1.3 - Trade and Commerce 1857-1890

Question 1

Define commerce.

Answer 1

Activities that help facilitate the exchange of goods

Question 2

What is mercantilism?

Answer 2

A system whereby colonies had been obliged to send most of their produce to Britain

Question 3

What is free trade?

Answer 3

Trade without restrictions.

Question 4

Why did free trade come to dominate economic thinking in the 19th century?

Answer 4

Mercantilism was dismantled under the influence of new theories of ‘free trade’

Question 5

What role did Britain play in promoting free trade?

Answer 5

Britain was the world’s foremost trading nation, actively supporting free trade agreements and using threats to achieve them.

Question 6

What were the consequences of free trade for British colonies?

Answer 6

Imperial trade and investment grow

Approximately 20% of foodstuffs and raw materials came from British colonies.

Question 7

What technological improvements supported the growth in trade?

Answer 7

Innovation in, shipbuilding, telegraph lines, railways

Question 8

What was the impact of steamships on trade?

Answer 8

Steamships increased cargo capacity, could travel faster, and extended Britain’s reach into previously inaccessible countries.

Question 9

What was the significance of railways in the British Empire?

Answer 9

Railways ensured British control and opened new areas for economic development

Question 10

How did canals support trade?

Answer 10

Canals provided important means of transport for trading purposes and were developed to avoid hazardous stretches of water.

Question 11

What agricultural goods did Britain import from its colonies?

Answer 11

Wool, sugar, coffee, cocoa, and palm oil

Question 12

What mineral goods were sourced from British colonies?

Answer 12

Tin, gold, diamonds, copper, coal

Question 13

Where and when were gold deposits found prompting a gold rush?

Answer 13

1886 in the Transvaal

Question 14

True or False: Free trade led to the establishment of London’s financial capital.

Answer 14

True

Question 15

What percentage of British exports went to its Empire?

Answer 15

Approximately 1/3

Question 16

What percentage of all imports came from colonies between 1850-1875?

Answer 16

20%

Question 17

Which country was essential to Britain’s economy?

Answer 17

India

Question 18

What was the increase in value of British imports of raw cotton from India from 1854 to 1876?

Answer 18

From £1.6 million to £5.8 million

Question 19

What types of precious materials were mined that brought wealth to Britain?

Answer 19

Gold and diamonds

Question 20

What was one immediate impact of imperial free trade on indigenous manufacturing?

Answer 20

Collapse of local industries

Question 21

What was the British Navy’s status in the 19th century?

Answer 21

The biggest in the world

Question 22

What military actions did the British Navy enable to protect British interests?

Answer 22

Naval bombardments, seizure of ships, land raids, punitive expeditions

Question 23

What was the concern regarding naval power in the 1880s?

Answer 23

Growing concern about naval weakness

Question 24

What are Chartered Companies?

Answer 24

Commercial organisations granted privileges by the government

Question 25

What did chartered companies often have that prevented competition?

Answer 25

Monopolies

Question 26

What led to the decline of chartered companies in the 1850s?

Answer 26

The advent of free trade and the Indian mutiny

Question 27

What was the purpose of the Imperial Federation League founded in 1884?

Answer 27

To promote colonial unity and support for Chartered Companies

Question 28

What company received a charter in ____ to administer North Borneo?

Answer 28

North Borneo Trading Company (NBTC) in 1881

Question 29

What natural resources were found in North Borneo that benefitted the NBTC?

Answer 29

Coal, iron, copper, coffee, and tobacco

Question 30

Why was North Borneo strategically important for Britain?

Answer 30

It was a key site in the South China Sea and a midpoint between India and Hong Kong

Question 31

What significant changes did the NBTC implement in Borneo?

Answer 31

Removed slavery and built railways

Question 32

Who founded the Royal Niger Company and when was its charter granted?

Answer 32

George Goldie; charter granted in 1886

Question 33

What was the main area of interest for the Royal Niger Company?

Answer 33

Niger River basin

Question 34

What were the primary trade goods for the Royal Niger Company?

Answer 34

Palm oil and cocoa

Question 35

How many treaties did the Royal Niger Company make with local chiefs?

Answer 35

Over 400 treaties

Question 36

What was the fate of the Royal Niger Company's charter?

Answer 36

Revoked in 1900

Question 37

What was the Imperial British East Africa Company's charter in response to?

Answer 37

Growing German interest in East Africa

Question 38

Who founded the Imperial British East Africa Company?

Answer 38

William Mackinnon

Question 39

What were the primary areas of interest for the Imperial British East Africa Company?

Answer 39

Uganda, Kenya, and Zanzibar

Question 40

What was the Imperial British East Africa Company's aim regarding local chiefs?

Answer 40

To build trade and open new markets

Question 41

What year was the charter of the Imperial British East Africa Company revoked?

Answer 41

1894

Question 42

What prompted the formation of the British South Africa Company?

Answer 42

Success of the Royal Niger Company and desire for mineral wealth

Question 43

Who was the influential figure behind the British South Africa Company?

Answer 43

Cecil Rhodes

Question 44

What 5 resources did the British South Africa Company hope to mine?

Answer 44

Gold, diamonds, coal, copper, and iron ore

Question 45

Fill in the blank: The areas seized by the British South Africa Company eventually became the colony of _____

Answer 45

Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)

Question 46

What percent of the worlds diamond mines did Rhodes control?

Answer 46

90