22. Economic Developments

Question 1

What estimated percentage of total traded manufactured goods were produced by Britain?

Answer 1

40%

Question 2

What percentage of the worlds trade passed through British Ports?

Answer 2

25%

Question 3

What year was the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace?

Answer 3

1851

Question 4

What fraction of British goods were exported to the British Empire?

Answer 4

1/3

Question 5

Why were many goods exported to the US?

Answer 5

Their own industries weren’t developed to cope with their increasing population

Question 6

What was the Great Exhibition?

Answer 6

A showcase of Britain’s industry and invention. Open for 5 months and attracted 6 million people

Question 7

What was Britain’s nickname?

Answer 7

The workshop of the world

Question 8

Who was their competition in the world market?

Answer 8

USA and Germany

Question 9

What was a fear in the farming community after the Corn Laws were repealed?

Answer 9

The price of home grown corn would collapse against competition from foreign imports

Question 10

In what year did Britain enter the golden age of agriculture?

Answer 10

1853

Question 11

Who is credited with introducing the term “high farming”?

Answer 11

James Caird

Question 12

What was “high farming”? And why was this an advantage?

Answer 12

Mixed farming- growing different crops and keeping cattle, sheep and pigs. Farmers could be cushioned if there was a downturn in the price of either crops or live stock

Question 13

Where was guano imported from?

Answer 13

Peru

Question 14

How much was the agricultural industry worth by 1870?

Answer 14

£8 million

Question 15

How much was the market for animal feedstuffs from linseed and cotton seed worth by 1870?

Answer 15

£5 million

Question 16

How was the problem of poor drainage felt with?

Answer 16

The introduction of clay pipes. The government introduced loas for farmers to invest in drainage pipes

Question 17

What type of labourers were among the poorly paid?

Answer 17

Agricultural labourers

Question 18

What machinery was used in agriculture to increase the efficiency of farming?

Answer 18

Horse drawn reaper, ploughs, seed drills, steam driven machines

Question 19

By the 1870s, what percentage of home consumption of wheat and mean was produced by British farmers?

Answer 19

Wheat- 50%

Meat- 90%

Question 20

Why was there an element of good luck during the “golden age” of farming?

Answer 20

Numerous high yielding harvests between 1850 and 1873

Question 21

In what year did Britain start to face an economic downturn?

Answer 21

1873

Question 22

By how much did Britain’s population increase between 1851 and 1881?

Answer 22

27 million to 35 million

Question 23

By how much did Britain’s output of coal increase between 1850 and 1871?

Answer 23

50 million tons to 130 million tons

Question 24

Why was mining of coal inefficient?

Answer 24

It was still dug out by hand

Question 25

Where was there a failed attempt to develop a coal cutting machine?

Answer 25

Gartsherrie in Scotland during the 1860s

Question 26

What two technological advancements in the iron industry aided its development?

Answer 26

Neilson’s hot blast (1872)

James Nasmyth’s steam hammer (1844)

Question 27

By how much did the output of coal increase between 1855-1875?

Answer 27

9 million tons to 15 million tons

Question 28

When was the first London Underground line introduced, and what was it?

Answer 28

The Metropolitan line in 1863

Question 29

How many passengers did the Metropolitan line in the London Underground carry in its first year?

Answer 29

10 million

Question 30

Describe the railway statistics between 1860 and 1877

Answer 30

1860- 9096 miles of track, 153 million passengers, revenue of £12.2 million from ticket sales
1877- 14510 miles of track, 490 million passengers, revenue of £24.3 million

Question 31

Where were British ships facing competition for American sailing boats?

Answer 31

The Atlantic

Question 32

When was the Suez Canal opened?

Answer 32

1869

Question 33

What did the opening of the Suez Canal do?

Answer 33

Cut the journey time to India, China and Australia

Question 34

By how much did the tonnage of British steam ships increase between 1850 and 1880?

Answer 34

1850- 319,000 tons

1880- 3 million tons

Question 35

How much of British exports did the cotton industry account for in 1851?

Answer 35

2/3

Question 36

When and why did the cotton industry’s share of the export market decrease by 1860s?

Answer 36

Exports of other industries such as coal, iron and steel rose

Question 37

When did Disraeli purchase black shares of the Suez Canal?

Answer 37

1875

Question 38

When was the American Civil War?

Answer 38

1863-1866

Question 39

When was the Franco-Prussian War?

Answer 39

1870-71

Question 40

When did Britain face and economic downturn?

Answer 40

1873 and beyond

Question 41

Why are the arguments what there wasn’t a depression?

Answer 41

Industry was still developing but at a slower rate

Production continued to increase

Question 42

Why was there a depression?

Answer 42

Poor harvests, supply overtaking demand so prices fell and there was a reduction in profit margins
British industry facing more competition such as Germany

Question 43

When was Germany unified? And what had it been before?

Answer 43

1871, a series of loose confederations of German speaking states with Austria and Prussia vying for dominance

Question 44

How did German tariffs affect Britain’s economy?

Answer 44

Germany introduced trade tariffs

Question 45

What caused the end of the “golden age” of agriculture?

Answer 45

A wet summer and a poor harvest in 1873.

Cheaper grain imports from USA

Question 46

What is an interpretation of the cause of the depression?

Answer 46

Britain had come to an end of a long period of economic growth that could not be sustained