The Changing Nature and Extent of Trade
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- Created by: PatrickWhiteford
- Created on: 31-03-19 14:56
What was the issue at the end of the Seven Years' War?
Britain emerged victorious but indebted
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What was government debt as a percentage of GDP in 1763?
157%
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What had this risen to by 1821?
260%
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What was Britain attempting to pay for?
The American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars
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What strategies did Britain use?
Funding European armies to fight France, maintaining naval squadrons at sea to blockade French ports
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However, what else were they?
VERY expensive
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What kept Britain solvent during this period?
The income that Britain generated through trade
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What issues did Britain still face?
Maintaining land and sea squadrons across the globe
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What was government policy originally?
Protectionist and mercantilist
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What did this mean?
The British attempted to obtain advantageous trading relationships with the colonies while protecting British producers from competition
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What was the effect of this on Britain's colonies?
Alienated them, stifled trade and led to high prices due to a lack of competition
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What was evidence of this?
Rebellion in Ireland and the American War of Independence
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What was free trade?
Where the government aimed to increase the overall volume of trade by reducing taxes
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How did Britain get other countries to do the same?
Diplomacy or coercion (gunboat diplomacy)
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Why did the free trade policy benefit Britain's merchants?
They could produce manufactured goods far cheaper than those of their rivals
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What challenged this model?
Other European powers vying for dominance
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Why did other colonial powers want colonies?
Colonies were viewed as inherently valuable by ideological imperialists in Britain
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What happened as a result?
The Scramble for Africa; European nations divided up the continent
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What type of nation would eventually overtake Britain in terms of industrial production?
The powers with the smallest colonial empires
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How was Britain involved in the slave trade?
Slavers' vessels set sail from England; traded goods such as alcohol and firearms for slaves at West African ports
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Where were most of these slaves destined for?
The Caribbean, from there they would be sold on to Spanish America or New England
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What would the slavers then take back to England?
Raw materials produced on plantations such as sugar or cotton
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Which ships dominated the Triangular Trade by the 18th century?
British ships
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How much profit did Thomas Leyland's ship "Lottery" make?
A profit of £12,091; selling human lives at an average of £50 a head
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Who was Thomas Leyland?
A millionaire banker and three times mayor of Liverpool
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What else did the slave trade make wealthy?
The ports that the slaver ships sailed from
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Which ports did slaver ships sail from?
Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow
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By the 1790s how many ships sailed from Bristol?
Around 120-130 ships per year
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Who largely owned the Caribbean island of Nevis?
A handful of Bristol families such as the Pinneys
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Who provided much of the capital to the slave traders?
It was provided on credit by English bankers
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What did this mean?
By lodging money with these bankers, many of the British gentry were indirectly investing in the slave trade
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How did the government benefit?
Through taxes and tariffs; they used this money to fund European wars
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What was an additional benefit?
A new pool of skilled sailors who could be recruited into the Royal Navy
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What meant that there was never a shortage of demand for new slaves?
African men and women were often worked to death before they could reproduce
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What did this mean?
Powerful vested interests that led to strong support for the slave trade
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What did The Gentleman's Magazine claim in 1766?
That "Upwards of 40" Members of Parliament were either planters or had business interests in plantations
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Who was William Beckford?
Twice mayor of London, owned thousands of acres in Jamaica and was one of the wealthiest men in Britain
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Who was Sir Richard Neave?
Governor of the Bank of England from 1783-85, also chaired the Society of West Indian Merchants
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What did the Church of England own in Barbados?
The Codrington plantations, with some 400 slaves
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Who were the Quakers?
A Christian minority who petitioned for the abolition of the slave trade
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What major breakthrough was achieved in 1787?
The Quakers joined forces with other non-conformist groups
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Who was persuaded to lead a grassroots campaign for abolition?
William Wilberforce
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How did abolitionists petition for the abolition of the slave trade?
Gathered evidence of the horrors of slavery, exposed them to the public via pamphlets, posters, books and debates
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When did Wilberforce launch a Parliamentary campaign?
1789
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What meant that Wilberforce's timing couldn't be worse?
France erupted into revolution in 1789, leading to renewed hostility with Britain; following a slave rebellion in Haiti, France emancipated the slaves
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What did this mean that Wilberforce's position became?
A pro-French position
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How did Britain react to the slave rebellion on Haiti?
