Changing Nature and Extent of Trade

Question 1

Explain the principles of Mercantilism.

Answer 1

• Belief in the benefits of profitable trading
• Britains trade could only be increased at the expense of another country
• More exports than imports
• Mercantilism ensured commercial success and kept Britain’s naval power.

Question 2

Explain the principles of Protectionism.

Answer 2

• Taxes on imports and exports are designed to protect British producers.

Question 3

What was free trade?

Answer 3

Trade taxes were minimised to allow merchants to compete across borders.

Question 4

When was the end of the Seven Years War?

Answer 4

1763

Question 5

Explain the situation for Britain in 1763. (4)

Answer 5

• The end of the seven years war between Britain and France
• Victory for Britain: The French had been kicked out of India and the British took control of Canada and North America.
• Britain was now the most dominant naval and economic power.
• The empire was still relatively small (no arrangement, lack of single system govt etc.)

Question 6

What was Geopolitics in regards to empire?

Answer 6

• Power comes from territorial dominance of strategic areas.

Question 7

What was the economic importance of the slave trade? (3)

Answer 7

• British ports (Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow) flourished from the trade.
• Church of England owned plantations in Barbados
• William Beckford (twice mayor of London owned 1000’s of acres of plantations in Jamaica.

Question 8

Why was the slave trade abolished? (5)

Answer 8

• Moral uprisings
• Some religious institutes were against slavery
• It undermined the French post revolution
• Economically unstable: high death rate among slaves and expensive to run.
• Slaves began to rebel against owners.

Question 9

When did Quaker abolitionists begin to petition parliament to abolish the slave trade?

Answer 9

1783

Question 10

When was the slave trade act passed?

Answer 10

1807

Question 11

Who wrote the book ‘Wealth of Nations’ ?

Answer 11

Adam Smith

Question 12

When did Adam Smith publish ‘Wealth of Nations’ ?

Answer 12

1776

Question 13

What did Adam Smith’s book criticise?

Answer 13

• Mercantilism and protectionism

Question 14

What acts enforced mercantilism and protectionism?

Answer 14

The navigation Acts

Question 15

When were the navigation acts passed and by who?

Answer 15

1651 & Oliver Cromwell

Question 16

When was the Stamp act passed and what was it?

Answer 16

1765, It required stamps to be fixed on all formal docs and was a hefty tax.

Question 17

When was the Stamp act repealed?

Answer 17

1766

Question 18

When was the American war of Independence?

Answer 18

1775

Question 19

Where and when did the British first experiment with Free Trade?

Answer 19

Ireland, 1779

Question 20

What was wrong with Irish trade before free trade?

Answer 20

Wealth was concentrated in a small portion of landowners and more peasants and middle class were poor.

Question 21

Who didn’t benefit from free trade and why?

Answer 21

• Big chartered companies e.g East India Company.

- The old system allowed them to set their own tariffs and control trade.

Question 22

When was the acquisition of Singapore?

Answer 22

1819

Question 23

Why were the British interested in Singapore? (3)

Answer 23

• The trade route from India was long, expensive (high tariffs from the dutch) and dangerous (Pirates).
• The British wanted a port in between.
• EIC had lost their monopoly to trade with India but not China.