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British Empire 1763-1914 > Trade - significance of evolution of Britain's ports, entrepots and trade routes > Flashcards

Trade - significance of evolution of Britain's ports, entrepots and trade routes Flashcards

1
Q

What was the East India Company?

A

private trading company with exclusive rights to trade with India following royal charter from Elizabeth I

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2
Q

When did East India Company lose its monopoly on trade with India?

A

1813 under the Charter Act

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3
Q

When did East India Company lose its monopoly on trade with China?

A

1833

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4
Q

Name three items that England exported from China in 1800s.

A
  • tea
  • silk
  • porcelain
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5
Q

Where was East India Company based?

A

Calcutta

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6
Q

How did ships get to Canton from Calcutta before 1819?

A

through Straits of Malacca

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7
Q

Why was use of Straits of Malacca difficult?

A
  • Dutch refused British entry to ports or charged high tariffs to do so
  • piracy
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8
Q

Where did Sir Stamford Raffles establish a trading post in 1819?

A

Singapore

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9
Q

Why was establishment of Singapore trading post problematic?

A

treaty arranged with local rulers but not Dutch who had colonised it

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10
Q

How much trade passed through Singapore in 1819 and 1824?

A

1819: 400,000 Spanish dollars
1824: 11m Spanish dollars

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11
Q

What was the key to Singapore’s huge growth?

A

It was an entrepot, where ships of all nationalities could dock without paying tax or tariffs, which led to its use not only as a staging post but as place to exchange goods.

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12
Q

How was foreign trade regulated in China?

A
  • Europeans couldn’t leave trading base in Canton.
  • Trade had to be with guild of merchants known as Hongs
  • heavy taxation
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13
Q

What was the initial solution to the negative balance of trade between India and China?

A

opium trade (smuggled in due to ban)

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14
Q

Give figures for opium imports to China in 1775, 1822 and 1839.

A
  • 1775: 75 tons
  • 1822: 347 tons
  • 1839: 2,553 tons
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15
Q

When did the Chinese blockade occur?

A

1839

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16
Q

What was the Chinese blockade?

A
  • Chinese troops blockaded settlement at Canton, demanding merchants surrendered their goods
  • Ships waiting in international waters for Chinese coastal smugglers were boarded and searched
  • Over 1000 tons of opium burned.
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17
Q

Define gunboat diplomacy.

A

a means of conducting foreign policy by displaying naval power to intimidate

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18
Q

How did British government react to Chinese blockade?

A

Lord Palmerston, foreign secretary, decided to defend the opium traders by force, leading to Opium War, with British Naval squadron easily defeating Chinese and seizing island of Hong Kong in 1841.

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19
Q

Give three reasons why Hong Kong was a good location for an entrepot.

A
  • sparsely populated
  • one of best deep-water harbours in world
  • close to Chinese ports for trade
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20
Q

What was population of Hong Kong in 1841 and 1900?

A

1841: 15,000
1900: almost 300,000

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21
Q

When was the Treaty of Nanking signed and between who?

A

1842 between China and Britain

22
Q

What did Chinese government agree to in the Treaty of Nanking?

A
  1. Pay 6m silver dollars in compensation for destroyed opium, 3m in debts to British merchants in Canton and 12m in reparations for cost of war, all to be paid within 3 years with 5% pa interest if paid late.
  2. Cede Hong Kong to Britain in perpetuity.
  3. Open ports of Aoy, Foochow, Ningpo and Shanghai to foreign traders, and lift restrictions in place in Canton, with import tariffs standardised at 5%.
  4. Grant British citizens legal protections in China.
23
Q

Why was opening up of Shanghai to British trade important?

A

It’s at mouth of Yangtze river, navigable for over 1000 miles, so opened up interior of China to British trade.

24
Q

Who owned Shanghai?

A

China

25
Q

Who ran Shanghai from 1960?

A

Shanghai Municipal Council, made up of British, American and French businessmen who had settled there.