Conspired with loyalist French plantation owners and invaded the island
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What did Britain want to re-install?
The lucrative sugar and coffee plantations
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What did this mean?
Parliament consistently voted against Wilberforce's bills
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What had led to the situation slanting in the Abolitionists' favour by 1802?
British hopes of seizing Haiti ended due to a huge loss of life, Napoleon had seized power and sent an expedition to restore slavery on the island
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What did this lead to?
The slaves rebelled and the British found themselves supporting the slaves to undermine the French
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What happened in 1804?
Wilberforce successfully passed a bill through the House of Commons, although it was defeated in the Lords
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What was the Foreign Slave Trade Bill?
Prohibited British subjects from supplying slaves to French colonies
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Why was this necessary?
Although British ships were not permitted to trade with the French during a time of war, many did so by flying the American flag
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What did the Bill receive?
Widespread public support, which continued into the 1806 election when abolitionist MPs were elected
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When did Britain's part in the slave trade officially end?
1807
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What could have contributed to the end of the slave trade?
Humanitarianism; anti-French sentiment; declining fortunes
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What percentage of the income of Bristol's population came from the slave trade in the 1780s?
40%
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What weakened the market for the slave trade?
Losses to foreign privateers during Britain's prolonged wars, threat of disease on tropical voyages, the impact of the slave rebellions
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What proportion of ships in the 18th century would lose money?
One in ten would not turn a profit
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In 1778, how much money did Liverpool merchants lose?
£700,000
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What might this suggest?
It was the worsening economic fortunes of slave traders which caused the abolitionists to gain power
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What happened in 1834?
While it had been hoped that slavery would wither away without the trade to sustain it, this did not occur. In 1834 the slaves were emancipated
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How much did the government pay out?
£20,000,000 to the owners of over 700,000 slaves
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What was this as a proportion of government expenditure?
40% of government expenditure in that year
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What did aspirant British businessmen learn from the Spanish Empire?
The discovery of huge silver mines in Americas helped them to finance an empire
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However what critically did they learn?
International merchants, mercenaries and craftsmen who supplied the Spanish with the means to fund an empire
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What philosophy did this create?
Mercantilism
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What did the philosophy of mercantilism state?
Wealth was created when a country exported a higher value of goods than it imported
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Why would countries that had a negative balance of trade be poorer?
They would need to spend all of their gold and silver to make up the difference
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Under this thinking, what should be the aim of government policy?
The aim of government policy should be to obtain positive balances of trade and to prevent rival countries from doing the same
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What was not the aim under mercantilism?
Accumulating vast amounts of treasure, as this would lead to inflation, it would instead be re-invested
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What was the name of Adam Smith's 1776 book?
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
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What did Smith attack in this book?
Smith argued that import and export tariffs prevented trade from operating effectively by constraining merchants from finding best deals
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What did Smith propose would happen under free trade?
He proposed that both sides would win, unlike the "win or lose" policy under mercantile theory
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Why was the process of transition towards free trade a slow process?
Many of the tariffs were designed to give British goods, particularly agricultural goods, a commercial advantage; Parliament was dominated by wealthy landowners
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Why did wealthy landowners support the retention of mercantilism?
They wanted to protect the income of their estates
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Why was mercantilism the go-to policy in Ireland?
The agricultural commodities produced in Ireland were very similar to the commodities produced in England
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What made Irish agriculture still competitive though?
The combination of large estates, excellent grazing land and cheap labour made Irish agriculture successful
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What was Dublin in 1750?
The second largest and most prosperous city in the British Empire
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In that year, what was the value of the Irish economy?
The value of exports from Ireland was £1.9m and the value of imports was £1.5m
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By 1790, what had this reached?
Exports reached £4.9m and imports £3.8m
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What did this indicate?
The Irish economy was growing steadily with a positive balance of trade
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Why was trade policy a substantial political issue in Ireland?
Ireland's wealth was concentrated in a relatively small number of mainly Anglo-Irish Protestant landowners
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What did this mean for the Irish-Catholic peasants?
They remained poor
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What did this mean for the growing middle classes?
They were frustrated by the restrictions on Irish trade
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What influenced Irish protestors?
Calls for no taxation without representation
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What were formed?
Societies of armed volunteers to protect the country from a possible French invasion
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What did these armed volunteers do in 1778?
They protested in Dublin with a cannon, on which was hung a sign reading "Free trade or this!"
