Trade and Commerce 1850-1914

Question 1

When was Wealth of Nations published?

Answer 1

1776

Question 2

Why was the Great Reform Act in 1832 important for free trade?

Answer 2

The newly enfranchised population were the merchants and businessmen calling for free trade

Question 3

Why was Singapore so successful as an Asian trading station?

Answer 3

There were no taxes or duties in trade, making it popular as an entrepot for the trade of goods - products from everywhere, in particular China and Java, could be traded without taxes

Question 4

Which policy was followed by Britain to do with China during the Opium Wars and what was the result?

Answer 4

Gunboat diplomacy, and the result was the taking of Hong Kong and the opening of more Chinese ports and 24m silver dollars in debt repayment

Question 5

Which treaty opened up China?

Answer 5

Nanking Treaty of 1842

Question 6

Why was Shanghai so important to British traders?

Answer 6

It was both the most important trading city, and had great access to the interior along the Yangtze

Question 7

How many tons of opium were traded to China in 1880?

Answer 7

6,500 tons

Question 8

When was the Suez Canal built and for what price?

Answer 8

1859-1869 at a price of 433 million francs

Question 9

Why was the Suez Canal not very profitable when it was first opened, and who was best placed to use it because of this?

Answer 9

Because only steamships could use the route, which previously had been too expensive to use for long distance, and as Britain was most industrialised, it was best placed to use the Canal

Question 10

When were the Suez Canal shares bought, by who, borrowed from who, and at what cost?

Answer 10

1875, Disraeli borrowed £4 million from the Rothschild family

Question 11

Why had the Suez Canal shares been bought?

Answer 11

For the geopolitical gain of Britain, in a strategic move against the French and to protect trade to the east

Question 12

Why did Zanzibar gain importance after it’s decreasing role in the slave trade?

Answer 12

It was an entrepot with low taxes which traded rubber, cloves, ivory and spices, and it had access to the unpopular to use yet somewhat valuable Africa

Question 13

What occurred in 1884 to change British minds about Zanzibar?

Answer 13

German interest (backed by Bismark government funding in 1887) in with the East German Trading Company

Question 14

What was the direct result of German interest in East Africa?

Answer 14

Previous small settlements became important, and the land was carved up by Germany and Britain through the head rush of the Scramble for Africa

Question 15

What occurred in 1890 to do with Zanzibar?

Answer 15

A treaty was passed, claiming land which was previously theirs German or British, and placing a British protectorate over them

Question 16

Why was the treaty of 1890 so irritating for the Sultan of Zanzibar?

Answer 16

He was not involved in the talks

Question 17

What happened in 1896 to do with Zanzibar that resulted in British intervention?

Answer 17

The pro-British sultan died and was replaced by his cousin, but the British preferred someone else so the 38 minute war ensued

Question 18

What percentage of the world’s trade did Britain have shares in in 1830?

Answer 18

45%

Question 19

What percentage of the world’s trade used British merchant ships 1890-1914?

Answer 19

60%

Question 20

Did expansion of Empire guarantee expansion of trade and riches?

Answer 20

No In 1897 the whole of tropical Africa only took 1.2% of British exports.

Question 21

By 1914 -extent of trade in India

Answer 21

35% of exports went to the Empire - and of this 20% went to India (representing about £150 million).

Question 22

By 1914 -extent of trade with Canada

Answer 22

By 1914 Canada was supplying over 10% of GB’s beef and 15% of its wheat flour.

Question 23

India represented a particularly large market: how much of Britain’s exports did it take?

Answer 23

It took about 20% of Britain’s exports - worth almost £150 million by 1914

Question 24

What do critics say about the Br Empire being economically inefficient?

Answer 24

While GB relied on rubber imports from S E Asia, the Fr and Russians had successfully created their pwn synthesised rubber industries by 1910.- some said the reliance on cheap labour from the imperial regions suppressed wages back home.

Question 25

What was the general economic assumption in 1890?

Answer 25

The Empire made Britain wealthy and more empire would make the country wealthier still and should be defended against European rivals.

Question 26

India represented a particularly large market: how much of Britain’s exports did it take?

Answer 26

It took about 20% of Britain’s exports - worth almost £150 million by 1914

Question 27

How much beef and wheat did Canada supply Britain with?

