Role Of Chamberlain Flashcards
What did Joseph Chamberlain believe?
Although he acknowledged Britain’s relative decline in both the industrial and military spheres towards the end of the century, as other nations (particularly Germany) posed a challenge to British dominance, he believed that effective use of the Empire could sustain British prosperity and prestige.
What did Chamberlain propose?
Following the failure of the first Colonial Council in 1887 to get agreement for an Imperial Council (or Parliament) to serve the Empire, Chamberlain summoned and chaired two further Colonial Conferences, in 1897 and 1902. At these he proposed an imperial defence and customs union. These conferences involved only the self-governing, white settler colonies and they rejected Chamberlain’s idea.
What did Chamberlain promote?
Despite such setbacks, as strong advocate of ‘colonial development’, Chamberlain promoted government investment in the less profitable areas of empire. Not only did he want to promote tropical trade, he believed in a sense of imperial duty. His convictions very much reflected the spirit of high imperialism: ‘I believe that the British race is the greatest of the governing races that the world has ever seen’.
What happened when the Boer War broke out?
When the Boer War broke out in 1899, Chamberlain was viewed as a national hero. However, the war dragged on and Chamberlain lost some of his glory. When Salisbury retired in 1902, he was passed over as Prime Minister in favour of Balfour and in 1903, he resigned his post as Colonial Secretary. He fought back by conducting a campaign of tariff reform in an attempt to convince the British public of the need for duties on all foreign goods (including food) so as to give the colonies imperial preference and access to a duty-free British market.
What was the Tariff Reform League?
The Tariff Reform League was formed which organised the distribution of large numbers of leaflets and played Chamberlain’s recorded messages to crowded public meetings on a gramophone. Chamberlain was convinced that favourable trade between Britain and the colonies would benefit Britain and reduce unemployment.
