Josiah Tucker

"Josiah Tucker (1713-1799) was one of the foremost thinkers of eighteenth-century England in the fields of economics, international relations, political theory, and imperialism. He shared the opinion, prevalent in his day, that Great Britain was underpopulated and observed with regret the immigration to America, believing that the colonies brought Britain no benefits. He thought instead that colonies were too costly to be beneficial, and, as early as 1749, he asserted that American colonies would seek independence as soon as they no longer needed Great Britain's assistance. He is one of the few men in England who consistently wrote and preached that the separation of the colonies would spell the ruin of England"--