Answer 27

Upwards of 10% of Britain’s Beef and 15% of its wheat flour by 1914.Between 1900 and 1914, there was a 6 fold increase (to over 45,000 square miles) in Canadian land set aside for wheat production.

Question 28

How the Imperial Federation League exemplifies that the benefits of trade w the Empire were less significant than imagined?

Answer 28

The Imperial Federation League which was established in 1884 to promote colonial ties was disbanded in 1893 (less than a decade after its inception) partially reflecting a waning interest in the Empire’s colonial importance.

Question 29

Facts to demonstrate British trade was growing with the non imperial world - particularly the USA:

Answer 29

In 1894, GB had imported 64 million hundredweight of wheat.30.7 million from the USA, 17.2 million from Russia and only 3.6 million from Canada.

Question 30

Only in which foodstuffs was the Empire Britain’s main supplier?

Answer 30

Cheese, apples, potatoes, fresh mutton.Other foodstuff came from elsewhere, with the Empire providing less than 10%.

Question 31

What was the Empire’s total trade in 1896 and how much of this was with countries of the Empire?

Answer 31

The Empire’s total trade in 1896 was worth £745 million, but trade between the countries of the Empire only £183 million.

Question 32

What happened whilst Britain was relying on rubber imports from Asia and Africa?

Answer 32

French, Russians and Germans had successfully started their own synthetic rubber production by 1910.

Question 33

How much did Br investment increase between 1900 and 1914?

Answer 33

GB investment doubled from £2 billion to £4 billion between 1900 and 1913 - not all w Empire however

Question 34

When and what did the Colonial Loans and Colonial Stocks Acts do?

Answer 34

In 1899 Facilitated a number of infrastructure projects including rail links into African interior from the ports of Lagos and Mombassa. Such loans could be significant for the place in question: Forming 88% of Gold Coast finances in 1901, yet their effect on the Br tax payer was limited - as estimated 29p/year between 1880 and 1914.

Question 35

By how much did the terms of trade balance in Britain’s favour between 1870 and 1914?

Answer 35

Around 10%- Helped by Britain setting the standard for the international monetary system forcing other nations to mirror by adopting the gold standard. By 1908 - only China, Persia and a handful of Central American colonies still used a ‘silver standard’. The gold standard became a symbol of GB’s economic strength.

Question 36

For how long was Joseph Chamberlain Conservative Colonial Secretary?

Answer 36

1895-1903

Question 37

When was the London Colonial Conference for leaders from GB and the self-governing white settler colonies?What was discussed? Why were C’s ideas met with resistance?

Answer 37

1902. Imperial preference. Argued that GB’s wealth had come from free trade and the wider international community rather than with a specifically imperial economy.

Question 38

When did the “death knell of imperial preference” come?

Answer 38

The 1906 general election. voters overwhelmingly favoured the Liberal Party’s commitment to free trade.

Question 39

Before the outbreak of war in 1914 what did colonies do?

Answer 39

Dominions imposed import tariffs as a means of asserting their national interests over any loyalties or ties with GB.- Canada had made its own trading agreements with France, Italy and Japan and a separate commercial union w America was regarded as a distinct possibility. In India, Br textiles and goods were boycotted and burned in streets as the swadeshi movement sought to undermine Raj after 1905.

Question 40

What are some examples of non-imperial investments?

Answer 40

60% of Colombia’s railway network was GB owned by the early 20th century. - In Peru, the Peruvian Corporation (GB owned) administered not only the railways but also the guano production and certain utilities. - GB owned Sao Paulo railway in Brazil - the most profitable railway in SA as it was the trunk route into Brazil’s coffee growing heartland. - By 1913, Br had invested £360 million in Argentina - as much as they has invested in India.

Question 41

How was the concept of free trade in the 19th century a change from mercantilism?

Answer 41

Although - first half of 19th century this highly protectionist system had been dismantled- new theories of free trade - Adam Smith book: The Wealth of Nations 1776. Mid 19th century - GB trade was let free from government trading restrictions.

Question 42

What’s the concept ‘Imperialism of free trade’?

Answer 42

The way in which sometimes economic dominance was sustained by a limited application of force. China in the Second Opium War (1856-1860)

Question 43

What was the outcome of the 2nd Opium War with China 1856-1860?