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Who did the government consult in 1779 on how to deal with the protestors?
Adam Smith
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How did Smith describe the measures Britain had placed on Ireland?
"Unjust and oppressive"
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What were the Irish not able to do?
Export glass or silk anywhere, raw wool anywhere except Britain
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Why was Ireland granted free trade?
To prevent conflict
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What did the introduction of free trade not lead to?
A collapse in the prices of agricultural goods; as was expected
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Why did the price of goods not collapse?
Due to the massive demand for such products created by the war with Napoleonic France
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What could this be described as?
The first major victory for free trade
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What showed the strength of protectionist interests in Parliament?
The passing of the Corn Laws, designed to keep grain prices high by excluding foreign grain from British markets
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Why were wealthy landowners opposed to attempts to introduce free trade?
Would reduce the profits made from their estates
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What did this mean?
That although Tory Prime Ministers, including Pitt, Canning, Liverpool supported free trade, made little progress
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What changed the political landscape?
The election of the Whigs in 1830 who promised parliamentary reform
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What was passed in 1832?
The Representation of the People Act
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What did the Representation of the People Act lead to?
Extended the electorate by 250,000 people, expanded constituency boundaries
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What did this mean for the social position of manufacturers?
Manufacturers and consumers would have a much larger role in determining trade policy
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What political position did these groups usually hold?
Were typically opposed to protectionist measures, which kept prices high in England
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What was the Anti-Corn Law League?
Powerful lobbying group in favour of free trade
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What were the Corn Laws?
It was designed to keep grain prices high by excluding foreign grain from British markets
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Who was Sir Robert Peel?
Founder of the Conservatives in 1834, supported free trade
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At this time, what was the Conservative Party divided into?
An uneasy coalition of "Peelites" and "Old Tories"
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What happened during the 1841 election?
Conservatives secured a majority, Peel became Prime Minister
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What did the government under Peel achieve?
Scrapped 1,200 import tariffs between 1842 and 1846
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What were the Navigation Acts?
Set out a mercantilist economic relationship between Britain and its colonies
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What was the key aim of mercantilism?
To achieve a positive balance of trade; meaning that the country exported more than it imported
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How was this achieved?
Through protectionism; where governments used taxes, tariffs and quotas to discourage non-colony trade
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When were the Navigation Acts passed?
Between 1651 and 1673
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What prevailing view about colonialism did these reflect?
That the colonies existed for the economic benefit of Britain
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What did the Navigation Acts mean?
Colonial goods produced for export could only be carried on English ships
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What did the Acts mean for certain goods?
They had to be shipped to an English port even if they were then set to be shipped on to another destination
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What goods did this affect?
Sugar, cotton, indigo, dyewoods, ginger and tobacco
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What did the Acts mean for European imports to British colonies?
They needed to land at an English port and then be shipped onwards
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Why did the laws not cause any issues to the American colonies?
The colonies largely produced raw materials anyway
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What ensured a good relationship between Britain and its colonies?
Salutary neglect meant that Britain did not enforce the trade regulations too tightly
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What led to this changing?
French aggression; Britain had to create a large standing army in North America to deter France from aggression there
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What did the government aim to do?
Make the North American colonies pay for their own protection
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How did they aim to do this?
A series of laws were passed to generate enough revenue to fund the Army
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Who enforced the collection of taxes?
The Royal Navy, who were able to enforce taxes much more effectively than the customs officials
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What else did the Royal Navy begin doing?
Seizing ships and impressing their crews
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What was this policy?
Annoyed the merchants of New England who depended on trade with the Caribbean
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What did this mean?
They found these routes financially disadvantageous
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What would this lead to?
Although this saw the scaling back of some of the most extreme measures, the policy remained a key cause of the American War of Independence in 1775
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What did Peel do on becoming Prime Minister in 1841?
Launched his landmark budget; abolished hundreds of protectionist tariffs
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Which two major protectionist laws remained?
The sugar duties and the Corn Laws
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Why were the Sugar Duties so important?
Ensured preferential rates for sugar producers in the British West Indies
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Why had this become relevant?
After the abolition of slave ownership in 1833 they were uncompetitive compared to slave colonies like Cuba and Brazil
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When did Peel abolish these tariffs?
1846
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What led Peel to suggest the repeal of the Corn Laws?
The potato famine in Ireland
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What did Peel do that split the Conservative Party?
