Agriculture and Foreign Economic Policy

potato famine led to their abolition in 1846. Contrary to general belief, the Corn Laws were not simply a set of import duties but also consisted of export bounties, variable import levies, and export and import prohibitions, with special preferences for using British ships. During this period of British history, and also after the repeal of the Corn Laws until World War II, agricultural and trade policy were closely linked though there was more to agricultural policy than the regulation of trade. The objectives of the Corn Laws have a modern ring. Their aims were to stabilize the price of corn for the benefit of both producer and consumer; reduce the dependence upon foreign supplies of a critical food; achieve adequate land rent, since rent was viewed as a good measure of national prosperity; and maintain a large and prosperous rural population.