Answer 43

The British Navy was relied upon to enforce British terms. - The British sought the opening of all of China to their merchants, an ambassador in Beijing, legalisation of the opium trade, the exemption of imports from tariffs and thus to renegotiate their commercial treaties with China. The British crushed all opposition ; Prince Gong met with the Western diplomats and accepted the Convention of Peking, whereby the Chinese were forced to accept the validity of the Treaties of Tianjin, give part of Kowloon to Britain, open Tianjin as a trade port, allow religious freedom, legalise the opium trade, and pay reparations to Britain and France.

Question 44

Why was trade with Empire so easy?

Answer 44

Countries of the Empire used a common language and a common or tied currency and shared a common system of commercial law. Borrowing in the London capital markets was also cheaper because lenders had faith in the reliability of British possessions.

Question 45

An ‘industrial empire’

Answer 45

Term used in which the colonies supplied both the foodstuffs and the raw materials which GB industry converted into finished goods for export and which very often the colonies bought back.

Question 46

What was the economic situation towards the end of the 19th century?

Answer 46

20% of British imports came from its colonies, while the Empire provided a market for 1/3 of British exports.The City of London became the world’s financial capital as British investment oversees increased and sterling became the main currency of international trade. Technological improvements: railways, steamships, underwater cables and telegraph lines as well as innovations in banking and company organisation.

Question 47

What was the first colonial conference of 1887?

Answer 47

While Britain adopted free trade, there was no international free trade between the colonies and the self-governing settler colonies were permitted to adopt protective tariff systems of their own. The first Colonial Conference of 1887 discussed the issue of whether there should be some special trading preference between colonies - creating a ‘free trade empire’ but this was turned down by Britain. Several colonies: beginning with Canada in 1859 and subsequently Australia in 1860’s chose to impose tariffs against imported manufacturers (including those of Britain) in order to protect their own growing industries.

Question 48

Stats about ships and shipping?

Answer 48

Sailing ships - highest rate of efficiency in 1860’s - clippers sailing all over world - particular on route to China and the East. - Suited ideally to low volume, high profit good. Competition amongst clippers - fierce - their times recorded in newspapers. short life expectancy - had to be broken up in 20 years use. British iron-hulled ocean going ships made more efficient by the development of the compound steam engine in the 50s. From the 50s, steamship companies reduced the trade time between Britain and West Africa to less than 3 weeks and increased their cargo capacity. 1870’s - development of triple expansion steam engine and several GB companies sending steam trading vessels inland - up the Niger.

Question 49

What is the concept of Railway imperialism?

Answer 49

The colonies’ resulting dependence on Britain (for building railways and infrastructure) could be used to pressure governments - Canada forced to accept Br policies on defence in 1860s. Railways - largest single investment of the period in the self governing colonies of Canada, Aus, NZ and SA - they opened up the Canadian prairies, enabled Australia to export its wheat and wool and offered SA a chance to expand its territories and commercial interest into the interior. India - railways may have been built with a strategic purpose in mind - they also linked the cotton and jute growing areas of the north with the mills of Bombay and Calcutta and enabled rice to reach ports for export.

Question 50

Canals - India and Canada?

Answer 50

In India, new canals were developed on huge scale after 1857. In Canada after 1867, canals were deepened around Great Lakes to link Lake Eyrie and Ontario.

Question 51

Up to 1875 how much of the exports went to the Empire?

Answer 51

In 1875 only 26% of exports went to the Empire. 1970-1914 the Empire becomes more important - largely because the Br found it harder to keep with the rapidly industrialising nations of USA and Germany.

Question 52

Was the British Empire a trading bonanza?

Answer 52

Assumptions that the Empire was a trading bonanza are overstated - the Imperial Federation League, set up in 1884 to promote closer ties with the imperial possessions, disbanded in 1893 reflecting a lack of interest in the Empire’s commercial importance.

Question 53

How did Indian coolies support trade?

Answer 53

Indian coolies were transported to work in the West Indian colonies for fixed periods - usually 5 years in return for their transport.- Some also taken to SA.

Question 54

Where were the plantations within the Empire?

Answer 54

There were plantations for coffee and tea in Ceylon and Kenya, for tea in India, for sugar in Mauritius and Natal, for rubber and palm oil in Malaya and North Borneo, for coconuts in the Solomon islands and for sugar in Fiji and in Queensland Australia.

Question 55

In 1886 where were gold deposits found? What was significant about this?

