In 1860, the states that would secede and form the Confederacy had a near monopoly on the world's supply of raw cotton fiber – they produced about 80 percent of the world's cotton, and raw cotton represented roughly 50 percent of the value of goods and produce exported from the United States.

At the same time, Britain was the world's largest producer of cotton cloth and cotton goods, making it the largest consumer of cotton fiber, followed by France.

In these facts lie the origin of the Confede...