The initial support for the Confederacy in England and France was influenced by the cotton industry's reliance on Southern cotton and strategic interests to curb the Union's commercial strength. However, Britain found new cotton sources and couldn't align politically with a slave-supporting Confederacy post the Emancipation Proclamation.
- The most important factors in the support initially shown the Confederacy by the ruling classes of England and France were the English and French textile industries' reliance on southern cotton and a desire to weaken the Union, an important commercial rival.
- During the eve of the American Civil War, the Southern states were the near monopoly suppliers of cotton, critical for the textile industries in Britain.
- The Confederacy hoped to leverage this dependency to gain formal diplomatic recognition from Britain.
- However, despite the reliance on Southern cotton, which one in five jobs in Great Britain depended upon, Britain and France ultimately did not provide the anticipated support to the Confederacy.
- Britain was able to draw down massive stores of cotton, and sought new sources of cotton from India, Egypt, and Brazil.
- Moreover, the political landscape changed with the Union's Emancipation Proclamation, making it politically impossible for Britain to recognize a state that supported slavery, an institution they had outlawed decades prior.
Question:
what were the most important factors in the support initially shown the confederacy by the ruling classes of England and france? multiple select question.
1. The English and French textile industries' reliance on southern cotton
2. A desire to weaken the Union, an important commercial rival