Pushed the Importation Act 1846 through Parliament
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What did the 1846 Importation Act lead to?
Economic decline in the West Indies as plantation owners lost business to slave-grown foreign sugar
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What was the effect on Ireland?
Negligible
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How many people died in Ireland between 1846 and 1852?
One million people died; another million were forced to emigrate
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What happened after Peel's resignation?
The Whigs under Lord Russell continued to expand the government's free trade policy
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What demonstrates the dominance of the free trade movement?
The repeal of the Navigation Acts
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Why was this significant?
The Navigation Acts had been the backbone of British defence policy for the last 200 years
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What did this therefore mean that the Acts were doing, showing their importance?
Placing free trade ahead of national defence in terms of importance
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What did Adam Smith think about the Navigation Acts?
Adam Smith thought that the needs of the Navy should come before the needs of the merchants
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What could be said to have happened by 1849?
Free trade dominated government thinking to the point where these concerns could be overruled
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What had Britain learned from North America?
Could not enforce colonial rule over overseas colonies
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Who drove British territorial expansion?
British merchants led the way, motivated by profit rather than conquest
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What was emerging at this time, however?
An imperial ideology based on free trade and naval supremacy
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What was the government willing to do by the 1840s?
Willing to dispatch warships and acquire naval bases in the Far East to protect its merchants
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What was the EIC aiming to do by the 1800s?
Expand trade with China
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Why?
Lost its monopoly on trade with China in 1813, yet retained its monopoly on trade with China
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What was growing in England?
Desire for a range of goods including tea, silk and porcelain
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What was the issue with trade with China?
Foreign trade was heavily regulated
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What trading conditions made life tough?
Not allowed to leave their trading base at Canton; only licenced to deal with a guild of merchants known as Hongs; were heavily taxed by the local governor
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What other issue affected British trade in the area?
The only way to reach Canton from India was through the Strait of Malacca
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What did the Dutch do?
Still operating under protectionist policy, the Dutch either refused the British entry into their ports or charged high tariffs for the privilege
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Who was Sir Stamford Raffles?
A Jamaican-born colonial administrator
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What was his desire?
Undermine the Dutch presence in Malaysia by opening up trade routes with China
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What did Raffles get?
Permission from his EIC superiors to set up a trade route to China
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What was true about this new settlement?
The British government were initially unaware of its existence
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What other issues faced this new territory?
The extent to which local rulers ceded sovereignty was unclear under the treaty; the Dutch were angered by encroachment on their territory
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What were the Dutch adamant about in the Anglo-Dutch treaty?
Britain should withdraw from Singapore
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What secured the future of the British colony at Singapore?
The rapid growth of the port of Singapore
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In its founding year of 1819, how much trade passed through Singapore?
Trade worth 400,000 Spanish dollars
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What had this reached by the time of the finalisation of the Anglo-Dutch treaty?
This volume increased by 2,700% to 11 million Spanish dollars
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Who noted this?
British government negotiators; who refused to give up Singapore
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What was behind Singapore's explosive growth?
It status as an entrepot
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What is an entrepot?
A place where ships of all nationalities could dock without incurring tariffs
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What was this choice?
A deliberate one by Raffles, who sought to make a staging post for the India-China trade route
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What happened in Singapore?
It quickly drew merchants from the Malay archipelago
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What was significant about Singapore?
Goods did not need to make the whole journey; ships with goods from China destined for Britain could offload in Singapore
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How did it undercut the Dutch?
Ships could acquire spices from the Malay archipelago without visiting expensive Dutch ports
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By 1846, how many British merchant houses did Singapore have?
20 British merchant houses
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Which cities had attempted the entrepot status before?
Amsterdam and Antwerp
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What did Singapore demonstrate?
It showed that an empire run on free trade would work
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Why did Singapore not resolve all issues with India-China trade?
Strict enforcement of Chinese trade laws meant that British merchants could not travel to negotiate directly with producers
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What other issues affected trade with China?
Piracy in the region
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What trade issues existed with China?
Chinese demand for British exports (British wool and Indian cotton) did not meet the growing British demand for Chinese goods
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What existed?
A negative balance of trade
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What did the EIC see as being the solution?
Selling opium in China, which could be cheaply grown in India
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How much opium did China import in 1775?
75 tonnes
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How much opium did China import in 1822?
