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The Secret of St. Andrews podcast is for golf enthusiasts, history buffs and patriots.
Episode 17, Diplomacy and Silent Partners. In 1760, Ben Franklin was an advocate for the Pennsylvania Assembly, but his broader political ambitions were readily apparent to his new Scottish allies. His efforts to unify the colonial militias and improve the postal system were well known, as was his involvement in logistical and military planning during the French and Indian War.
Franklin's aspirations for the American colonies and his political goals were inseparable, and his new allies aimed to assist him on both fronts. They were essentially placing a bet on Franklin’s political career, and the wager paid off. The political and military intelligence coming from Hugh Mercer in Pennsylvania and David Weems in France was of tremendous value to Franklin.
So too was his newfound ability to leverage Scotland's superior transatlantic communications network. Franklin was a skilled diplomat, but so were his Scottish allies. When they met in St. Andrews, they agreed on three areas of common interest: education, technology, and trade, which impacted all the colonies, not just Pennsylvania.
His Scottish allies understood that Franklin could not yet speak for all of the colonies, and Franklin knew that his Scottish allies could not speak for all of Scotland, let alone Great Britain. However, the aspirations and ambitions they shared provided a common cause worth pursuing. Both parties understood the challenges ahead.
Any proposal they developed would need the approval and support of their respective countrymen, and that support could not be guaranteed. Education was an easy place to start since Franklin was in St. Andrews to receive his honorary doctorate from the university. The educational opportunities in Scotland were far superior to those offered in the colonies.
Scottish universities were much more advanced and provided robust curricula in philosophy, science, and medicine, which greatly appealed to Franklin. Technology in Scotland, especially agricultural technology, was also superior to that in the colonies. The agricultural revolution in Scotland had started in the late 17th century, and by the mid-18th century, they were using lighter and more efficient plows to turn soil and applying a scientific approach to crop rotation and management.
Education and technology were areas of strength for the Scots, but when it came to trade, they had an even greater advantage: leverage. By 1760, the colonial plantations were deeply indebted to the tobacco lords in Scotland, and in the years to come, these mounting debts would help lead to the Revolutionary War.
Franklin understood that tobacco was the driving force of much of the colonial economy. While it was not yet a factor in the Pennsylvania economy, he knew it sustained the southern colonies, especially Virginia and Maryland. In their early correspondence with Franklin, his new allies expressed concern over the treatment of Scottish immigrants exiled to the colonies as indentured servants.
They reasoned with Franklin that many former Jacobites, like Hugh Mercer, were now serving in his Pennsylvania militia and that the punishment doled out by the Hanoverian government was extreme. Franklin acknowledged the humanitarian concerns of his allies but brought up the mounting debts colonial tobacco growers were accruing with Glasgow's tobacco lords.
Franklin referenced the onerous terms and price manipulation that the tobacco lords were using, as well as the ill will Scottish immigrants would face as a result. Franklin’s interest in the tobacco trade signaled his desire to focus beyond Pennsylvania, which favored his Scottish allies. The political capital Franklin would gain by solving this trade problem for his fellow colonies was clear to both parties, though never expressly stated.
It became clear that Franklin and his Scottish allies had pressing diplomatic agendas that would test their new relationship. They decided to put their educational and technological agendas aside and focus on trade and the humanitarian interests of Scottish immigrants. His allies conceded the potential impact that the current lopsided trade agreements might have on Scottish immigrants but pointed out the mounting risk that the tobacco lords faced in issuing additional credit under any terms.
In the summer of 1760, Franklin and his new allies began an intensive effort in shuttle diplomacy aimed at solving these trade and humanitarian challenges. Messengers began traveling between Golf Hall in Edinburgh and Blackheath in London, using the game of golf as cover. What emerged, even by today's standards, is a masterclass in diplomacy and financial engineering.
First, Franklin's Scottish allies began negotiating with the tobacco lords in Glasgow. They knew that the tobacco lords were manipulating prices to hedge their risk but proposed an alternative solution. Franklin's allies offered to purchase some of their countrymen's outstanding debt with the colonies, but at a discount.
This not only allowed the tobacco lords to hedge their current risk but provided an infusion of capital that made continued trade with the plantations possible. Franklin's Scottish allies even offered to purchase a portion of future debts, which provided additional insurance to the tobacco lords. A deal was struck, and Franklin's allies now had a vested interest in the trade agreements.
With the insurance offered by Franklin's allies, the tobacco lords agreed to freeze prices for a period and issue further credit under more favorable terms. To purchase the debt, the Scots adopted the same tontine scheme used to purchase Golf Hall. Investors from the golfing community bought shares in the fund, and those shares passed to the surviving members upon the death of each investor.
