The Changing Nature and extent of trade

Question 1

What was a recurring theme behind British Economic Policy

Answer 1

large cost of maintaining land and sea froces across the globe

Question 2

What replaced potectionist and mercantilist views toward trade?

Answer 2

Free trade

Question 3

How much does the ship ‘lottery’ make in the triangular trade in 1789

Answer 3

12,090

Question 4

How many ships set sail from liverpool in the 1790s every year for slaves?

Answer 4

120-130

Question 5

how did william beckford benefit financially from the Slave Trade?

Answer 5

owned thousands of acres in Jamaica

Question 6

what act ended Br role in Slave trade?

Answer 6

‘Slave Trade Act’ (1807)

Question 7

There were many factors but what was a main influence of Br resignation from the Slave Trade?

Answer 7

Profit losses

Slave rebellions, losses to foreign privateers and diseases from tropical regions made ST less valuable

Question 8

what % of ships lost its owner profit in the 18th century?

Answer 8

10%

Question 9

What theory dominated economic thinking between 16th-18th century?

Answer 9

Mercantilism

Question 10

Why was adopting free trade a particulalry slow process?

Answer 10

Because many wealthy landowners were MPs who proftted largely from mercantilism

Question 11

When does Govt remove trade restiction and allow Free Trade in Ireland?

Answer 11

1779

Question 12

What act in 1832 passed by the Whigs proves to be so important and why?

Answer 12

The ‘Representation of the People Act’

suffrage increaes to 60% more of pop

Manufacturers and consumers could now vote and preffered Free Trade

Question 13

When were Mercantialism and Protectionism dismanlted?

And by whom

Answer 13

1841, by Sir Robert Peel as PM

Question 14

How many tariffs were abolished between 1842-46 ?

Answer 14

1200

Question 15

What was the most important expression of Mercantilistm

Answer 15

the Navigation Acts - passed between 1651-1673

Question 16

What can the navigation acts be interpreted as ?

Answer 16

Preventing the development of more sophisticated colonial economics

Question 17

Why was the ‘Imposition Act’ (1846) so problmatic ?

Answer 17

• it removed the Corn Laws and the sugar duties
• this meant that wealthy landowners were disadvantaged
• This caused party to split and Peel forced to resign

Question 18

Sir Lord Russell favour of free-trade culminated in what?

Answer 18

The Repeal of the Navigation Acts in 1849

Question 19

The Navigation Acts had an aim to increase the number of Br ships. What did this mean for the removal of the Act?

Answer 19

By dismantling the Acts, Russell and co effectively prioirtised free trade over national defence

Question 20

What led the growth of the British Empire in the 1800s?

Answer 20

Traders, motivated by profit, not conquest

Question 21

How many tonnes of opium were imported to China in 1839?

Answer 21

2,500
Many merchants were profitting heavily

Question 22

By the 1840s, Br Govt was prepared to use warships and gather naval bases to protect its merhcants.
What is this known as?

Answer 22

‘Gunboat Diplomacy’

Question 23

What did the Treaty of Nainking (1842) include?

Answer 23

Pay 12m in reparations and debts
Cede Hong Kong to British - not returned until 1997
Open ports to foreign traders - low import tariffs of 5%
Grant British citizens legal protections in China

Question 24

What forced Shanghai to trade with middle men?

Answer 24

The Taiping Rebellion in 1850

Question 25

What was the Shanghai Municipal Council?

Answer 25

American, French and Br mebers - Chinese cant sit - grew to govern the colonial city

Question 26

What did Opium Imports increase to in 1880?

Answer 26

6,500 tonnes

Question 27

Why was the Suez so important to Br?

Answer 27

By 1874, 75% of goods passing through were Br

Disralei had brought 44% of shares from the Khedive in 1875

Question 28

How many slaves did Zanzibar trade annually by the 1830s?

Answer 28

50k

Question 29

How did Br get drawn into Zanzibar?

Answer 29

to protect the slave trade - using RN when neccersary

Question 30

Between 1850 - 1879 no of European and US ships docking at Zanzibar went from 65 ships + 18,877 tons to?

Answer 30

96 ships and 95,403 tons

Question 31

Br viewed East Africa as little interest due to no large river system and requiring a lot of capital.
What povoked Br interest?

Answer 31

German Advancement through the East African German Trading Company

Question 32

William Mackinnon’s ‘Britiahs East Africa Association’ never made any money - what was their record?

Answer 32

expenditure 85k, income was 35k

Question 33

What was the significance in Britians East African Association?

Answer 33

provided a foothold for Br interests in East Africa as colonies in Africa’s interior was becoming idealised in order to safeguard the Nile

Question 34

What did the 1890 treaty between Br and Ger disclose ?

Answer 34

setting up a British protectorate in Zanzibar and ending promised sultan independence; Zanzibaris not involved in discussion

Question 35

In 1896, pro-Britain Sultaan died
Whas was the Br reaction?

Answer 35

Britain had preferred another candidate + bombarded city in ‘shortest war in history’, lasting 38 minutes

Question 36

What did Zanzibar inadvertantly lead to?

Answer 36

‘Scramble for Africa’ had begun; Br govt establish series of East African protectorates and funded a railway from Mombasa to Uganda in 1896

Question 37

Significance of Zanzibar?

Answer 37

Br now had an important entrepot in Zanzibar
First showing of ‘defensive imperialism’ in East Africa
‘Scramble for Africa’ was an important development in Br Empire

Question 38

Signficance of WHW?

Answer 38

WHW had NO commercial value so demonstrates Br defensive imperialism
Shown by Lease - “for so long as Port Arthur shall remain in Russian hands”, Br retain control of WHW
Control of WHW lasted until 1930

Question 39

Why did Russia want Port Arthur?

Answer 39

to gain a warm water port - lack of caused a loss in the Opium indutry for the Russians

Question 40

What was the control over Central Asia reffered to

Answer 40

‘The Great Game’

Question 41

Timeline of Promotion of Free Trade

Answer 41

1779 - Govt remove restrictions in Ireland
1830 - Whigs into power
1832 - ‘Rep of ppl Act’ - gives 60% more manufactuers and consumers right to vote
1841 - Cons back in, Peel removes 1,200 tariffs
1846 - ‘Imposition Act’ removes final two protectionist policies
1849 - Lord Russell removes P+M - ‘Repeal of Navigation Acts’

Question 42

Facts for rapid growth of Singapore

Answer 42

1819, 400k worth of Sp dollars pass through
in 1824, 11m pass through

An increase of 2,700%

Question 43

Impact of Singapre

Answer 43

Entreport

Shows how successful free trade policies can trump dutch protectionism