347 tonnes
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What was true until 1833?
Other British merchants were initially prohibited by entering the trade because of EIC monopoly
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By 1839, how many Chinese people were on opium?
Between 4 million and 12 million
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What was achieved by 1839?
The balance of trade was reversed
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How did the Chinese react in 1839?
Chinese troops blockaded Canton, smuggler ships were boarded and 1,000 tonnes of opium were burned
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How did Britain react?
Dispatched an expedition to China with an ultimatum without waiting to discuss the matter in Parliament
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Who took this decision?
Lord Palmerston
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What could be said about Lord Palmerston?
He was a believer in both Britain's imperial destiny and free trade
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What was gunboat diplomacy?
Using the might of the Royal Navy to intimidate other powers in diplomatic disputes
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What happened next?
Britain's advanced naval power easily thrashed the antiquated Chinese ships that opposed them
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What did the British do?
Seized Hong Kong in 1841
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Why was Hong Kong selected?
Included one of the best deep water harbours in the world
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What were its strategic advantages in terms of location with China?
Hong Kong was an ideal location for ocean-going vessels to offload cargo without paying tariffs
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What else could the British force the Chinese government to do?
Open new trading ports
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How much did the population of Hong Kong grow by from 1841 to 1900?
From 15,000 in 1841 to 300,000 in 1900
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As the city grew, what did Britain do?
Pressure the Chinese into allowing the expansion of the settlement into Kowloon and the New Territories
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What was the Treaty of Nanking known as?
The first of the Unequal Treaties; as Britain had a significant display of naval strength
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What were some of the terms of the Treaty of Nanking?
Grant British citizens legal protections in China; cede the island of Hong Kong to Britain; open the ports of Amoy, Ningpo and Shanghai to foreign traders
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Why was Shanghai the most significant new port?
The city is situated at the mouth of China's largest river, the Yangtze
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What was Shanghai at this stage?
A major trading port for China; yet the EIC had been refused permission to trade in the port
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What could the British now do under the new treaty?
Trade with anyone; not just the Hong majority
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What was Shanghai?
The gateway to previously inaccessible territory
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What was the status of Shanghai?
Still Chinese territory under Chinese law, yet the British established a territory that was effectively self-governing
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What became clear after the establishment of British territory in Shanghai?
The Chinese government could not resist demands of foreign powers
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Which other foreign powers also took advantage of the situation in China?
The Americans established a settlement in 1848 and the French in 1849
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What was the Shanghai Municipal Council?
Established by businessmen to co-ordinate services like road maintenance
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What was significant about Shanghai?
It was the first of a new type, a colonial city that was neither answerable to the country on whose territory it stood, nor under the control of an imperial power
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What was true about the Shanghai Municipal Council?
Chinese were not allowed to sit on the council
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What grew under this model?
The opium trade
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What did the opium trade reach by 1880?
6,500 tonnes of opium
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What was true about trade with China?
Although British merchants could now travel up the Yangtze to trade; they preferred to trade with middlemen in Shanghai
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What domestic political situations in China led to this situation?
The authority of the Chinese emperor had been fatally undermined, violence broke out in 1850 with the Taiping Rebellion
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What did this lead to?
A civil war in which 20 to 30 million Chinese died
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Why was Shanghai not threatened by the turmoil?
They had the protection of modern gunboats and other weapons provided by the British
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What was the status of Shanghai businessmen?
Benefitted from the war, especially through arms sales to the embattled Chinese emperor
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What suggested the importance of the Suez isthmus strategically?
In 1798 Napoleon had invaded Egypt with the specific objective of attacking British commerce and threatening the trade routes to India and the East Indies
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What happened in 1854?
A French entrepreneur named Ferdinand de Lesseps obtained a concession from the khedive of Egypt to build the canal
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What did Lesseps get in return?
A 99-year lease on its operation
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Where was a majority of the stock sold?
Most of the shares were sold in France
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How many did the Khedive himself buy?
44%
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What was the initial budget of the project?
Construction had been estimated at 200 million francs
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How much was it completed for?
433 million francs
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Why was the commercial value of the canal unclear?
It was only suitable for steamships
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What made investing in the canal a risky venture?
Political uncertainty in Egypt made it a risky investment
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What was the initial shipping passing through the canal?
Lower than expected at 436,000 tonnes in 1870
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What impact did the canal have?
