What was the significance of the evolution of Britain's network of ports, entepots and trade routes?

Question 1

What is an entrepot?

Answer 1

A port that operates on a free trade basis

Question 2

Who established a base in Singapore?

Answer 2

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

Question 3

How did they establish a base at Singapore

Answer 3

Persuaded the sultan of Jahore to leave

Question 4

Who inhabited Singapore?

Answer 4

Fishermen and pirates

Question 5

Why did they want a base on Singapore?

Answer 5

Natural harbour, fresh water and timber

Question 6

What did the base at Singapore challenged?

Answer 6

Dutch dominance over the Malay peninsula

Question 7

When did the Dutch recognise British control?

Answer 7

After establishing a joint force base to protect from piracy in 1824

Question 8

When did Britain take Singapore?

Answer 8

1819

Question 9

What was the straits settlement?

Answer 9

Singapore, Penang and malacca were ruled as the straits settlement from the EIC Headquarters in India

Question 10

How many merchant houses were there in Singapore in 1846?

Answer 10

20 merchant houses

Question 11

How many people were in Singapore in 1819 compared with 1860?

Answer 11

150 people in 1819 vs 80,000 in 1860

Question 12

How much was trade worth with Singapore in 1819 compared with 1824?

Answer 12

400,000 spanish dollars in 1819 vs 11 million spanish dollars in 1824

Question 13

What did we import from Singapore?

Answer 13

Oil

Question 14

What did we export to Singapore?

Answer 14

Textiles and guns

Question 15

Who settled in Singapore?

Answer 15

Jewish, Chinese, Arab and British

Question 16

How did they develop the economy in Singapore?

Answer 16

Built banks, merchant houses and auction houses

Question 17

Why were the British confined to Canton?

Answer 17

Strict enforcement of Chinese laws kept them there

Question 18

Were the British successful in negotiating expansion out of Canton?

Answer 18

No, ambassadors were sent in 1792 and 1816 but failed to negotiate

Question 19

Why did we start to import and sell opium to China?

Answer 19

To solve the imbalance of trade as they didn’t want our manufactured goods in exchange of tea

Question 20

How many pounds of tea were the British consuming in 1794?

Answer 20

9 million pounds per year

Question 21

How many people in China were opium addicts?

Answer 21

14 million

Question 22

How did the opium wars start?

Answer 22

Emperor Daoguang ordered all British owned opium to be seized and forbade trade

Question 23

What was the British response to the banning of trade with China?

Answer 23

Lord Palmerston sent warhips

Question 24

When was the treaty of Nanking?

Answer 24

1842

Question 25

What were the main financial terms of the treaty of Nanking

Answer 25

6 million silver dollars in compensation for destroyed opium 3 million in debts to merchants in Canton 12 million in reparations

Question 26

What were the consequences for any later payments?

Answer 26

5% interest to any late payments

Question 27

What were the main land terms of the Treaty of Nanking?

Answer 27

Cede the island of Hong Kong Open ports of Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo and Shanghai

Question 28

What were import tariffs kept at at Shanghai?

Answer 28

5%

Question 29

What did British citizens gain in China?

Answer 29

Legal protection

Question 30

Why was Shanghai important?

Answer 30

Situated on River Yangtze, gave access to the interior of China

Question 31

What was the Shanghai municipal council?

Answer 31

Set up to govern the daily infrastructure of the Shanghai international settlement

Question 32

When was the Shanghai municipal council set up?

Answer 32

1854

Question 33

How was Shanghai run?

Answer 33

Carved up into autonomous concessions administered by the British, French and Americans

Question 34

What happened during the uprising in China and when was it?

Answer 34

Qing gov gave up sovereignty of the concessions to the foreign powers in exchange for their support in the rebellion 1853-1855

Question 35

What was the arrow affair?

Answer 35

Arrow sailing under the British flag was captured by the Chinese for piracy and smuggling

Question 36

When was the arrow affair?

Answer 36

1856

Question 37

What was the British response to the arrow affair?

Answer 37

Britain demanded the release of the ship Governor of Hong Kong ordered the shelling of Canton when no response was recieved

Question 38

What caused the British and French to attack China?

Answer 38

In 1860 an Anglo-French force attacked in retaliation for murder of negotiators in Beijing

Question 39

What happened at the Beijing convention?

