Chapter 9 - Trade And Commerce Flashcards
What was the general assumption about trade in 1890?
That more empire would make the country wealthier
What percentage did India take of Britain’s exports?
20%
What did India export to Britain?
Raw cotton
Tea
What did South Africa produce?
Wool
Sugar
What did New Zealand produce?
Dairy produce
Lamb
What did they produce in Canada?
Beef
Wheat
How much of an increase in land did Canada put aside for wheat production?
Six fold
What did Britain import from West Africa?
Timber
Cocoa
Rubber
Peanuts
Palm oil
What were the main sources of transport for goods?
Steamships
Railways
What was disbanded in 1893?
The Imperial Federation League
What did this help?
Promote closer colonial ties
Where was trade growing instead for Britain?
USA
Russia
What were the only things that the empire was the main supplier for?
Cheese
Apples
Potatoes
Mutton
What percentage of foodstuffs came from the empire?
10%
What was the empire’s total trade worth in 1896?
£745 million
What was the value of the trade between the countries of the empire?
£183 million
Was trade corresponding with the growth of the empire?
No
What did anti-imperialists argue?
The empire cost middle-class people more than it benefited them
What was the empire blamed for?
Failing to modernise its industry
Held back developments that would’ve helped raise living standards for workers
What did Britain lag behind in?
Chemical + electrical engineering from poor investment and productivity
What countries were they behind in with rubber?
French + Russians + Germans made synthetic rubber
B still relying on rubber imports from Africa or Asia
Why did people not like importing food from the colonies?
It undermined domestic food production + depopulated the countryside
What did the foreign cheap labour do?
Depressed wages within Britain
Why were costs of the Empire high?
They had to maintain a large navy
White colonies reliant on defence
Costs of acquiring some of the empire outweighed the returns from it
What did Britain increase its investment to between 1900 and 1913?
£2 - £4 billion
Where did more capital go?
USA
India
Why were loans risky to give out in the empire?
They might be used to develop rival manufacturers to B
E.g. Indian cotton + jute mills
What remained the world’s financial capital?
London
What were shares sold in?
Minerals
Tobacco
Timber
Transport
Public utilities
What Acts helped infrastructural projects?
The Colonial Loans and Colonial Stocks Acts of 1899 and 1900
(Helped rail links in Africa)
How many times more did B spend compared to other countries?
2 times the French
3 times the Germans
Where did B invest a lot of capital?
Latin America
Where else did B get earnings?
From invisibles
What are invisibles?
Exports that provide income but don’t have a physical presence
What did B force other nations to adopt?
The gold standard
What was the gold standard?
Adopted by Bank of England
Every pound sterling was backed by a fixed amount of gold held in reserves
It aided international commerce
Became a symbol of economic strength
Who was a pro-imperialist?
Joseph Chamberlain
(Conservative colonial secretary)
What did he chair?
The 1902 London Colonial Conference for leaders of dominions
It discussed creating closer economic ties with an imperial customs union
What would the imperial customs trade make?
Mutual customs
Protective tariffs against imports against non-imperial powers
Why did Chamberlain think imperial trade was preferable?
Because it would be strategically reliable in times of emergency
The colonies had potential for greater productivity and growth
What was this all called?
Imperial preference
Who resisted C ideas?
Manufacturing, shipping and banking industries
Wanted free trade
Argued mercantilism disappeared + B wasn’t self sufficient
When did imperial preference get rejected?
1906 general election
Voters favoured liberal party’s commitment to free trade
It would’ve put food prices up
Who imposed import tariffs to assert their national interests over loyalties to B?
Australia
New Zealand
South Africa
Who did Canada make its own trading agreements with?
Germany
France
Italy
Japan
What did Indians do to B goods?
They were boycotted + burned
Part of swadeshi (self-sufficiency) movement
Wanted to undermine the Raj
