Economic Developments 1886-1914

Question 1

How was having small firms in Britain a problem

Answer 1

Britain was mainly made up of smaller firms rather than larger firms like the US
The drop in profits hit them hard as they couldn’t invest in new technology
Factories would require a higher percentage of their turnover
Lack of investment led to a degree of stagnation in British industry

Question 2

When were export values of the 1870s exceeded

Answer 2

Late 1890s, providing evidence that there was a great depression between 1873 and 1896

Question 3

When were cotton good export values of 1872 equalled

Answer 3

1904

Question 4

When was the worst year of cotton good exports

Answer 4

1895

Question 5

How fast were Germany and US economies in comparison to Britain

Answer 5

twice as fast

Question 6

British GDP after the Great Depression

Answer 6

Rose 1.7% each year from 1900 to 1913

Question 7

How much did coal production increase

Answer 7

223 million tons in 1900 to 287 million tons in 1913

Question 8

How much did British foreign investment increase

Answer 8

£50 million in 1901 to £200 million in 1913

Question 9

How much of the world’s manufactured goods did Britain produce in 1913

Answer 9

14%, a decrease from 33%

Question 10

Reasons for British industry’s problems

Answer 10

‘Early start thesis’, being the first industrialised nation
Declining demand abroad
Low wages
Lack of reinvestment and innovation

Question 11

Why did the agricultural industry deteriorate

Answer 11

Cheap imported cereals led to thousands of workers being laid off
Farmers began to go bankrupt

Question 12

Amount of land used to grow cereals during this period

Answer 12

Fell from 9.6 million in 1872 to 6.5 million in 1913

Question 13

What area of agriculture was better protected

Answer 13

Livestock was better protected as it was harder to transport products such as milk
Most of the land was converted to pasture
Animal feed was cheaper due to import of grains from US

Question 14

What type of farmers succeed during this period

Answer 14

Dairy famers because milk was hard to import and the growth in the middle class demanded more dairy products

Question 15

What areas of Britain saw an increase in livestock

Answer 15

Lancashire and West Country

Question 16

Issues within agriculture

Answer 16

Stagnant wages for the labourers

Fields left to become rough pasture

Question 17

What new agricultural technology was developed

Answer 17

The self binding reaper and a new plough that could work two farrows at a time

Question 18

Agricultural output 1900-1914

Answer 18

Increased 5%

Question 19

Machinery used by USA in the textile industry

Answer 19

Electricity, modern machines and spindles all lowered costs

Question 20

What percentage of coal was cut by mechanically in 1913 in Britain compared to the US

Answer 20

8% compared to 25% in the US

Question 21

How did the British steel industry suffer

Answer 21

Stuck to the production of pig iron and were slow to adopt more efficient processes to produce steel

Question 22

Advances in ship building

Answer 22

Dominated ship building, especially in the lead up to the First World War
Developed oil fired turbines

Question 23

Staple industries didn’t suffer too much

Answer 23

Coal, textiles, iron and steel were responsible for 50% of British output and employed 25% of the workforce

Question 24

Value of British exports in steel and iron

Answer 24

Increased from £32.5 million in 1890s to £62.9 million in the 1910s

Question 25

Tonnage of ships built in Britain

Answer 25

Increased from 377 in the 1880s to 674 in the 1900s

Question 26

New industries emerged

Answer 26

Cars, bicycles, chemicals, electricity

Question 27

Car industry

Answer 27

The repeal of the 1865 Red Flag Act in 1896 neat that more cars could be produced
By 1914 there were 132,000 cars in Britain

Question 28

American car industry was on a larger scale

Answer 28

Mass production of cars such as the Model T Ford in 1908 meant that it was more affordable to a large proportion of the US population

Question 29

The chemical industry slacked

Answer 29

Britain failed to adopt new methods like the Solway ammonia process

Question 30

Developments in the electricity industry

Answer 30

The first power station was built in 1881 at Goldalming

The development of the sea turbine meant that electricity could be produced on a large scale

Question 31

British investment abroad in 1913

Answer 31

£4000 million, compared to the combined investment of France, USA, Germany, Holland and Belgium being £5500

Question 32

How much did British shipping generate

Answer 32

£100 million per year from 1911-13

Question 33

What invisible industries did Britain dominate

Answer 33

Banking and insurance

Lloyds of London had an monopoly in the insurance of shipping

Question 34

Expansion of British banking

Answer 34

Had branches all across the world, reaching the likes of South America and Hong Kong

Question 35

How was invisible trade not helloing Britain

Answer 35

Twice as much capita was being invested abroad as was being at home in 1911-13
It was not helping technical innovation on a long term basis

Question 36

When did the cross party consensus over free trade end

Answer 36

In 1902 when the conservatives introduced a one shilling tariff on imported wheat for the Boer War
And in 1903 with the proposals of the secretary of colonies, Chamberlain, to introduce protectionism

Question 37

Working class benefitted from free trade

Answer 37

Drove down food prices

Prices fell around 25% between 1880 and 1900, while wages attend consistent

Question 38

The middle class befitted from free trade

Answer 38

Large influx of cheap manufactured goods

Question 39

Arguments for protectionism

Answer 39

British industry and agriculture was struggling to compete with US and Germany
Other countries had tariffs on their goods
Free trade had led to unemployment
Tariffs could raise money for social reforms

Question 40

What did Chamberlain propose for tariff reform

Answer 40

To only place tariffs on goods outside of the Empire

Question 41

How did Chamberlain’s tariff reform affect the conservatives

Answer 41

It split the cabinet and Balfour remained on the fence during the debate
Chamberlain resigned in September 1903 and moved to a policy of full protectionism