Trade and Commerce 1890-1914 (SECTION 2) Flashcards
Did the Empire make Britain wealthy?
1) In 1890, there was a general assumption that the Empire made Britain wealthy.
2) Cost of empire was something that Gladstone had been concerned about and there were some critics who began to argue that empire wasn’t as beneficial people believed.
3) By 1914, a few more began to question whether the cost of empire could be entirely justified.
What was the evidence to suggest the empire was beneficial to the British?
1) Britain had lots of trade. Exports to the. empire reached 37.2% in 1913. India took 20% of Britain’s total exports.
2) Britain imported vast quantities of wheat and beef from Canada, lamb and dairy products from NZ and the empire was a main source of cheese, apples and potatoes.
3) British breweries gained from colonial trade and some beers were specially developed for colonial conditions eg: India Pale Ale.
4) 40% of British investment overseas took place in the Empire because such investments were considered safe. By 1914, Britain had invested twice the amount of the French and 3 times that of Germany.
What was the evidence to suggest the empire wasn’t beneficial to the British?
1) Empire not the main source of trade. Less than 30% of British imports came from the colonies and 37% of exports went to the colonies by 1913.
2) Foodstuffs that Britain needed mostly came from non-colonial countries eg: Britain imported 17.2 million hundredweight of wheat from Russia and 30 million from the USA.
3) The availability of cheap imperial products prevented the British from developing its scientific enterprises which proved damaging.
4) British investment overseas was expanding in non-colonial areas as well :eg the USA.
5) Benefits of overseas investment were not felt by most people.
6) Growing nationalism in the empire led to trade being damaged.
How did Britain invest in empire?
1) Although British investment doubled from £2 billion to £4 billion between 1900 and 1913, not all of this was with the empire. Far more British capital went to the USA and India.
2) Nevertheless, London remained the world’s financial capital and capital for imperial projects was raised there.
What did the Colonial Loans and Colonial Stocks Acts do? When were they signed?
1) They facilitated a number of infrastructure projects, including rail link into the African interior from the ports of Lagos and Mombasa.
2) Colonial Loans in 1899 and Colonial Stocks in 1900
What does the term ‘invisibles’ mean?
1) Refers to any export that provides income but does not have a physical presence. Eg: insurance, banking services and return on overseas investment.
What did Britain do regarding the gold standard?
1) Britain set the standard for the international monetary system, forcing other nations to mirror Britain by adopting the gold standard.
2) The gold standard had become the basis for a global monetary system and was effectively a sterling standard.
What did the London Colonial Conference for Leaders from Britain and the Dominions do? When was it?
1) Discussed creating closer economic ties in the form of an imperial customs union. Would have given a boost to imperial trade through mutual customs agreements and protective tariffs against imports from non-imperial powers.
2) In 1902.
What did Chamberlain think about imperial trade? What did he believe about imperial preference?
1) He believed that it was preferable since it would be strategically reliable in times of emergency.
2) He also believed the colonies and commerce between them had the potential for much greater productivity and growth. Such an arrangement is known as imperial preference.
Who did not agree with Chamberlain’s ideas?
1) Manufacturing, shipping and banking industries disagreed with him.
2) Their interests were with free trade and the wider international community rather than with a specifically imperial economy.
3) Argued Britain’s wealth had come from free trade and the old economic meaning of empire had long since disappeared.
When did imperial preference die?
1) 1906 election, where the people roundly rejected Chamberlain’s proposals.
2) Voters favoured the Liberal Party.
3) Before the outbreak of war, AUS, NZ and SA had all imposed import tariffs as a means of asserting their national interests over any loyalty ties to Britain.
4) Canada had made trading agreements with Germany, France, Italy and Japan and a separate commercial union with America was regarded as a distinct possibility.
