Captain Cook's voyage around the world (1768-1771), an account of which was first published in London in 1773, attracted a great deal of attention in America; an edition of the New Voyage was issued in New York in 1774.

No sooner was the Revolution over than there began that romantic trade with China and the northwest coast of America, which made the fortunes of some families of Salem and Boston and Philadelphia.

This commerce added to the prosperity of the country, but above all it stimulated the imagination of Americans.

In the same way another outlet was found in trade with Russia by way of the Baltic.
The foreign trade of the United States after the Revolution thus passed through certain well-marked phases.

First there was a short period of prosperity, owing to an unusual demand for American products; this was followed by a longer period of depression; and then came a gradual recovery through acceptance of the new conditions and adjustment to them.
A similar cycle may be traced in the domestic or internal trade.