trade and commerce 1857 - 1914 Flashcards
what methods did britain use to ensure that countries traded with them?
informal empire - areas where britain had no legal claim
latin america accounted for 10% of britain’s imports and exports
charles morrison acquired the mercantile bank of the river palte in argentina in 1881 and directly invested into the country’s utilities
pressure was put in mexico in 1861 to keep access open and to uphold free trade treaties while the threat of the royal navy ensured compliance in peru and chile in 1857 and 1863
thailand brought under british influence through trade treaties
why was britain the foremost trading nation?
it was industrially advanced - one of the first countries to have an industrial revolution
factories were producing heavy iron goods and textiles for a global market
how much of britain’s exports went to the empire?
30%
ships
from 1843-69, clippers enabled fast tea/opium trade with china-
steam ships for heavy goods to west africa.
opening of suez canal led to the decline of clippers- heavy steam ships used instead for opening routes on river niger
railways
canada forced to accept british policy on defence in return for investment in railways
australia, new zealand and south africa also benefited from investment in railways
opened up new areas for raw materials and markets.
india - railways also served as a strategic function.
were a trading commodity in themselves- added to british invisible earnings.
led to refrigerated food- fish and chips now available in birmingham 71 miles from the sea
a single time zone in uk
cheap holidays for workers
canals and rivers
river improvements helped open up new areas in africa
new canals built in india and canada 1857-67
agriculture
canada, new zealand and australia produced foodstuffs.
south africa- palm oil, coffee and tea.
tea and coffee plantations india, ceylon and kenya- but very low paid workers.
tea trade in india worth £2.4 million by 1876
mining
copper in north rhodesia
south africa- gold and diamonds in 1886 led to increasing tension with the boers
australian gold rush in 1851
1866- victoria produced 1/3 of the world’s gold worth £124 million
industry
limited development in colonies
couldn’t compete with britain and had small internal markets
shares of total foreign investment in 1885:
britain
46.2%
shares of total foreign investment in 1885:
france
19.4%
shares of total foreign investment in 1885:
germany
11.8%
shares of total foreign investment in 1885:
holland
5.9%
was britain beginning to lose it’s competitive edge?
other countries such as france, germany and usa were industrialising
chartered companies
a trading company which would gain it’s status, legal rights and privileges on award of a royal charter
faded out because free trade was considered the best means for assuring britain’s global economic leadership
reintroduced as a result of the great depression, as a way of extending trade
the british north borneo company -1881
the royal niger company - 1886
the imperial british east africa company - 1888
the british south africa company - 1889
british imports
wheat - 64 hundred weight. 30.7 million from usa, 17.2 million from russia and 3.6 million from canada
tea - india provided £150 million worth of tea
wheat flour - 15% came from canada
beef - 10% came from canada
only in cheese, apples and potatoes was empire britian’s main food supplier - only 10% came from empire
empire’s total trade in 1896 - £183 million
trade from countries outside empire - £745 million
1897 - tropics of africa only took 1.2% of britain’s exports
investment in empire
although investment doubled from £2 million to £4 million between 1900 and 1913, far more went to the usa
while loans to empire were regarded as safe, loans to foreign nations might provide bigger returns
loans within the empire might be used to develop rival manufacturers for britian for example cotton mills, which was seen as dangerous
what was the imperial federation league 1884?
it promoted colonial unity and rapidly established branches throughout the country, attracting the support of the business community
shows weakening economic importance of empire
trade benefited the colonies:
provided new technology and infrastructure - railways in white settler colonies such as australia, new zealand, canada and south africa
telegraphs and canals
britain provided a market for colonial goods - 20% of imports came from the colonies
46% of world foreign investments came from britain in 1885
sterling was the main currency
trade didn’t benefit the colonies:
exploited local workers- poor pay on tea/coffee plantations in india and kenya
destroyed local trades - indian cotton trade
britain did not develop industry in colonies- sought to dominate industrial production- so some colonies became too dependent on producing food such as new zealand
growth of chartered companies from 1876 onwards paid very little attention to local’s rights
opium wars 1846 and 1858- 11 million opium addicts in china
workers at home were exploited
middle class didn’t benefit
