1776 For Economists - And Historians

1776 was not only the year of America's Declaration of Independence - it was the year Adam Smith published Wealth Of Nations.

As it turns out, Smith had quite a lot to say about colonies and colonizers. Here is a selection of his views. Of particular note is Smith's prediction: "From shopkeepers, tradesmen, and attornies, they are become statesmen and legislators, and are employed in contriving a new form of government for an extensive empire, which, they flatter themselves, will become, and which, indeed, seems very likely to become, one of the greatest and most formidable that ever was in the world."