“Getting rid of the large tariffs, and getting rid of the ban on carrying cargo between ports, and it is instantly profitable to sail to Charleston, sell part of a cargo, then sail to Pensacola, and sell another part of the cargo, and then sail to Mobile, and sell the rest.”
well and good, except it would have been British flagged ships that were running the coastal trade, not Southern ships.
“Nobody bothered to build trade between Charleston and Europe because there was no advantage to doing so.” How much Southern cotton was shipped out of New York or Boston. Bet Charleston shipped a whole lot more cotton than New York did. A southern owned ship could easily carry a load of cotton bales from Charleston to England and return with a load of English goods to Charleston. There was no law to prevent it.
Since they no longer had a shipping industry, why would the South have cared? Excess capital over time would have created one, and then perhaps they would have started down the protectionist path the way the North did.
How much Southern cotton was shipped out of New York or Boston.
In terms of who controlled it, virtually all of it.
Bet Charleston shipped a whole lot more cotton than New York did. A southern owned ship could easily carry a load of cotton bales from Charleston to England and return with a load of English goods to Charleston. There was no law to prevent it.
Why go to Charleston? The system had been set up to warehouse goods in New York Warehouses and distribute them through the existing packet coastal trade, also controlled by New York. New York was 800 miles closer. No additional profits could be had by sailing to Charleston, and so no one was going to sail for another week to get to a place that didn't provide any additional profit for doing so.
Again, all that changes with South Carolina becoming independent. It then became profitable to travel those additional 800 miles.
With Independence eliminating the need to obey the navigation act of 1817, as you said, the British would take over the coastal trade for Southern ports.
Who benefits? The British shippers. The Southern port cities.
Who loses? New York based coastal packet traders. New York businesses.