The Kaiserreich 1871-1914: Economic Flashcards
What had Germany become by 1914 and why?
- Europe’s industrial superpower
- Increases in old industries such as coal, iron, heavy engineering alongside new industries such as steel, electrical engineering, chemicals, motor chemicals
- Germany’s productive capacity increased by 8x
Did the Great Depression (1873-1896) heavily affect Germany?
- No, as Germany had heavily invested in railway buildings during this time, so their growth remained consistent
- When everywhere else recovered from this, the German industry was in a stronger position in 1895
What was the economies annual growth rate in the years 1871-1875?
5%
What happened to Germany’s industrial production between 1890-1914?
- It tripled
- Germany now stood alongside Britain and USA as 1 of the world’s leading industrial nations
What are some of the reasons for the large German economic growth?
- Huge growth in German population from 50 million in 1870 to 68 million by 1914 (provided the market and labour force for expanding economy)
- Availability of raw materials within newly united state (coal + iron)
- Highly developed education system- German elementary education was deemed the best in the world + higher education increased the development of the technical skills needed for industrial development
- German banking system- free from state control + invested heavily in industrial research, trade, economic development
- Supportive government- industrial development supported through Bismarck’s tariffs and Caprivi’s reforms
What had Germany seen advancements in by 1913?
- Length of railway network grew from 42,000km in 1890 to 63,000km in 1913
- German merchant marine grew 3x larger than the USA’s (but only 1/4 of the size of British merchant army)
What were Germanys advancements in chemical manufacturing?
- In 1878 only 1 million tonnes of sulphuric acid were being produced world wide but by 1907 Germany was producing 1.5 million tonnes alone
- Between 1897 and 1907 ammonia production rose from 84,000 tonnes to 287,000 tonnes
How did electrical production increase between 1901-1915?
- By 150%
- By 1913 Germany controlled half of the worlds trade in electrical
- Germany exported £11 million worth of electrical goods whereas Britain and USA only exported £8 million worth together
What was much of Germany’s industrial development driven by from 1890?
Kaiser Wilhelm II’s desire for Weltpolitik which included developing Germany’s military resources
In 1907 how much of Germany’s population was in the agriculture sector?
35% (4x as many as Britain)
What was Germany’s agriculture like by the early 20th century?
- Very good
- Numbers of horses, cattle, pigs and poultry increased
- Germany produced 40 million tonnes of potatoes per year (1 tonne for each German adult)
What was 1 of the problems with agriculture?
- It needed to be heavily protected with tariffs
- Tariffs helped farmers by preventing cheap Russian and US imports flooding the German market but made food prices high for German consumers
What is some of the evidence for agricultural decline?
- Series of bad harvests in 1870’s led to the import of cheap grain from the USA
- Increasing numbers of landowners ran into financial difficulties and were forced to sell/mortgage farms
- Many peasants abandoned agriculture and moved to industrial towns
- Percentage of population employed in agriculture fell from 50% in 1871 to 35% in 1907
- Share of agriculture making up GNP fell from 40% to 25%
What is some evidence against agricultural decline?
- Farm machinery and chemical fertilisers became cheaper and more widely available
- More than 4 million acres of land were brought under cultivation between 1880 and 1900
What were Germany’s advancements in trade?
- 1913- one of the major trading and exporting nations of the world
- Volume of exports increased by 4x between 1880 and 1913
- 1913- Imports rose to £526 million and exports rose to £495 million
