Trade and Commerce 1890-1914

Question 1

What percentage of total British exports did India take in 1914?

Answer 1

In 1914, India took up 20% of Britain’s total exports, worth almost £150 million.

Question 2

What goods did Britain import from India (2)?

Answer 2

Mainly tea and raw cotton.

Question 3

What goods did Britain import from South Africa and Australia (2)?

Answer 3

Mainly wool and sugar.

Question 4

What goods did Britain import from New Zealand (2)?

Answer 4

Mainly dairy produce and lamb.

Question 5

What goods did Britain import from Canada (2)?

Answer 5

Mainly beef and wheat.

Question 6

How significant was Canada for Britain economically in 1914 (2)?

Answer 6

1) Supplied 10% of Britain’s beef and 15% of Britain’s wheat flour by 1914.
2) In 1914, 45 thousand square miles was set aside for wheat production in Canada, a six times increase since 1900.

Question 7

What goods did Britain import from West Africa (5)?

Answer 7

Mainly timber, cocoa, rubber, peanuts and palm oil.

Question 8

What modes of transport were the main facilitators of trade 1890-1914 (2)?

Answer 8

1) The ocean steamship was the bulk carrier over oceans.
2) Railways were the main means for facilitating trade and offering investment opportunities.

Question 9

What was the Imperial Federations League, and what did its disbandment signify for trade?

Answer 9

The Imperial Federations League was est. in 1884 to promote closer imperial ties. Its disbandment in 1893 shows a decline in the Empire’s commercial importance.

Question 10

What was the proportion of British imports from Empire compared to other countries in 1913?

Answer 10

Empire only provided 24.9% of British imports in 1913, compared to non-Empire countries providing 75.1%.

Question 11

What was the proportion of British exports from Empire compared to other countries in 1913?

Answer 11

Empire only took 37.2% of British exports in 1913, compared to non-Empire countries taking 62.8%.

Question 12

How did British wheat imports in 1894 reflect their waning economic interest with Empire?

Answer 12

In 1894, Britain imported 30.7 million hundredweight of wheat from the USA, 17.2 million from Russia, and only 3.6 million from Canada. This showed economic interest was waning with Empire.

Question 13

What percentage of British foodstuff was supplied by Empire in 1894?

Answer 13

Less than 10%.

Question 14

In 1896, what was Empire’s value of total trade compared with value of trade within Empire?

Answer 14

In 1896, Empire’s total trade was worth £745 million, with trade between countries of Empire only worth £183 million.

Question 15

How did imperial trade react to imperial expansion 1890-1914?

Answer 15

Whilst trade between Britain and foreign countries increased, trade within Empire remained static. Despite expansion of Empire, there was no corresponding expansion of trade.

Question 16

What percentage of British exports did Tropical Africa take in 1897?

Answer 16

In 1897, the whole of Tropical Africa took only 1.2% of British exports.

Question 17

How did anti-imperialists criticise Empire, due to trade 1890-1914 (7)?

Answer 17

1) Argued that Empire cost the middle-class more than it benefited them, having to pay for imperial defence through tax.
2) Empire blamed for Britain’s failure to modernise industry.
3) Empire holding back developments that would raise living standards for workers.
4) Colonies blunted British commercial enterprise.
5) The imports of colonial food produce undermined domestic food production, depopulating the countryside.
6) Cheap foreign labour in the colonies depressed wages in Britain.
7) Most colonies had to be subsidised, with the costs of expansion and defence of the colonies far outweighing any fiscal returns.

Question 18

What was British overseas investment in 1900 compared to 1914?

Answer 18

1900: British overseas investment was £2 billion.
1913: British overseas investment was £4 billion.

Question 19

What 2 nations did Britain trade with most (1890-1914)?

Answer 19

India and the USA.

Question 20

Why did British investment begin to go outside of Empire 1890-1914?

Answer 20

Loans within Empire were regarded as safe, whilst loans to foreign nations were riskier, but potentially yielded greater returns.

Question 21

What were the Colonial Stocks Acts of 1899 and 1900?

Answer 21

They facilitated a number of infrastructure projects in the colonies, such as rail links into the African interior from the ports of Lagos and Mombasa.

Question 22

What are invisibles?

Answer 22

Any export that provides income but does not have a physical appearance. E.g. banking services, insurance and returns on overseas investments.

Question 23

What was the significance of the gold standard on British trade 1890-1914?

Answer 23

It became the basis for a global monetary system, with only a handful of countries still using the silver standard. Currencies on the gold standard were fixed in value against each other, with the gold standard becoming a symbol of Britain’s economic strength.

Question 24

What was the 1902 London Colonial Conference (3)?

Answer 24

1)Held by Conservative Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain in 1902.
2) It convened leaders from Britain and the Dominions to discuss creating economic ties through an imperial customs union.
3) This would have boosted imperial trade through customs agreements and protective tariffs against non-imperial imports.

Question 25

What was ‘imperial preference’?

Answer 25

Favouring trade within Empire, instead of outside of it.

Question 26

Why was Joseph Chamberlain such an advocate of imperial preference (2)?

Answer 26

1) Strategically reliable in times of emergency.
2) He believed the colonies and the commerce between them had the potential for greater productivity and growth.

Question 27

What 3 industries resisted Chamberlain’s idea of imperial preference, and why?

Answer 27

1) The manufacturing industry.
2) The shipping industry.
3) The banking industry.
They resisted it because their interests were with free trade, arguing Britain’s wealth had come from free trade and the Empire was no longer an economic unity or self sufficient, as it had been in the days of mercantilism.

Question 28

What was the significance of the 1906 general election on imperial trade?

Answer 28

The public rejected Chamberlain’s proposals on imperial preference, partially because it would raise food prices. Voters overwhelmingly favoured the Liberal Party’s commitment to free trade.

Question 29

How had the Dominions secured national interests economically in 1914?

Answer 29

As of 1914, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand had all imposed import tariffs .

Question 30

How did Canada shift away economically from Britain before 1914 (2)?

Answer 30

1) Made trade agreements with Germany, France, Italy and Japan.
2) A separate commercial union with the USA was regarded as a possibility.

Question 31

What was the significance of the 1905-1911 swadeshi movement on British trade with India?

Answer 31

British textiles and goods were boycotted or burnt in the streets.