How important government policy was in shaping changes to patterns in trade? Flashcards
What is mercantalism?
Links to how a nations wealth and power were best secured by increasing exports and trade
Who provided with power and wealth?
Colonies
What is industrlisation?
Technological development by using fossil fuels
How did Britain industrialise?
Factories now relied on water and steam power
Coals fields
New machinery and technology
What was the impact of industrialisation on agriculture?
Less workers were needed due to the technology so they moved to towns and cities
When did agricultural output double?
1700-1850
What are some industrial towns?
London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol
Where did cotton come from?
Plantaions in America
Where did cotton come from during the war?
India
What was Lancashire known for?
Cotton production, they produced half the worlds cotton
How many mills were there in Lancashire in 1860?
2650 cotton mills
Who in 1913 took 15% of British cotton cloth?
India
What was coal used for?
Powering factories, running railways and steamships
Where did we get coal from?
Lancashire, Yorkshire and South Wales
In 1780 how many tons of coal did we output?
6 1/4 million tons
In 1905 how many tons of coal did we output?
236 million tons
Where was are metal produced?
Birmingham
What did we produce?
Brass fittings, buttons, guns, nails and pins
What were the west-midlands nicknamed?
The Black country as it was an industrial centre
How much did the EIC invest in developing silk production?
£1 million
Where did we set up Silk factories
Bengal
Who took over Bengal in silk production in the 1860s?
China
What were two centres of shipbuilding?
Liverpool and Newcastle
How did we develop towns so they would be good for shipbuilding?
Docks grew in size, new canals and warehouses
How did transportation of goods become easier?
Steam engines made things faster, quicker and easier
What connected coastal towns?
Railways
What % of US imports came from Britain?
40%
What did we import from North America?
Coffee, cotton, wheat and weapons later on
What did we import from South America?
Guano from Peru
Coffee, cocoa and sugar from Brazil
Sugar from the Caribbean
Beef from Argentina
What did we import from Canada?
Timber, fur, wheat, seal skin and salted fish
When did we start trading with South America?
When Spain lost its colonies in 1825
Where did 10% of our exports go to?
South America
What did we import from India?
Raw silk, cotton, indigo, sugar and opium
What did we export to India?
Hardware, machines and railroad equipment
What did we export to China?
Opium
What did we import from China?
Tea, silk and porcelain
What did we export to Japan?
Warships and military equipment
What did we export to the far East?
Wool and cotton
How did we solve the trade imbalance?
By exporting opium to China
Why was there a trade imbalance?
China didn’t want our manufactured goods
What was the slave trade?
The Triangular trade, dominated by Britain
What did we trade for enslaved Africans?
Manufactured goods, such as weapons
Who benefitted from the slave trade?
Slave ship owners
Plantation owners
Factory owners
West African leaders
The ports
Bankers
How did the general public benefit from the slave trade?
Through indirect investment by working for the factories producing manufactured goods or buying the slave grown goods
What did the enslaved people produce?
Sugar
Tobacco
Rice
Cotton
Coffee
What did the bank provide?
Capital for slave traders
What did we manufacture in Britain?
Guns, ships, ropes, sails, steam engines and manilas
How many voyages were there from Liverpool?
5300
How many voyages were there from London?
3100
How many voyages were there from Bristol?
2200
What was the growth of population in Liverpool from 1700-1800
5000-78,000
What did the Quaker and evangelical christians advocate for?
Abolition of slavery
What was the most famous anti-slavery group?
The Clapham sect
What did Thomas Clarkson write?
Summary view of the slave trade 1787
What did William Wilberforce do?
Resolutions in 1789, 91, 92, 97, 99, 1802 and 1804
When was the slave trade abolished?
1807
What did the society for the abolition of the slave trade do?
Presented petitions against slavery to parliament
How many petitions did they present in 1788
100 petitions
How many petitions did they present in 1792
519
What was the Somerset case and when was it?
1722, did not support the keeping of enslaved people on English oil
What was the Zong case?
131 Africans murdered on a Liverpool ship, they tried to claim insurance on “loss”
What did Olaudah Equiano write?
The interesting narrative of the life of Olauhah Equiano
What did Ottobah Cugoano do?
Wrote a series of letters to prominent figures
What was the Dolben’s act?
Limited the number of enslaved people that could be carried on a ship
Required a surgeon to be present and log illness and mortality
When was the Dolben’s act?
1788
What was the foreign slave trade bill?
Stop British ships from supplying enslaved Africans to foreign countries
When did the slave trade end in France?
1794
Why did it end?
The declaration of rights of man was passed in 1789
What happened in Saint Domingue after France ended their involvement in the slave trade?
A rebellion, the French emancipated the slaves
Why did Britain get involved in Saint Domingue?
Invaded hoping to restore control
How did the French regain control of Saint Domingue?
Napoleon restored and legalised slavery from 1794-1802 again
What were the main terms of the abolition of the slave trade act?
Ships fitted out in Britain and colonies to be forfeited
People carrying/receiving enslaved Africans were to be fined
What was the fine if you were carrying enslaved people onboard?
£100 per person
How long did slavery continue for in the West Indies?
Until 1834
What did the Royal Navy do?
Started to abolish it further by forcing other countries to do the same
Did Britain’s involvement completely end?
Bristol and Liverpool continued to ships and sell products made by Africans and slave labour
When did slavery end in British colonies?
1834
What was the wealth of nations?
An attack on mercantilism by Sam Adams
What did Sam Adams propose?
That wealth should be a measure on the total trade in all goods
When was the wealth of nations written?
1776
Who were the tories?
Wealthy land owning aristocrats
Supported the monarchy
Opposed enlightenment
What did Robert Peel stand for?
Free trade
When was he PM?
1842-1846
Who were the whigs?
Supported parliament
Progressive and enlightenment thinking
Wealthy land owning aristocrats
Why were there restrictions on trade in Ireland?
English landowners created tariffs to reduce Irish competition as they produced similar products
What was the Irish economy like?
Large estates, grazing land and cheap labour
In 1750 what were Irelands exports worth compared to 1970?
£1.9 million vs £4.9 million
In 1750 what were Irelands imports worth compared to 1970?
£1.5 million compared to £3.8 million
What was Ireland like socially?
Catholic peasants were poor and the middle class were frustrated with restrictions
Where to and what were Ireland unable to export?
Previously unable to export glass, silk and raw wool to anywhere bu Britain
When was the restrictions on trade lifted in Ireland?
1779
What did the lift in restrictions lead to?
Prices stayed high and there was famine and war
When were the corn laws?
1815-1849
What did the corn laws do?
Kept grain prices high to favour domestic producers
What did the corn laws cause?
High food prices and high cost of living
What did the Irish suffer from?
Famine and lack of disposable income
When was the Anti corn law league formed?
1838
What was the Anti corn law league?
Advocated for importation of cheaper grain from America and Europe
What did the Anti corn law league do to get attention?
Mass meetings and demonstrations
When were the corn laws abandoned?
1849
When was the famine in Ireland
1845-1852
What were the sugar duties?
Ensured preferential rates for sugar producers in the British west Indies
What did the sugar duties lead to when abolished?
Economic decline
What did the Navigation acts state?
Colonies were there to supply Britain
Colonial produced goods could only be carried on English built and owned ships
Had to land at an English port
How did the government get around the loss of income when abandoning the Navigation acts?
Introduced income tax
When were the navigation acts abolished?
1849
Who abolished the navigation acts?
Lord Russel, Whig PM