A great impact on long distance trade routes
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Why did sailing ships continue to dominate long-distance trade around the Cape of Good Hope?
Steamships consumed large amounts of costly coal
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In 1868, what percentage of goods arriving from Asia arrived on steamships?
Only 2% of 1.1 million tonnes
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What percentage of goods arriving from Europe, N. America and the Meditteranean arrived on steamships?
60% of 7.5 million tonnes
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Why did this benefit Britain's imperial desires?
Because the canal was not practical for sailing ships, steamships became competitive for the first time. Britain had industrialised, as such it now had an advantage
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By 1874, what proportion of the tonnage passing through the canal was British?
Three-quarters of the tonnage passing through the canal was British
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What did the British government begin to fear at this time?
They became politically concerned about the lack of British influence
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Why?
It was a vital lifeline to India and they were dependant on the French
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What presented an opportunity to acquire influence in the canal?
In 1875, the heavily indebted Khedive was forced to sell his stock to the canal to meet the demands of his creditors
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What did Disraeli do when he heard of this?
Borrowed money from the Rothschilds at short notice
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What did this allow him to do?
Acquire the Khedive's shares for £4,000,000 without issuing bonds or informing Parliament
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What did this prove to be?
A good investment, dividends on the shares gradually increased from 4.7% to 33% in 1911
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What did tonnage passing through the canal reach in 1911?
18,324,000 tonnes
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How did Disraeli justify his purchasing of Suez Canal shares?
It was a way to secure a "great hold" over Egypt and secure "a highway to our Indian empire"
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How did this differ from previous rationalisations of colonial expansion?
His intention was to advance Britain's geopolitical interests rather than deliberately provide the nation with financial gains
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How was Disraeli criticised?
Criticised in the House of Commons by Gladstone
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What did Gladstone warn?
Britain risked being drawn into military conflict in Egypt
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What was the position of Zanzibar before British intervention?
It was a hub where goods were bought by coastal traders and then loaded onto ocean-going ships
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What did the trade from Zanzibar rely on?
Slaves and ivory
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When did British interest in the region begin to increase?
1815
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What was initial British interest?
Not territorial in nature
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What were Britain's main concerns?
Safeguarding trade routes to India; suppressing the slave trade
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How was this achieved?
Diplomatic intervention by consular officials at key ports
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What could the British do?
Influence local rulers through intimidation
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What did the British do?
Applied this pressure to Zanzibar
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What happened in 1822?
The British persuaded the Sultan to ban the export of slaves from Zanzibar
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What happened as a result of British efforts to end the slave trade?
British diplomats were drawn into Zanzibar's domestic politics
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What did diplomats do?
Supported candidates for Sultan who would further British interests
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What did the loss of the slave trade lead to?
Diminished the traditional importance of Zanzibar as a trading post to the Arabian peninsula
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Why did Zanzibar's status as an entrepot go?
The route between India and Europe where merchants could acquire African ivory and rubber
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Between 1859 and 1879 how much did the volume of European and American ships docking at Zanzibar grow by?
Grew from 65 ships and 18,877 tonnes to 96 ships and 95,403 tonnes
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What did the sultan do under the influence of European powers?
Kept tariffs low
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What was evidence of this?
In 1844 signed a treaty keeping import tariffs at a reasonable 5%
259 of 305
What would the new status of Zanzibar be?
Would retain its independence as an Islamic state, albeit under British influence
260 of 305
Why was East Africa not desirable for European investors or governments?
It did not have a large river system, thus it would require railways
261 of 305
What financial issues existed?
Financiers in Europe were unwilling to provide funding for speculative projects
262 of 305
What was the new type of imperialist emerging in East Africa?
A new type of imperialist, driven by patriotism and status than by commercial gain
263 of 305
What had many of them tried to achieve?
Set up trade concessions in East Africa, these ventures failed due to a lack of capital
264 of 305
What did Karl Peters achieve?
German initiative obtained trading concessions on the mainland
265 of 305
Why did the East German Trading Company survive?
Peters was successful in obtaining government support
266 of 305
What had Bismarck's initial position been on colonialism?
He was unwilling to get involved in German colonial expansion
267 of 305
What happened in 1885?
Bismarck published a declaration stating that Peters was under imperial protection
268 of 305
How did Bismarck ensure the survival of the colony?
