The purpose of this paper is to examine the operation of selfish nationalism in trade projected in eighteenth-century British literature. For this purpose, this paper first analyzes the various discourses concerning the ever-expanding trade in the mercantilist age, concentrating on how the discourses supporting free trade co-existed with and were overshadowed by jealous protectionism that regards trade surplus as summum bonum of a nation`s economy. Second, this paper investigates Alexander Pope`s Winsor Forest that celebrates Pax Britannica after the Treaty of Utrecht. The paper interprets the poem as a thinly disguised propaganda for impenalistic Britain`s ascendency in the world trade and British imperialism. The paper then interprets Daniel Defoe`s The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, and The Life, Adventures and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton, regarding these works as a kind of trilogy that projects Daniel Defoe`s zeal for the South Sea where one can engage in an exclusive and immensely lucrative trade. Finally, after analyzing literary texts that argues for British ascendency in world trade at the expense of other nations, this paper investigates how Jonathan Swift reacted to harsh measures Britain took against Ireland that deprived the latter of means to develop domestic industries and expand trade with other nations. The paper concludes that the idea of free trade was an impossible notion from the very beginning, as the notion of free trade is rooted in self-centeredness that refuses to tolerate any kind of trade deficit.