This ensured the long-term nature of the investment and concealed the fund's existence. Franklin's Scottish allies had now gained even greater diplomatic leverage. Word was sent through Blackheath that they now possessed limited control over a portion of the colonial debts.
They had persuaded the tobacco lords to freeze prices and provide more favorable credit terms, which astonished and greatly pleased Franklin. There were two conditions. First, Scottish immigrants would need to be elevated out of indentured servitude and employed by the colonial plantations.
They explained that these Scotsmen were skilled craftsmen and farmers experienced in the advanced agricultural methods the colonial plantations needed. Franklin’s allies knew this would appeal to the tobacco lords too, who would take comfort in knowing that fellow Scotsmen were on the job.
The second condition required more negotiation, but the Scots had all the leverage. Since Franklin's allies now owned a portion of the debts owed by the plantations, they could choose how to manage that debt. What they proposed became one of the most important secrets of St. Andrews: in the event that their portion of the colonial debts could not be repaid, that portion would be converted to an ownership interest in the plantation.
Franklin balked at the idea, viewing it as a predatory and perpetual tax imposed on the colonists. He feared, and rightly so, that many of the debts would never be fully satisfied and that the tobacco lords would place similar stipulations on the colonial plantations.
His allies assured Franklin that this arrangement would be kept secret and only apply to the smaller portions of the debt they held. Under this arrangement, the Scots could never own a majority interest in the plantation. Franklin remained skeptical, but the Scots appealed to his diplomatic instincts.
They positioned their efforts as a mediation, serving the interests of both the plantation owners and the tobacco lords. The proposed agreement required both sides to compromise but addressed their most pressing concerns. The Scots agreed that many of the plantations were likely to default on some of the debts, but by stabilizing crop prices and easing credit terms, they were buying time before that happened.
In the meantime, they were forging a closer bond between the Scottish immigrants and their colonial neighbors. In the event of a default, the Scottish allies who helped mediate this trade dispute would become silent and minority partners in the plantations. They would have a vested interest in the ongoing success of the operation, benefiting the colonies.
This appealed to Franklin, and he began to see his allies' long-term ambitions. The Scots fully expected the loans to default but were still willing to invest in the colonies’ aspirations. By the end of 1760, Franklin had agreed to the framework and sent word through Blackheath to his allies in Edinburgh.
Franklin, ever the diplomat, went to work on the plantation owners. Messages from Franklin were carried from Glasgow on the next merchant ship and delivered to the largest plantations in Maryland and Virginia. His letter acknowledged their hardships and pledged his support. He shared his experiences in Scotland and his excitement about the agricultural advances he had witnessed on his visit.
He described the new, more effective plows being used in Scotland and the soil management techniques they were pioneering with great success. Franklin shared his frustration with the current trade agreements and his willingness to assist. He hinted at his efforts to address the problem but offered no assurances. Those interested in his support were encouraged to reply in kind.
In the coming months, replies began arriving on the merchant ships in Glasgow. There was indeed interest in Franklin's support, and he began personal correspondence with each plantation owner. Franklin revealed that he had made contact with people in Edinburgh who understood their plight and were willing to help.
These Scotsmen, he confided, had some influence over the tobacco lords, but their efforts would need to remain secret. Franklin made it clear that he was not negotiating with the tobacco lords directly, but with fellow Scotsmen sympathetic to the colonial cause and willing to mediate their concerns.
As his relationships with each owner advanced, Franklin presented the proposed opportunity. This slow process extended well into 1761, but many of the plantations in Virginia and Maryland agreed to the terms. They preferred a silent partner in Scotland over the prospect of losing their plantations.
Over time, more plantations followed suit, and Scottish farming equipment and techniques began to permeate the Chesapeake Valley. Scottish immigrants assimilated and became respected members of the farming communities, and trade with the tobacco lords in Glasgow continued. Franklin grew his political capital in Maryland and Virginia, and the Scots, once indentured servants, began playing critical roles on the plantations.
Their immediate diplomatic interests were accomplished. In the years to come, as Franklin and his Scottish allies predicted, the debts to the tobacco lords continued to accrue. It soon became clear that many of these debts could not be fully repaid. Slowly but surely, portions of the debt owned by Franklin's allies were converted into minority ownership interests in the plantations.
These silent partnerships set the stage for many of the future secrets of St. Andrews. Up next: Phase two of the covert diplomatic relationship.