Answer 55

On the Witwatersrand. This prompted a gold rush to the previously struggling, rather poor Dutch Boer Republic of the Transvaal. At the very time tin mines were closing down in Cornwall, the Transvaal gold mines required skilled labourers and over 30,000 travelled there from Britain.

Question 56

When did the Kimberley Diamond Syndicate form?

Answer 56

1890 by Cecil Rhodes due to the further discovery of diamonds in the area of the Transvaal

Question 57

Facts for gold discovery in Australia?What happened?

Answer 57

Gold was discovered in New South Wales, Australia in 1851 and by 1866 Victoria was producing £124 million worth of gold - 1/3 of the then total world production. New South Wales produced a further £25 million worth. 1860’s - Australian mines began to run dry. Although later discovery in the 1880’s.

Question 58

Argument for ans against the system of trade in Empire established by the British on the people?

Answer 58

On the one hand, undeveloped areas were propelled to modernise, thanks to British capital and technology On the other hand: their independent economic development was curbed by the way the GB controlled and exploited their economies.

Question 59

What was Lord Palmerston’s idea about free trade?

Answer 59

It is the business of the government to open and secure the roads for the merchant, but no more.’

Question 60

Why did the Empire return to Chartered companies after their post-Mutiny abandonment?

Answer 60

They had been the normal means of organising trade in the colonies until the mid 1850s. Govt allows trading to proceed at its own pace in the 50s and 60s seeing competition between rival companies as a healthy sign of successful capitalism.Attitudes changed in 1870s - idea of the chartered company revived as a way of extending GB trade and control at no cost of govt. (great depression). 1881 - North Borneo Trading Company 1886 - Royal Niger Company 1888 - IBEAC 1889 - BSAC Suppoting this development of chartered companies the Imperial federation League (1884) to promote colonial unity.

Question 61

Why was GB so committed to free trade?

Answer 61

Br was the foremost industrial nation - it simply produced the most stuff and so had an obvious interest in selling it to the most places - and it could also undercut any competition.

Question 62

Facts to show that the Empire was a valuable export market for British products in 1867.

Answer 62

In 1867 - India imported goods worth £21 million, which made it a market equal to GB™s largest foreign customer, the US. Exports to Australia totalled £8 million, Canada £5.8 million.

Question 63

British raw cotton and tea imports from India comparing 1854 to 1876? What is significant about these figures?

Answer 63

Raw cotton (1854 - £1,600,000) (1876 - £5,800,000) Tea (1854 - £24,000) (1876 - £2,000,000)What is significant about the above figures is that India then bought back the finished products from Britain - and so prevented them developing their own industries.

Question 64

By 1914 how many of Lancashire’s cotton exports was India taking?

Answer 64

1914, India was taking 25% of all Lancashire cotton exports

Question 65

In the 1890’s how large was the whole imperial army and who paid for it?

Answer 65

1890’s the whole imperial army totalled 325,000 troops: 2/3 of this entire force was paid for by the Indian taxpayer, so helping the GB maintain their global role without footing anywhere near the whole bill.

Question 66

In 1914 how many of GB’s exports did India take?

Answer 66

India took about 20% of Britain’s total exports, worth about £150m by 1914.

Question 67

How much did the proportion of Indian public debt in the City of London rise to from 1858 to 1914?

Answer 67

The proportion of Indian public debt held in the City of London rose from 7% in 1858 to 60% in 1914, with the interest obviously going into the pockets of the British.

Question 68

In 1880 and 1910 how much money did Britain export to Latin America?

Answer 68

In 1880 GB exported £17 million to Latin America - by 1910 it was over £50 million

Question 69

Investment in Latin America on 1875 compared to 1913?

Answer 69

1875 saw £175 million - 1913 it was at £1200 million

Question 70

The gem in the British South American Crown was..

Answer 70

Argentina

Question 71

By 1913 how much was invested in Argentina?And how much was it providing of British overseas property income?

Answer 71

1913 - £360 million By 1913, Latin America was providing around 1/4 of British overseas property income

Question 72

Facts about GB investment and trade with USA?

Answer 72

Br investment in the US surged upwards from £500 million in 1899 to £800 million by 1914. By 1913, the Americas accounted for 1/5 of GB’s exports and 1/3 of imports, more than half of her overseas investment and almost 3/4 of her international shipping. In 1894 Br had imported 64m hundredweight of wheat - 30.7m of which came from the USA

Question 73

What was the Empire’s total trade worth in 1896? and what was surprising about this?