26
Q

When was the Taiping Rebellion?

A

1850-1864

27
Q

How many Chinese are estimated to have died in the Taiping Rebellion?

A

20-30 million

28
Q

How did Shanghai businessmen gain from the Taiping rebellion?

A

arms sales to Chinese emperor plus profits from collecting custom tariffs on behalf of British government, whilst being protected by British gunboats and weapons

29
Q

What was reason for Taiping rebellion?

A

to reform politically conservative Chinese state and change to shared property and wealth, which was attractive to the poor, particularly impoverished farmers, but opposed by wealthy landowners and government

30
Q

What does the Suez canal join?

A

Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea

31
Q

Who got permission in 1854 to build Suez Canal?

A

French entrepreneur named Ferdinand de Lesseps, who financed it himself plus sold shares mostly to French, in return for 99 year lease

32
Q

When was Suez Canal built?

A

1859 to 1869

33
Q

How was Suez Canal dug out?

A

mostly by hand by tens of thousands of forced labourers

34
Q

How much was Suez Canal supposed to cost and how much did it cost?

A

original estimate was 200m francs
actual cost was 433m francs

35
Q

Why did costs of Suez canal rise?

A

disease and technical problems

36
Q

Why was Suez Canal risky financially?

A

only suitable for steamships (not sailships) due to prevailing winds
political uncertainty in Egypt

37
Q

Give two reasons why building of Suez canal was commercially beneficial to Britain.

A
  1. Increased demand for steamships, which were often supplied by British shipyards.
  2. Reduced cost and time of trade from Britain to Asia
38
Q

How did Britain end up owning part of Suez Canal?

A

Khedive owed too much money so had to sell his shares, which the prime minister Disraeli bought for the nation by borrowing £4m from Rothschilds, which proved to be a great commercial investment as shipping using it increased, as well as secure British interests.

39
Q

Why was British purchase of Suez Canal shares in 1875 controversial?

A

done without approval of parliament and Gladstone and others suggested this was unconstitutional and could lead to future issues with other countries

40
Q

The export of what was banned from Zanzibar in 1822 and why?

A

slaves, persuaded by Britain (but import of slaves through Zanzibar continued)

41
Q

Why did Zanzibar increase in importance after slave export banned?

A

Low tariffs
On route between India and Europe
Export of African ivory, rubber, spices

42
Q

Where is Zanzibar?

A

island off coast of East Africa, now part of Tanzania

43
Q

Who owned Zanzibar?

A

Sultanate of Oman

44
Q

What happened to Zanzibar in 1890?

A

Britain and Germany carved up East Africa via a treaty, with Britain getting Zanzibar and establishing a protectorate (ie Zanzibar had some autonomy with Britain protecting it and having ultimate control.

45
Q

What happened in Zanzibar in 1896?

A

Anglo-Zanzibar War: Pro-British sultan died, his cousin seized power so Britain bombarded city in shortest war in history, that lasted 38 minutes with 500 Zanzabari casualties and one British sailor injured.

46
Q

What was the Great Game?

A

political and economic rivalry between Russian and British Empires in central Asia in 19th century

47
Q

How was the Great Game ended?

A

Border agreement finalised in 1895

48
Q

When did Japan capture Port Arthur (in China)?

A

1894

49
Q

How did Russia persuade France and Germany to support it in forcing withdrawal of Japan from Port Arthur?

A

by promising Russian support for their own interests in China

50
Q

Why did China lease Port Arthur to Russia in 1898?

A

to prevent return of Japanese and China couldn’t protect it effectively

51
Q

What did Britain do when Russia got Port Arthur?

A

Persuaded Chian to lease them port of Weihaiwei “for so long a period as Port Arthur shall remain in the occupation of Russia” so the Royal Navy could keep an eye on Port Arthur

52
Q

Why was lease of Weihaiwei significant?

A

No commercial value, but instead to protect Britain’s colonial interests in China

British Empire 1763-1914 (4 decks)

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