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The British Empire > Development > Flashcards

Development Flashcards

1
Q

What caused Britain’s ‘Swing to the East’

A

The loss of Britain’s American colonies

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2
Q

What allowed Britain to establish footholds in Africa and Asia?

A

The industrial revolution of the 19th century, producing weapons and steamships

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3
Q

Reasons for British expansion in Africa

A

Trade
Strategic factors
Moral factors

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4
Q

Trade leading to British expansion in Africa

A

Coal, iron and timber
Britain sought African resources which they could manufacture and then sell back to Africa - eg. during economic depression 1873-1896
Led to a growth in the personal influence of British merchants in Africa - Goldie / Rhodes

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5
Q

Example of strategic factors leading to British expansion in Africa

A

Suez Canal

Gave Britain control over trade routes (6,000 miles shorter than the Cape)

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6
Q

Moral factors leading to British expansion in Africa

A

Christian missionaries saw it as their duty to spread their faith
Saw Empire as a force for ‘civilisation’
e.g David Livingstone 1858 - ‘to try and make an open path for commerce and Christianity’

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7
Q

Period when Britain was more reactive to the initiatives of other powers, particularly France, than aggressively seeking out new lands for their own sake

A

1857-1890

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8
Q

Functions of chartered companies

A

Implemented British claims over land

Ensured that other Europeans were excluded from lucrative British bases

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9
Q

Three chartered companies

A

Royal Niger Company (1886)
British East Africa Company (1888)
British South Africa Company (1889
Supported by the Imperial Federation League

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10
Q

What initiated British interest in Egypt c.1861?

A

British mills starved of raw cotton as a result of the American Civil War, so looked to Egypt

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11
Q

How much of Egyptian imports were coming from Britain by the 1870s?

A

40%

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12
Q

Khedive’s modernisation programme

A

Transport
Education
Suez Canal

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13
Q

When did Disraeli buy the Khedive’s shares in the Suez Canal, and for how much?

A

1875

£4 million

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14
Q

Factors leading to growth in Egyptian nationalism

A

Taxes imposed on food and goods
Army reduced by 2/3
Increased unemployment

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15
Q

Leader of nationalist rebellion in Egypt

A

Colonel Arabi Pasha

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16
Q

June 1882

A

Alexandria

50 Europeans killed

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17
Q

British defeat of Egyptians

A

Tel el-Kebir (September 1882)

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18
Q

When was Baring installed as Consul-General in Egypt?

A

September 1883

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19
Q

Egyptian concession following defeat of Arabi Pasha

A

Employed British military personnel to supervise army

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20
Q

1885 Convention of London

A

Confirmed British influence over Egypt
Secured an international loan for the Egyptian government
‘veiled protectorate’

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21
Q

Colonel Charles Gordon sent from Britain to the Sudan to act as Governor-General

A

1877-1880

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22
Q

Sudanese nationalist leader

A

Muhammad Ahmad (the Mahdi)

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23
Q

Role of the Mahdi

A

Transformed the nationalist political movement into a jihadist army
1882 - Had taken complete control over the area surrounding Khartoum
1883 - Killed Colonel Hicks
1885 - Killed General Gordon

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24
Q

When did the East India Company dissolve and hand the running and control of India over to the British government

A

1858, following the Indian Mutiny

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25
Q

The Government of India Act

A

1858
Dissolved the East India Company and transferred control to the Queen
Created the position of Secretary of State for India
Created the India Council to assist the Secretary of State
Viceroy appointed
Indian Civil Service placed under the control of the Secretary of State

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26
Q

Queen Victoria made Empress of India

A

1 January 1877

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27
Q

Defence reforms following the Indian Mutiny

A

Proportion of British to Indian troops raised to 1:2
Army of 70,000 Britons and 125,000 Indians by the late 1880’s (Fewer than 40k Brits prior to the Mutiny)
Indians troops trained and stationed in their own districts and cut off from one another to prevent any sense of unity
Disbanded 62/74 Bengali regiments

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28
Q

Challenges to British imperialism from other European powers

A

1871 - Germany united into a single country
France transformed its armed forces
1884 - Russian empire bordered Afghanistan

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29
Q

The Brussels Conference

A

1876
Hosted by King Leopold of Belgium
Concluded that: Africans were incapable of developing the natural resources, so European intervention was necessary
The routes to Africa’s great lakes needed to be developed by building roads / railways
An International African Association should be established to coordinate the European’s efforts
Had the reverse effect, heightening competition

