British Economy 1851-1873 Flashcards
How much did British GDP increase per year by from 1856-1873?
2-3% pa
a)What percentage of manufacturing in world trade was GB responsible and b) who were its competitors and there %?
a) 41%
b) Germany = 19%
USA = 3%
What percentage of total manufactured global goods were produced by GB?
-40+%
What percentage of world trade passed through British ports?
-25%
What fraction of exports went to the empire and USA?
-Only 1/3 - GB was the workshop of the world, not the empire
Between 1850-1879, what percentage of GB’s exports were in the industries:
a) Textiles
b)Cottons
c) Iron and steel
d) Coal
a) 50+%(Textiles)
b) 30+% (cottons
c) 16-18%( iron and steel)
d) 4%(coal)
By what percentage were exports in 1846-1873 higher than 1814-1846?
-416% higher
How much ( in pounds) did the British machine tool industry export in a )1850 and b) 1873?
a) 1850 = £1m
b) 1873 = £10m
a)How much steam power did British economy produce and b) what about their competitors?
a) Britain = 1m steam horsepower
b)Belgium, Germany, France had a combined horsepower of 700,000
Between 1841-1870, by what percentage had steam power increase in GB?
-329%
a)When did the first Steam ship sail and b) how much coal could it use per day
a) First sailed in 1851 ( dominated shipping by 1900)
b) Could burn 150m tonnes of coal a day
Between 1850-1890, how much had the tonnage of ships increased by ?
319,000 tons to 3m+
a) What new technology helped iron production and b) what amount of iron did it create per annum by 1875?
a) Nasmyth’s steel hammer doubled iron production
b) 15m tonnes of iron per annum
What technology improved steel?
-Bessaimer process
a)What were the staple industries and b) what type of industries were they ?
a) Iron and steel, railways, shipbuilding, coal and textiles
b) Export industries : helped them become the workshop of the world
What relationship did the Staple industries have with eachother
-Reciprocal relationships
-Coal was needed for iron and steel and railways as coal needed to buy iron and trains powered by coal etc.
How much had coal production (tonnes) rose from 1845-49 to 1870-74?
-1845-49 = 56m tons
-1870-74 = 123m tons
By 1850, what percentage of global output of iron did GB produce?
50%
What percentage of world shipping was made in GB?
80%
a)What problem occurred with the railway industry in the 1840s but B) what positive did this have?
a)Over investment in railways led to a crash in late 1840’s -5% of GNP was on railways
-“Railway mania”
b) in 1851-73 contributed to growth as led to the demand for iron which supported those industries, and led to better exports and urbanisation
What were the percentages of revenue from tariffs on imports in a) 1840s b) 1860s and c) 1890s?
a) 32%
b) 11%
c) 5%
What did free trade allow?
-Cheap imports from foreign countries - therefore cheaper prices and therefore high real wages
-competition as British industries had to be better/ different that competitors
-British capital could also go into spending on industry rather than agriculture.
a) What type of free trade did GB use and B) why might this become a problem
a) Unilateral free trade ( one way)
b) Might be a problem as Germany and USA could use protectionist methods to make it so that English exports from Germany are more expensive due to tariffs whilst Germany get stuff from England cheaper
Who promoted the ideas of High farming?
-James Caird in a book/pamphlet
What were the ideas surrounding High Farming?
-Fertilisers- Guano, mixed farming , drainage improvements, seed drills and steam ploughs
How much did guano imports rise from in 1841 to 1847?
-1841 = 2,000 tonnes
-1847 = 300,000 tonnes
What were some of the problems with High Farming? (2)
1) High farming only suited farms of 300 acres or bigger but the average farm was 111 acres.
2)Drainage was quite expensive and its effectiveness was quite limited
What percentage of farms were 5 to 100 acres big?
-60% of farms
Why were some farmed indebted due to high farming?
-Government financed some drainage as it was quite expensive with £12m of loans with a 7% interest
Was the “Golden age” of farming in 1851-1873 because of high farming?
NO:
- high farming was not as beneficial as Caird supposed
-High global transport costs meant the prices of foreign grain did not fall to the levels that threatened British arable farmers
a)How much did livestock and dairy prices rise by and b) why?
a) rose by 20-40%
b) Growth of an urban market and growth of railways allowed for food to be transported
Between 1850-1870, by what percentage had wheat imports increased by?
-Increased from 25% to 50%
Between 1870 and 1900, by what percentage had costs of transporting grain from the USA to Liverpool reduced by?
-75%: problem because cheaper grain was now more accessible to GB
