutch, enjoyed lower freight costs than the French; that French ships were more heavily manned, and that French seamen were more expensive to hire. As for the organisation of trade, it has been suggested that the absence of favourable treaties with the northern powers impeded French merchants, or that low profits to be earned on transporting Baltic products were too small to divert investment from the more lucrative colonial trade. These explanations all have validity, but the problems identified were not unique to France. We must look for other reasons, such as the attitude of the French state, which failed to maintain an effective consular service in the Baltic area. The failure of French merchants to establish an efficient network of mercantile ‘colonies’ that could rival those of the Dutch or the English should also be considered. France, with its natural wealth in timber and grain, came late to Baltic commerce, and had difficulty in competing with well-established rivals."