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30
Q

European countries hiring explorers

A

International African Association (Belgium) - Henry Morton Stanley
France - Pierre de Brazza
Germany - Gustav Nachtigal

31
Q

The Berlin Conference

A

1884-85
Hosted by Otto van Bismarck, Chancellor of Germany
Concluded that: All nations should be permitted to trade in the basin of the Congo
European nations should protect indigenous people and suppress the slave trade, as well as protecting European religious, scientific or charitable undertakings
Established the principle of ‘effective occupation’

32
Q

Evidence demonstrating significance of the Berlin Conference

A

1884 - 80% of Africa under local control

1900 - 10% of Africa under local control

33
Q

Britain’s informal Empire

A

Places where Britain had no legal claim, but were influenced by British power
British public capital in Latin America was £80 million by 1865
Issac Newell opened a school in Rosario in 1884, Newell’s Old Boys founded in 1903
Latin America accounted for 10% of British exports and imports between 1850 - 1900

34
Q

British trade 1850 - 1875

A

20% of Britain’s imports came from its colonies

The Empire provided a market for 33% of British exports

35
Q

British technology ensuring that the Empire had an adequate infrastructure to facilitate trade and maximise profits

A

Efficient cargo ships built - clipper ships
Ports and harbours extended and developed to reduce delays
Railways systems developed to make internal transport faster and more cost-effective

36
Q

Agriculture

A

Wool in white dominions
Sugar, coffee and cocoa in the tropical colonies
Tea in India
Workers paid low wages

37
Q

Mining

A

Gold along the Gold Coast
Diamonds in Sierra Leone
Gold in South Africa - 30k miners travelled from Britain to South Africa following discovery in 1886, encouraging British ambition in the area

38
Q

Industry

A

Limited development on industry in the colonies, due to small internal markets and competing external markets

39
Q

Advantages of British trade for the people of Empire

A

Undeveloped areas propelled to modernise, thanks to British capital and technology

40
Q

Disadvantages of British trade for the people of Empire

A

Independent economic development curbed by the way that the British controlled and exploited their economies.

41
Q

David Livingstone (explorer)

A

Missionary doctor in South Africa from 1841
Lectured at Cambridge, where he recounted his travels (1856-57)
Returned to Africa in 1858 to explore the Zambezi River as Consul for the East Coast of Africa
Wrote 2000 letters which thrilled the public imagination
Disappeared then rediscovered by Henry Stanley in 1871

42
Q

Cecil Rhodes (trader)

A

Owned all of South Africa’s diamond mines (90% of world’s total)
Rhode’s British South Africa Company (1888) controlled a large area of land in the interior of Africa (Rhodesia)
Framed his imperial ambitions in moral terms

43
Q

George Goldie (trader)

A

Formed the United African Company (1879) after persuading all British trading firms on the Niger River to join forces
Controlled 30 trading posts
Exported palm oil then palm kernels
Secured over 450 local treaty arrangements, which gained territory and power in exchange for offering tribes protection and compensation
Chartered as the Royal Niger Company in 1886
Knighted in 1887

44
Q

Evelyn Baring (colonial administrator)

A

India - 1872-1876
Egypt (1877 then 1882)
Approved the Dufferin Report (1883) that established Egypt as a veiled protectorate

45
Q

Crystal Palace speech

A

1872
Disraeli
Distinguished the Conservatives as the Party of Empire

46
Q

Evidence of Conservative’s imperialist stance

A 
Buying Suez Canal shares (1875)
Royal Titles Act (1876)
Annexation of the Transvaal (April 1877)
Invasion of Afghanistan to protect India (November 1878)
Launching Zulu War (January 1879)
47
Q

Evidence of the Liberals lack of support for Empire

A

Declined to commit more troops following British defeat at the Battle of Majuba Hill v Boers (1881)
Urged the withdrawal of troops during the Mahdist rebellion in Sudan (1884) - ‘The Sudanese are rightly struggling to be free’
Introduced a Home Rule Bill for Ireland (1886)

48
Q

Factors behind increasing prominence of Empire in public life

A

Reporting of the popular press
The Education Act of 1870 increased literacy rates
1867/1884 Reform Acts made the public more politically aware - doubled the franchise by reducing property qualifications

49
Q

Imperialism in British popular culture

A

Literature - King Solomon’s Mines (Haggard - 1885)
Youth organisations - The Boys’ Brigade (1883)
Press engaged public with imperial reporting (Cawnpore + Major-General Henry Havelock, who recaptured Cawnpore and Lucknow - September 1857)

50
Q

Imperial exhibitions

A

1862 International Exhibition
1867 Nubian Village at Alexandra Palace
1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition

51
Q

1862 International Exhibition

A

28,000 exhibitors from 36 countries

7000 exhibits from India alone

52
Q

Factors causing the Indian Mutiny

A

Grievances about pay and service
Cartridges in the new Enfield rifles had been greased in animal fat
Anger felt by landlords and nobles who had been deprived of their lands by Governor-General Dalhousie

53
Q

When was the start of the Indian Mutiny

A

February 1857

54
Q

Where did the Indian Mutiny start?

