Economic and Trade benefits Flashcards
All Economic and trade benefits of Empire for Britain
- import agricultural produce as Britain was predominantly an industrial society
- British manufacturing industries sourced materials from empire
- Trading companies benefitted massively and many parts of Empire like White Dominion and India were self financing
- Trade with Empire especially tropical trade
Importance of empire due to the fact Britain was predominant;y an industrial society ?
- it expected the colonies to supply food for a population which was outgrowing the capacity of domestic agriculture
Evidence of food imports from colonies ?
- imported vast quantities of wheat and beef from Canada
- lamb and dairy products from New Zealand
- Empire was the main foreign source of cheese, apples and potatoes
Why was trade with colonies for agricultural produce beneficial for British ?
- this trading supply was considered safe and stable
- it was also cheap because production was under British control
Why did British manufacturing industries sought materials from colonies
- due to the industrial productivity in Britain
What raw materials did British manufacturing industries sought ?
cotton, wool, timber, coal and iron all from the Empire
Why was access of these materials so important for the British ?
Britains economy relied on materials like these to fuel the industry s the economy could keep growing
How did these raw materials create economic gain ?
these raw material supplied home industries and meant that manufactured goods could be sold for profit
Examples of Britain investing heavily into colonies and their infrastructure ?
- railways in India and the Ugandan railway
Aswan Dam - improved infrastructure in many countries
investing in irrigation schemes and land improvements
Impact of the British obtaining these raw materials from the empire ?
- consistent supply
- cheap and with no competition
- influx of materials was stable and consistent, preventing any economic crashes
Cost of running the Empire ?
Many parts of the Empire e.g. the White Dominions and India were self - financing, being run by taxation
Who benefitted massively from the trade with empire ( transport ) ?
- Trading companies benefitted massively due to trade with colonies as they transported goods and materials
Why did transport companies gain ?
- ocean steamships were the main carriers of goods and people across the empire
- orders from British ship builders expanded
- railway also gained huge profit from the growth of the empire
What was the Empire provide Britain with which was extremely helpful and beneficial due to their industrial productivity ?
colonies provided a secure sales markets.
Evidence of trade being beneficial with Empire ?
- relationship between export and import moved abut 10% in Britains favour between 1870- 1914
- As Empire grew British exports increased to empire from 21% to 37.2%. India alone took 20% of British imports
Impact of tropical; trade ?
Tropical trade was more lucrative as products were not available in Britain. Thus more profits
Trade with the British Empire was also important as they provided what type of products
tropical products like, sugar, coffee, cocoa, palm oil,
Was trade with Empire the main source of trade ?
Empire was not the main source of Britain’s trade.
Evidence that trade with empire for Britain was not that important ?
- Imperial Federation League which was established to promote closer colonial ties was disbanded.
- Only 24.9 % of British imports came from colonies and 37.2 % went to colonies.
Imperial Federation League impact of being disbanded ?
- Showed that Britain’s commercial importance to the colonies was undermined/ not that significant
Who did Britain trade with instead of the empire ?
- Instead of reliance on empire, Britain’s trade with the non imperial world - particularly the USA
Evidence of Britain’s trade outside the non imperial world/ with the informal empire ?
Empire total trade in 1896 was £896 million, but trade between the countries of the empire was only £ 183 million. Economic benefits from Empire weren’t that significant
Did Trade with the British Empire make the country wealthy ?
- Most of the country dud not gain from the economic and trade benefits
Impact of trade with Empire for British public ?
- middle classes were facing an increased tax burden because of the maintenance and defence of the empire as well as the costs of the Boer War.
- Poverty in early 20th century
Studies done about poverty in 20th century ?
2 studies done in the late 19th century by Seebohm RowntreE AND James Booth showed considerable poverty in parts of Britain.