Answer 39

Chinese were forced to sign a peace treaty and accept Britain's demands

Question 40

What did Britain acquire after the Beijing convention?

Answer 40

Kowloon harbour

Question 41

What were the "unequal treaties"?

Answer 41

China opening up 50 treaty ports to foreign powers

Question 42

How did Britain protect Shanghai?

Answer 42

Modern gunboats and weapons

Question 43

Who built the Suez Canal?

Answer 43

The french with their financial resources and expertise, along with Egyptian labour

Question 44

When did the Suez Canal open?

Answer 44

1869

Question 45

How much did the Suez Canal cut the route to India by

Answer 45

12,300 miles to 7,200 miles

Question 46

How did Britain get involved in the Suez Canal

Answer 46

Khedive Ismali went bankrupt and was going to sell his shares of the Canal to the French

Question 47

Who bought the shares in the Suez Canal and when?

Answer 47

PM Disraeli in 1775

Question 48

Who did Disraeli borrow money from?

Answer 48

£4 million from the Rothschild family

Question 49

What was the British reaction to Disraeli buying the shares?

Answer 49

Disraeli was criticised for his unlawful actions

Question 50

What did Gladstone say about the Suez Canal?

Answer 50

Gladstone warned that Britain would be drawn into political and military issues in Egypt

Question 51

What did the Suez Canal provide access to?

Answer 51

Oil reserves in the middle East Rapid expansion of trade with India and China Expansion of steamships

Question 52

How many tons of shipping went through the Suez Canal in 1882 and what % of it was British?

Answer 52

5 million tons and 80% was British

Question 53

Between 1868 and 1874 what did the tonnage entering British ports from Asia increase by?

Answer 53

178%

Question 54

How did foreign powers secure territory in Africa?

Answer 54

Sent scouts to Africa to secure treaties from indigenous people and their supposed representatives

Question 55

Why did Britain was involvement in Africa?

Answer 55

For power, profit, natural resources and a it was a market for manufactured goods

Question 56

What happened at the Berlin conference?

Answer 56

Britain, France, Germany and Portugal negotiated their claims to African territory

Question 57

What % of Africa did foreign powers say they wanted to conquer by 1900

Answer 57

90%

Question 58

What did Britain gain?

Answer 58

Egypt and the Sudan Kenya and Uganda Zimbabwe and Zambia Botswana, South Africa, Nigeria and ghana

Question 59

How was Zanzibar acquired?

Answer 59

Through the Heligoland-Zanzibar treaty on 1 July 1890

Question 60

What triggered the Anglo-Zanzibar war?

Answer 60

The sultan died and war broke out

Question 61

How did the British win the Anglo-Zanzibar war?

Answer 61

Destroyed the Beit al Hukum palace giving the new sultan 1 hour to leave, he refused and the British open fired for 45 minutes

Question 62

Who was declared the new ruler of Zanzibar?

Answer 62

Hamoud

Question 63

Why did Britain want Zanzibar?

Answer 63

Gave them access to the interior and it was used as a base to patrol the Indian ocean

Question 64

How was Zanzibar run?

Answer 64

As a protectorate as it was cheaper

Question 65

When was slavery banned in Zanzibar?

Answer 65

1882

Question 66

How many slaves were traded annually in Zanzibar?

Answer 66

50,000

Question 67

When did South Africa become a crown colony?

Answer 67

1885

Question 68

When was gold discovered in South Africa?

Answer 68

1886

Question 69

When did Britain acquire Egypt?

Answer 69

1882

Question 70

Why did Britain want Weihaiwei?

Answer 70

They had concerns over Russian expansion as they were the only power capable of threatening the British

Question 71

When did Japan capture Port Arthur?

Answer 71

1894 after defeating the Chinese in Korean

Question 72

How did Russia acquire Port Arthur?

Answer 72

Russia persuaded France and Germany to support an intervention force in Japan

Question 73

How many ships and tons did Russia have vs Japan?

Answer 73

Russia had 38 ships (95,000 tons) Japan had 31 ships (57,000 tons)

Question 74

When did Russia acquire Port Arthur?

Answer 74

It was leased to Russia by China in 1898 as they couldn't protect it

Question 75

When did Britain gain Weiheiwei?

Answer 75

1898

Question 76

What did they say about their presence in Weiheiwei?

Answer 76

They would be there "for so long a period as port Arthur shall remain in the occupation of Russia"