Textiles (5): Empire of Cotton (Sven Beckert) Flashcards
What does John Benjamin Smith say about the cotton industry pre-civil war (1861)?
Was central to global economy and greatest industry ever.
How many people globally were involved in the cotton industry by 1862? Who dominated?
20 million people. UK dominated.
How much of US exports was cotton?
61%
What % of cotton did US supply to UK, France, Germany, and Russia?
UK - 77%
France - 90%
Germany - 60%
Russia - 92%
What drove US domination of cotton?
“Labour, land, and credit.” Fertile land, good export systems, slavery (elastic supply of labour) according to the Economist
What situation did the UK find itself in 1861 in relation to the US?
Was dependent on white gold coming from NY, New Orleans, and Charleston.
What did John Greenleaf Whittier mean when he called cotton the “Hashish of the West?”
Compared cotton industry to a drug that created grand illusions. Through cotton, Americans unjustly expanded an enslaved Black people.
What did Herman Merivale say about the UK’s wealth from cotton?
That their wealth was built on slavery and exploitation.
How did the world’s opinion change on slavery by 1850s?
Seen as economically needed but politically unstable. Fear of rebellion from slaves
What did the Manchester Cotton Supply Association call slavery?
A “treacherous foundation” for cotton economy.
How did the Civil War disrupt the cotton industry?
1861 - 1865. Severed global supply chain and created cotton famine.
What did the Confederate government try to do to force Britain to be on their side?
Put a ban on exporting to UK to create a shortage that would make the Brits support them.
Why did the Confederate’s strategy fail?
Northern blockades stopped shipments altogether.
Where did the UK turn to for cotton after slavery ended?
Egypt, Brazil, India
Who wrote about new strategies for cotton without slavery?
Edward Atkinson - Cheap Cotton by Free Labour in 1861.
William Holms - Free Cotton in 1862.