Encouraged the Kaiser to invest £25,000 of his personal fortune into the project
269 of 305
What did the German government do in 1904?
Sponsored the construction of a railway into the interior
270 of 305
What did German intervention do to the British trade position in East Africa?
It made the British more interventionist
271 of 305
What was evidence of this?
William McKinnon attempted to establish an exclusive trade concession, couldn't get government support
272 of 305
What did Mackinnon achieve later?
Secured £250,000 for the British East Africa Association
273 of 305
Who funded this Company?
Private investors; generally ardent imperialists
274 of 305
What was the issue with the Association?
It never made money
275 of 305
What was the evidence of this?
By 1892 its expenditure was £85,000 and its income was only £35,000
276 of 305
Why was the idea of establishing colonies in Africa's interior looking increasingly desirable?
In order to safeguard the upper reaches of the Nile
277 of 305
What did the government do despite the dire financial position of the Association?
The government established a number of East African protectorates in 1895; funded a railway from Mombasa to Uganda in 1896
278 of 305
As Britain and Germany vied for territorial control, whose wishes were ignored?
Those of the sultan; who had controlled the area for 200 years
279 of 305
What was decided in the 1890 treaty?
The Germans gave up Zanzibar in exchange for Heligoland, a tiny island in the North Sea
280 of 305
What did this treaty establish in Zanzibar?
A British protectorate
281 of 305
Who were not involved in the negotiations?
The Zanzibaris
282 of 305
What did Lord Salisbury say about the protectorate status?
It was "more acceptable for the half civilised races and more suitable for them."
283 of 305
What demonstrated British dominance of Zanzibar?
The Anglo-Zanzibar War
284 of 305
Why?
The pro-British sultan died; the British wanted a different successor to the one appointed; they bombarded the city
285 of 305
What was the casualty count?
500 Zanzibaris died; 1 British sailor was injured
286 of 305
What had been demonstrated by the end of the 19th century?
Industrialisation made or broke an empire; industrialised groups of small men could easily defeat traditional forces
287 of 305
However, what was changing by this time?
Britain's advantage as the first industrialised country; France, Germany, the USA and Japan were rapidly emerging as competitors
288 of 305
What was true about Russia?
It was slow to industrialise, had very low productivity compared to these countries
289 of 305
What had Britain and Russia been in the 19th century?
Major strategic opponents, however they only came to war once during the Crimean War
290 of 305
Why was Britain troubled by Russia's expansion in Central Asia?
Could threaten British India by land; their power base was well away from the oceans dominated by the Royal Navy, Britain's power base
291 of 305
What was the "Great Game"?
An economic and political power struggle between the UK and Russia
292 of 305
What was the Tsar wanting to do in the East?
Expand the Russian Empire, to open up Russian involvement in the Chinese opium trade through the acquisition of warm-water ports
293 of 305
What was the changing status of China at this time?
China had formerly been powerless to resist incursions, Chinese gov't invested in military modernisation
294 of 305
What did the Chinese build in 1880?
Port Arthur; a point of int'l tension with Japan
295 of 305
What happened in 1894?
Japan captured the port in 1894
296 of 305
How did Russia react?
Russian Empire saw this as an opportunity to capture the strategic port
297 of 305
Who was Russia able to persuade to join in?
France and Germany
298 of 305
Why was Britain concerned about the situation?
Britain was reluctant to get involved in a power struggle between China, Japan and Russia; yet Russian interference in the area raised the prospect of a new "Great Game" to protect British interests in China
299 of 305
How did Britain respond?
Ordered the Chinese to open the port from where Britain could oversee developments at Port Arthur
300 of 305
What secured this?
The 1898 lease of Weihaiwei
301 of 305
What was significant about Weihaiwei?
British colonial interests had become strategic, as there was no economic necessity to holding Weihaiwei
302 of 305
What revealed the true function of the lease?
Its duration in the lease: "For so long as the Russians control Port Arthur."
303 of 305
What was also true about East Africa?
British supported the taking of protectorates to prevent German expansionism
304 of 305
What was the situation at Weihaiwei?
Britain seized the nearest harbour it could to Port Arthur to prevent Russian influence
305 of 305
Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
What was government debt as a percentage of GDP in 1763?
Back
157%
Card 3
Front
What had this risen to by 1821?
Back
Card 4
Front
What was Britain attempting to pay for?
Back
Card 5
Front
What strategies did Britain use?
Back
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