Chapter 9 Trade and Commerce

Question 1

Overall trade and commerce with Empire 1890-1914

Answer 1

Expansion in Empire was not followed by an expansion in trade with the Empire

Question 2

Trade and commerce with the Empire (positive aspects)

Answer 2

India took 20% of exports
Canada supplied 10% of beef and 15% of wheat flour
(Dominions and colonies)

Question 3

Trade and commerce with the empire (negative aspects)

Answer 3

Imperial Federation League est. 1884 abandoned in 1893
(not even a decade)
Tropical Africa only took 1.2% of British exports

Question 4

For which economic difficulties in Britain was the Empire blamed for?
(popular opinion)

Answer 4

• holding back mechanisation in Britain (syntetic rubber in Germany and France by 1910)
• suppressing wages (cheaper labour in the colonies)

Question 5

Who reflected popular attitude in Britain well

Answer 5

John A. Hopson “Imperialism”

Question 6

Investment in Empire (positive)

Answer 6

gold standard
Colonial Loans and Stocks Acts 1899-infrastructure investment into the African interior
London was the world’s financial capital (gold standard)

Question 7

By 1914 what was the British overseas investment ratio to Germany and France?

Answer 7

twice the amount of the Germans and three times the amount of the French
doubled between 1900 and 1913 from 2bn - 4bn

Question 8

Evaluation of British overseas investment

Answer 8

Increasingly outside the empire
Higher returns on foreign investment, Empire was regarded as safe
Financing rival manufactureres

Question 9

What was Chamberlain trying to establish?

Answer 9

Imperial customs union- Imperial preference
1902 London Colonial Conference
-> rejected in 1906 elections, Liberal win

Question 10

Examples for international trade instead of trade with the Empire?

Answer 10

1894, 64 million hunderedweight of wheat imported

of which only 3 million came from Canada, but 30 million from the US.

Question 11

What three factors are you using for an essay?

Answer 11

Trade and Commerce (Empire grew-trade didn't)
Investment (investment still important in the Empire)
Popular interest (favoured free trade, objected imp. preference)