3.Trade and commerce Flashcards
In the beggining of empire what was the trade policy
Mercantilism - colonies would sell their produce to Britain and buy manufactured goods,There were multiple goverment regulations over this
What % of British Trade came from its colonies?
20% imports
1/3 exports
1857-1890
How were profits maximised?
The development of infrastructure was based around Britain’s trade
What ships were used to trade in the empire
Clippers originally used,Small nimble boats used to carry smaller items e.g tea
-20 year life span
In the 1850s steamships became the norm as they were quicker than clippers and could carry more
Why were canals and rivers significant to trade in the empire
Internal river systems were an important means of transport for trading products and trying to figure out what lays behind costal areas
How was agriculture used in trade in the empire
Products were sold by the colonies at whatever price they could achieve- very cheap, much cheaper than in Europe
-Plantations - Indian ‘coolies’ sent to West Indies for 5 year periods - Indian Tea
-Raw imports from India
-Tea £24,000 in 1854 - £2,430,000 in 1876
-Raw Cotton £1,642,000 in 1854 - £5,875,000 in 1876
Why was Mining significant to empire
-Gold deposits found on the Witwatersrand in 1886
-30,000 skilled labourers from Britain traveled to Transvaal
-Diamonds later found established the Kimberly Diamond Syndicate in 1980
-Gold in Australia was producing £124 million, 1/3 world population
What was the development of industry like in colonies
Little industry as they could not compete with the British and had very small internal market.For example large local demand for textiles in India but coulden’t compete with British prices for textiles so forced to close
Height of British commercial Power
1870 - GNP was higher than that of Russia and China combined
(Merchant fleet carried half the world’s sea borne trade)
Why was it important to find new markets in the late 1800s
-Between 1870-1914 40% of British Investments abroad went to imperial territories
-1879 - Germany introduces tariffs (tax)
-1881 - France introduce tariffs
-Britain need to use colonies to support its industries
What are chartered companies
A trading company would gain status and legal rights on behalf of a royal charter and would gain ‘monopoly’ to allow it to indirectly rule its territory
Why did the attitudes towards chartered companies change in the 1870s
The goverment allowed for trading to proceed at its own pace with competition between rival companies until the long depression where the idea of a chartered company was revived to extend control for the British at a minimal cost
After the policy of mercantilism what policy of trade was taken up by the British
Free trade-Trade that is left free from Goverment trading restrictions
Despite free trade being the policy what did the goverment still do
They were still active in supporting free trade agreements between countries,Usually using their navy to intimidate countries into signing the agreements
What were the opium wars
Two conflicts between Britan and China due to trade disagreements
What was the backstory of opium trade in China
Tea was grown in China which the East India company would buy to send back to Britain
However Chinese didn’t want to buy anything in return so the British were forced to pay in currency,Depleting the economy
The British figured out opium was what the china wanted to buy
The British bought opium from India for their raw materials,then selling it to China for tea
What happened in the first opium war
The first opium war 1839-42 was won convincingly by the superior British navy after they attacked in Pearl River and Ningbo allowing for the treaty of nanking
What did the treaty of nanking give to the British
The island of Hong Kong,and the opening of many ports for British use
What happened in the second opium war
Britain (joined by France) won again and even more ports were forced open and more foreign powers gained control over trade
What’s an example of a canal being altered by the empire and when was it
1867,canals deepened around the St Lawrence/Great lakes seaway system
What do railways help the British in doing
Railways help investments and control,They provided the engineers and rolling stocks so the colonies depended on Britain providing vital links between rural areas of production and the sea