A

Bengal

55
Q

Events of the Indian Mutiny

A

Sepoys turn on British officers and mob set upon local Europeans at Meerut, outside Delhi
Sepoys seize control in most of the northern cities
Siege of Lucknow - Evacuation successful
Siege of Cawnpore - 900 killed by Nana Sahib’s forces (June)
Attempt to resurrect the old Mughal Emperor as a figurehead

56
Q

When was British rule finally reasserted following the Indian Mutiny

A

June 1858, following a final battle at Gwalior, 180 miles south of Delhi

57
Q

Impact of the Indian Mutiny on government and society

A

Canning’s Reforms
1859-1861
Some land and titles returned to native Indians
Star of India medals introduced
Positions in the civil service shared amongst the Indian nobility
1883 - Ilbert Bill allows Britons to be tried by Indian judges
1884 - Amendment made following resistance which ensured that a jury had to be 50% European if there was an Indian judge

58
Q

Impact of the Indian Mutiny on education

A

Universities established in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta (1857)
60,000 Indians entered university between 1857-1887
Fed the Indian civil service
Mary Carpenter helped establish girls schools in Bombay and helped train Indian teachers

59
Q

Impact of the Indian Mutiny on the economy

A

Greater investment into railways (432 miles in 1857 to 5000 miles in 1869)
Helped stimulate trade despite being built for strategic not economic purposes
Factories built
Tea plantations increased from 1 in 1851 to 295 in 1871

60
Q

British annexations in southern Africa, after claiming the indigenous Africans were seeking British protection against the Boers

A 
Basutoland (1858)
West Griqualand (1871)
East Griqualand (1873)
61
Q

Boer response to British proposal of a federation of territories in 1875

A

Rejected

62
Q

Boer declaration of total independence from Britain

A

1880

63
Q

First Boer War dates

A

1880-1881

64
Q

Boer defeat of Britain in the First Boer War

A

February 1881
Battle of Majuba Hill
150 Britons killed

65
Q

Convention of Pretoria

A

August 1881
Ended the First Boer War
Recognised Boer self-government in the Transvaal

66
Q

Indian National Congress

A

Formed 1885
Discussed public affairs
Initially not threatening as only represented the 700,000 anglo-literate Indians
Offered a forum to debate and criticise British rule
Demanded greater Indian representation in government
1895 - “hoped to follow self-government” - radical

67
Q

British response to French activity in Indo-China (1860’s)

A 
Annex territory in
Malaya - 1874
Borneo - 1881
Brunei - 1885
Burma - 1885
Thailand acted as a buffer
68
Q

Siege of Lucknow

A

3000 British troops and families endure a 5 month long siege by mutineers

69
Q

Siege of Cawnpore

A

Oudh
400 British surrendered to mutineers, and offered a passage to safety on boats
Killed

70
Q

British reprisals following the Indian Mutiny

A

Deliberately designed to striker for into peasants to prevent another mutiny
Mughal Emperor’s sons killed
Entire villages suspected of mutinous behaviour killed
Cawnpore - Mutineers forced to lick the buildings clean, then made to eat pork/beef
Mutineers loaded into cannons

71
Q

British mini-wars in South Africa

A

Xhosa War - 1877-78
Boers v Pedi tribe (Less successful than Brits v Xhosa)
April 1877 - Britain annexes Transvaal, claiming need to defend white settlers against Pedi and Zulu (Sir Theophilus Shepstone)
Zulu War - 1879 (Battle of Rourke’s Drift - 140 Brits defend medical base v 4000 Zulu)
Followed by the First Boer War

72
Q

British annexation of Bechuanaland

A

1885

To prevent the combining of German and Boer colonies

73
Q

William Mackinnon

A

1856 - Calcutta and Burma Steam Navigation Company
Traded through the Indian Ocean, Burma and the Persian Gulf
Imperial British East Africa Company - chartered in 1888
1891 - Free Church of Scotland East African Scottish Mission (Kenya)

The British Empire (5 decks)

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