The Society was formed in 1780 and brought together three different groups: British sugar merchants, absentee planters and colonial agents.
This informal way of organizing was effective prior to 1763 while their interest was aligned with the mercantilist approach which dominated British thinking: by supplying tropical staples, they did not compete with produce grown in Britain, and they provided a market for the produce they imported from within the empire.
Thus informal contacts, dinners and individual solicitation were sufficient to see the passage of the Molasses Act or the defeat of Henry Pelham's proposed sugar duty.
[2] However, particularly during and following the American Revolution, the West Indian merchants lost not only a market for rum, but also a source of provisions.
[3][4] These connections also translated into financial arrangements with the Incorporated Society for the Conversion and Religious Instruction of the Negro Slaves in the British West India Islands.