So, let’s try this again. I was not talking about countries that they had already recognized, I was talking about recognizing new countries. You would not expect them to withdraw recognition from existing countries. My point is that the distaste of the British people for slavery prevented them from recognizing the CSA. The fact that they recognized Brazil over a generation prior to 1861, and the United States over 4 generations ago is not germane, as at the time of their recognition, the British had slavery themselves. So, back to my original question. Name a major country that had slavery that Britain recognized FOR THE FIRST TIME after 1861 (BTW - I was quite clear on that previously - deliberately misunderstand much?)
So, you’re very clear on your contention that the Parliament didn’t give a damn about their working class consituents and only cared about the ruling elite. So, tell me, why didn’t they recognize the CSA? After all, the owners of all those mills shut down because of the lack of Southern cotton really wanted the cotton that CSA recognition would bring. I mean, if Parliament didn’t care about the working class and only cared about the rich and elite, it stands to reason that they should have recognized the CSA immediately, right?
Hope, you didn’t include the qualifier “for the first time” until your most recent comment.
“I mean, if Parliament didn’t care about the working class and only cared about the rich and elite, it stands to reason that they should have recognized the CSA immediately, right?”
Not at all. As I said previously, Great Britain was being prudent and waiting to see how the war progressed before taking sides. Made a lot of sense, too.
Your comment about Great Britain not wanting to recognize CSA because of slavery just does not hold water. Think about it: Britain knew that Southern cotton was produced mostly by slave labor, and yet Great Britain continued to be the largest market for that cotton. Don’t you think that Great Britain — if it were so incensed about slavery — would have refused to be the largest purchaser of a product that was primarily produced by slave labor? It’s not like Great Britain did not have access to other sources of cotton (i.e., Egypt and India).