trade and commerce

Question 1

what methods did britain use to ensure that countries traded with them?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

why was britain the foremost trading nation?

Answer 2

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

Question 3

how much of britain’s exports went to the empire?

Answer 3

30%

Question 4

ships

Answer 4

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

Question 5

railways

Answer 5

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

Question 6

canals and rivers

Answer 6

river improvements helped open up new areas in africa

new canals built in india and canada 1857-67

Question 7

agriculture

Answer 7

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

Question 8

mining

Answer 8

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

Question 9

industry

Answer 9

limited development in colonies

couldn’t compete with britain and had small internal markets

Question 10

shares of total foreign investment in 1885:

britain

Answer 10

46.2%

Question 11

shares of total foreign investment in 1885:

france

Answer 11

19.4%

Question 12

shares of total foreign investment in 1885:

germany

Answer 12

11.8%

Question 13

shares of total foreign investment in 1885:

holland

Answer 13

5.9%

Question 14

was britain beginning to lose it’s competitive edge?

Answer 14

other countries such as france, germany and usa were industrialising

Question 15

chartered companies

Answer 15

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

Question 16

british imports

Answer 16

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

Question 17

investment in empire

Answer 17

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

Question 18

what was the imperial federation league 1884?

Answer 18

it promoted colonial unity and rapidly established branches throughout the country, attracting the support of the business community

shows weakening economic importance of empire

Question 19

trade benefited the colonies:

Answer 19

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

Question 20

trade didn’t benefit the colonies:

Answer 20

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