Working amidst the global economic turmoil of World War I and the blockade of his neutral homeland, Swedish economist and historian ELI FILIP HECKSCHER (1879-1952) produced this provocative and widely influential analysis of European commercial conflict from the late 17th century through the early 19th century:. What was the impact of the British blockade of France in the 1790s?. How did the national debt and credit system of Britain affect its monetary warfare?. What part did the British colonies in America and later the new United States play in the European economic conflict?. What was done with confiscated goods?. How did smuggling and corruption in the early 1800s change the balance of power?This interpretation of the centuries-long economic clash between Britain, France, and their allies, first published 1922, remains an intriguing work of history today.