Trade and commerce, 1857-90 Flashcards
What were colonies of settlement?
They were British overseas colonies founded and largely populated by British settlers, along with other European settlers.
Included colonies such as Australia, Canada (shared with French speaker colonists) and The Cape Colony (shared with Boer settlers).
By 1870, most of these colonies had a large degree of self determination, with Britain only controlling foreign relations and defence.
What were dependent/ crown colonies?
These were colines thy contained very few British/European settlers and were ruled by British civil servants who had largely autocratic powers.
This included places like India, coastal colonies of West Africa and Islands used as Royal Navy bases such as Malta.
How were Dependent states/ Crown colonies administered in 1857?
British governments ultimately decided colonial policy, though day to day administration of these colonies were delegates to colonial secretaries who presided over the colonial office.
What was the policy of mercantilism?
A trade policy followed largely by European powers in the 17th and 18th centuries where they tried to trade exclusively within their empires in order to build up self sufficiency.
What was the policy of free trade?
It was a trading policy that became prominent during the 1850s and 60s which loosened trading restrictions on countries from outside the empire and allowed Britain access to more markets at a cheaper price.
Why did Britian adopt the policy of free trade from the 1850s onwards?
Britian beleieved that free trade would allow them to not only more easily export thier good across the world, but also their ideas institutions and allow them greater influence throughout the world - even utside of their empire.
What was ‘informal empire’?
It was the system of influence Britian was able to exert outside the borders of its directly controlled colonies.
Britain used its powerful naval assets, fleet of merchant ships and the influence of its bankers to open up countries to free trade with the empire.
Often used military force to open up certain countries to free trade.
How can China be seen as an example of Britain’s informal empire?
Britian generally allowed the hinese state to function on its own so long as it did not interfere with British trading interests.
When the Chinese failed to comply, the Opium wars forced them to open up to free trade to an even greater degree, legalise the opium trade and cede even more land to Britain - despite the fragility of the chinese state Britian never attempted to fully conquer it.
What was the economic position of Britian by 1870?
- It accounted for half the worl’s trade in textiles and metal manufactured goods
- Its GNP was higher than that of China and Russia combined
- The British Merchant fleet carried half of the worlds sea-bourne trade
- London was the world’s financial capital
What caused the beginning of the waning of British influence in terms of world trade in the 1880’s?
The great depression between 1873-96 undermined Britian’s earlier commitment to free trade
The growth of industry in nations like France, Germany and the US threatened British supremacy
Change of British share of manufactured products
1873: Britian produced 1/3rd of all manufactured products
1883: Britian produced 1/4 of the world’s manufactured products
What was the Imperial Federation League?
In 1884, the iperial federation league was created in order to promote ‘closer union’ of the empire, gave limited support to the idea of a common ‘constitution’ within the empire.
Had little support from the majoirty of either colonial politicans or British politicians - though enjoyed strong support in the Conservative party and from future Liberal PM Lord Rosebury.
When was the Imperial federation League dissolved?
It was disbanded in 1893, less than a decade after its inception.
How were sailing ships significant in british trade during 1857-90?
Clipper ships were well suited to low volume, high profit products such as tea, opium and spices - they were able to transport these goods rapidly. They reached peak efficiency in the 1860s
How did the invention of the steam ship change British trade?
They were able to transport heavy, bulky manufactured products much faster than older ships - they reduced the time to travel to West Africa to 3 weeks and expanded cargo capacity massively
What is ‘Railway imperialism’?
The British provided the investment, engineers and stock need by colonies to build railways to expand their economies. This increased their dependence on Britain and meant the British governemnt could pressurise officials.
How were railways important to the self-governing white settler colonies?
- They provided the single greatest investment in the period for the colonies
- Opened up Canadian prairies to agriculture
- Allowed Aus to export its wheat and wool
- Allowed SA to expand its territory into the african interior
How were railways important to British interests in India?
- Built with strategic importnace in mind in order to be able to transport troops across the country quickly in the event of a revolt like 1857
- Also linked the cotton and Jute producing regions with mills in Bombay and Calcutta
How were canals and river systems important to British commerce?
Rivers were an important route for transporting products to a colony’s interior
To facilitate this transport canals were built to help avoid hazardous stretches of river or provide new waterways where there was originally none.
What was the main industry present in white settler colonies?
In Canada, Aus and NZ there were vast tracts of land that allowed the cheap production of wool and foodstuffs.
What were the main exports of tropical colonies?
Colonies such as SA produced goods not available to be produced in Europe; eg sugar, coffee, groundnuts.
This argiculture was often more small-scale and an addition to subsitience farming in the region, though there were also some large plantations ran directly by the British worked by ‘Coolies’
When were gold deposits found in Witswatersrand?
1886
How many Britons travelled to SA during the Transvaal gold rush?
30,000 - many former miners from Cornish mines that had closed.
Where were gold deposits found in Aus? When did they begin to run dry?
New South Wales (1851)
Victoria (1866), £124million worth of gold discovered
Deposits began to run dry after the 1860s