Answer 73

The Empire’s total trade in 1896 was worth 745 million, but only in cheese apples and potatoes and fresh mutton was the Empire’s main food supplier.

Question 74

What prompted a British conversation around National Efficiency?

Answer 74

Concern in the press re decline in British industrial production vs that of Germany and the US. Press and high imperialists insisted that Britain would be eclipsed unless the nation became better educated and healthier

Question 75

What measures were taken to address National Efficiency?

Answer 75

1902 Education Act
Modernisation of the Royal Navy
Establishment of Imperial College of Science and Tech (1907)School Medical Inspection (1907)
Children's Welfare Charter (1908)
Old Age Pensions (1909)
Unemployment and Health insurance

Question 76

What was the 1902 Education Act?

Answer 76

Made significant provisions for secondary education. Councils encouraged to subsidise grammar schools and provide free places for working class children. Allowed local authorities to provide meals for free when parents couldn’t pay

Question 77

What was the establishment of the Imperial College of Science and Tech in 1907?

Answer 77

City and Guilds college to improve training of craftsmanship, technologists and engineers 87 acre land bought for 342.5k

Question 78

How much Empire trade worth in 1896?

Answer 78

£745 million

Question 79

Why was imperial trade a negative for the British economy?

Answer 79

Britain lagged behind in development of new industries- they relied on rubber imports from SE Asia while the French, Germans and Russia all had generated their own synthetic rubber production by 1910. Colonies, ie dominions, began to impose their own protectionist tariffs (eg Au, NZ and SA) all did before WWI and Canada had own trading agreements with Germany, Japan, Italy and France. No internal free trade between colonies. Expansion of empire didn’t always mean expansion of trade

Question 80

How much of GB exports went to Africa by 1894

Answer 80

Only 1.2%

Question 81

Specific groups of people who trade with the empire impacted on?

Answer 81

• The city (bankers/ finance houses/ insurance etc.)
• British public (workers/ tax payers)
• British industry

Question 82

Imperial trade effects on the City of London (finance sector)?

Answer 82

Finance capitalists made huge profits: 22 new merchant banking millionaires c.1860-1919. Britain became economic hub of the world- between 1913-14 60% of the transactions passing through the City didn’t even involve a British party. British freight suppliers specifically profited- profits rose from 80m (1870) to 150m (1914). But this could be seen as in impact of world trade increasing! Tourism companies thrived- By 1900, Thomas Cook and Sons was the largest single Egyptian employer (helped by Baring’s role in Egypt)

Question 83

British freight suppliers stats?

Answer 83

Profits increased from 80m in 1870 to 150m in 1914

Question 84

Opposing evidence suggesting the City of London was not that important to the Empire?

Answer 84

Much of the growth in global trade was largely down to freight suppliers. Only 1/4 of 6 billion invested by the City from 1850 went to the Empire. Many colonial investments led to losses (eg Imperial East Africa Company went bust) Investment elsewhere (eg Latin America and America) suggest the Empire wasn’t necessary.

Question 85

Positive effects on the Empire on the British public?

Answer 85

Administration of the Empire was very cheap- only 20p/head/year. Naval spending meant increase in British shipbuilding yards which employed 1m people; particularly beneficial to Portsmouth, Belfast and Glasgow. Indian army was supplied by Br manufacturers- employed nearly 1m by outbreak of WWI

Question 86

Negative effects of the Empire on British public?

Answer 86

Payed for the majority of defence : eg Royal Navy= 3p/head/year for natives vs 1.56 pound/head/year for taxpayer but this was only the Navy. Indians contributed 70% of the cost for the Indian Army (340k troops)

Question 87

Positive effects on of the Empire on British industry?

Answer 87

Lancashire cotton- 15 new cotton millionaires in the area between 1850-1914. Empire grew in importance when Britain couldn’t sell to Europe for the USA (they had domestic industries)

Question 88

Decline in British goods going to Europe and Germany c.1870-1900?

Answer 88

from 40% to 31%

Question 89

Growth in exports going to Empire 1870-1914

Answer 89

26% to 35% by 1914

Question 90

Economic consequences if Empire was abandoned?

Answer 90

If GB had abandoned Empire, loss of trade would have amounted to 3% total and savings on defence would have compensated. Loss of Empire would have encouraged new industry development in Britain.