Case Study of structural economic change Birmingham 5.4 Flashcards
When did Birmingham first become a place of trade?
12 century when the De Birmingham family put in a petition to set up a market at their manor house.
How did Birmingham develop before the 1700s?
Provided raw materials for metal industry e.g. “black country”. small scale metal works meant population increase to 15,000 in 1700s
How did Birmingham develop in the industrial revolution? 1700s and 1800s
Matthew Boulton was a key player, he established the first factory in 1761; the “Soho Manufactory” with 700 employees under one roof and established an “assembly line”.
Canals were built - Birmingham was at the heart of nation canals
Metalwork grew through the 19th century and Birmingham became famous for jewellery, brass, buttons etc
Bank firms began to appear e.g. Lloyds as industrial sector needed financial services to support it
Cadbury family in 1870s in Bournville built a “model village” for employees on the rural-urban fringe
How did population increase in the Industrial revolution?
1801 pop at 73,000
1901 pop at 500,000
Due to “City of a 1000 Trades”
How did Birmingham develop in the years 1900-1950?
New growth in cars e.g. 1906 Austin car plant opened, mini cooper was originally made there and it employed 22,000
Rural-urban fringe migration from British isles therefore increased terraced housing.
Transport improvements i.e. buses and trams.
Increased mobility meant that urban area expanded to suburbs.
Inner city area i.e. Aston “slum like” by 1950s.
Industrial activity left pollution of canals, rivers nad air with no control
What was population of Birmingham in 1951?
1.1 million
What was employment in Birmingham like in the early 1950s?
50% of the population worked in metal industry
5.7% worked in transport
1.5% worked in agriculture
Other sectors include 19.4% in miscellaneous
commerce, professions, textiles and public utilities
What was the demographic of Birmingham like by the 1950s?
Predominantly white.
Employment was dominate by males; 60% had skilled jobs
Inner city areas mainly comprised poor-quality housing at high density
In the industrial decline, how did unemployment change?
In the 50s and 60s unemployment was below 1%
By the 80s Birmingham had 19.4% unemployment and UK average was 12%
What was the shift in metal manufacturing like in the 1970s
1951- 21% of total jobs and 1981 12% of total jobs
Car manufacturing was 11% of jobs in 1951 and 3% by 2013
What players were involved in the economic change in the 1970s?
1973 Arab-Israeli war- many Western states supported Israel
OPEC (Arab states) started to embargo oil to Western countries.
What happened in 1973?
Oil Crisis, barrels of oil went from $3 to 12$. Petrol and energy prices increased
Why was the oil crisis bad for Birmingham?
Birmingham’s manufacturing base had relied on cheap energy, they had to make cutbacks.
Trade unions began to strike in the 1970s, they became key players and meant that investors were unattracted and made further decline
What players meant that the effects of the oil crisis were exacerbated?
Foreign TNCs competed in more fuel efficient cars e.g. Nissan and Toyota exported cars from China in the 1970s. They were better value, more reliable and fuel efficient.
Also VW from Germany and Renault from France became more popular
What was the role of the government in the 1970s industrial decline?
Government gave tax breaks to Honda and Nissan to set up TNCs in England, however none of them chose Birmingham so further economic decline
