Trade And Commerce Flashcards by Ella Ketteman

Chapter 1: imports and exports from Empire

20% import
33% export

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Imperial Federation League created

1884

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Imperial Federation League disbanded

1893

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Suez Canal opened

1869

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Disraeli bought Pasha’s 44% share of Suez Canal

1875

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Colonial Conference 1887

Discussed the issue of whether there should be some special trading preference between colonies - creating a ‘free trade empire’
Turned down by Britain

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Colonies imposing tariffs against imported manufactures (including from Britain) [Chapter 1]

Canada in 1859
Australia in the 1860s

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Development of the triple expansion steam engine

1870s

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By the 1870s up the Niger

Several British companies were sending steam-trading vessels

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Where canals were built during Chapter 1

India: new canals developed on a huge scale after 1857
Canada: after 1867 canals were deepened, Welland Canal built
Egypt: Suez Canal opened in 1869

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Discovery of diamonds in Southern Africa

1867

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Discovery of gold in Southern Africa

1886

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Goods produced by tropical colonies

Sugar, coffee, cocoa, groundnuts, copra, palm oil

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Most renowned Indian crop

Tea

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Formation of the Kimberley Diamond Syndicate

1890

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The Long Depression

c1873 - c1896

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North Borneo Trading Company received a charter

1881

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Royal Niger Company received a charter

1886

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The Imperial British East Africa Company received a charter

1888

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The British South Africa Company received a charter

1889

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South Africa’s diamond mines in relation to global production

They were 90% of global diamond production and owned by Cecil Rhodes

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Traders (Chapter 1)

Cecil Rhodes
William Mackinnon
George Goldie

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Goldie persuaded all the British trading firms on the Niger river to join forces with his family firm to create a single company, the United African Company

1879
Controlled 30 trading posts

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Worth of India by 1914

Represented a large market
20% of Britain’s total exports
Worth almost £150 million to businesses

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Amount of beef from Canada that made up Britain’s total amount by 1914

10% of Britain’s beef

Amount of wheat flour from Canada that made up Britain’s total amount by 1914

15% of Britain’s wheat flour

Imports from West Africa (Chapter 2)

Cocoa, rubber, timber, peanuts, palm oil

Amount of wheat imported in 1894

Imported 64 million hundredweight of wheat 30.7 million from the USA 17.2 million from Russia Only 3.6 million from Canada

1896: Empire’s total trade

Worth £745 million

1896: Trade between countries of Empire

Worth £183 million

1897: Tropical Africa with British exports

Took only 1.2% of British exports

British investment between 1900 and 1913

Doubled from £2 billion to £4 billion

Where British capital went more to

USA India

The Colonial Loans and Colonial Stocks Act 1899 and 1900

Facilitated a number of infrastructure projects Including rail links into the African interior from the ports of Lagos and Mombasa

Joseph Chamberlain’s main idea

Imperial preference

Canada’s own trading agreements (before WW1)

Germany France Italy Japan

Swadeshi (self-sufficiency) movement in India, following Partition of Bengal

British textiles and goods were boycotted and burned in streets

1906 general election

Public roundly rejected Chamberlain’s proposals - food prices would have increased Favoured Liberal Party’s commitment to free trade

Railway Joseph Chamberlain initiated

Uganda Railway

By 1914 - British investment overseas in comparison to other countries

Invested twice the amount of the French and three times the amount of the Germans

Symbol of other nations mirroring Britain by adopting the gold standard

Showed Britain’s economic strength Gold standard - became basis for a global monetary system

Conferences Chamberlain convened

1897 and 1902

Chapter 2: imports and exports from Empire

25% Imports 37% Exports

How much did World War One cost for Britain?

£35,000 million

How much had to be borrowed from USA due to WW1?

$4 billion Because country’s reserves ran so low

How much more expensive was WW1 in comparison to 2nd Boer War?

13 times

How Britain was in severe debt after WW1

Much of Britain’s capital investment overseas had been wiped out Pound sterling had to be removed from the gold standard - gold reserves ran so low

New overseas competition Britain was facing after WW1 in traditional industries

Japan - textile production

Wall Street Crash

1929

In Sudan - British government allotted £3 million for the Gezira Cotton Scheme to increase cotton production

1920

In East Africa - British government allocated £10 million for improving rail and dock facilities

1925

The Great Depression

1930s (Collapse of international trade and markets for British industrial exports)

Financial crisis - forced country off the gold standard again

1931

India’s contribution to WW1 war effort

£146 million

2/3rds of India’s imports came from Britain

1914

Britain placed 11% tax on Indian imports

1917

Britain placed 25% tax on Indian imports

1931

Britain returned to gold standard (after WW1)

1925

The Colonial Development Act 1929

£1 million of British Treasury funds given for development projects across the Empire

Total value of British exports to the world in 1913

£525 million

Total value of British exports to the world in 1934

£378 million

Total value of British exports to the Empire in 1913

£195 million

Total value of British exports to the Empire in 1934

£166 million

Ottawa Conference 1932

British introduced a general 10% tax on all imports but the Crown Colonies were exempted Britain and the Dominions gave each other’s exports preferential treatment in their own markets

Total value of British imports from the Empire in 1913

£191 million

Total value of British imports from the Empire in 1934

£257

India and Burma absorbing fewer British exports

1909-13: 11.9% 1925-29: 11.6% 1934-38: 8%

British exports to British Empire 1909-13

35%

British exports to British Empire 1925-29

37.2%

British exports to British Empire 1934-38

41.3%

British imports from British Empire 1909-13

26.9%

British imports from British Empire 1925-29

32.9%

British imports from British Empire 1934-38

41.2%

Dominions that experienced serious economic problems

Australia and New Zealand The cost of their imports from Britain outstripped the income from their exports

Amount of shipping Britain lost during WW2

11.7 million tons

Loss of major colonies in Southeast Asia from 1942 to Japanese

Disrupted trade and cut off supplies of vital raw materials E.g. rubber from Malaya

Lend-Lease (borrowing from USA)

1941- August 1945

Overseas assets in relation to WW2

1/3 of Britain’s overseas assets were sold to pay for the war

John Maynard Keynes negotiated a massive US loan

In 1945 Conditions were tough - pound sterling had to be made freely convertible to dollars by spring 1947

The Sterling Crisis

Spring 1947 Britain almost ran out of its dollar reserves within 6 weeks and had to suspend free convertibility Revealed how weak the economy had become

The Colonial and Welfare Act 1940

Wrote off colonial debts Provided colonial grants/loans of up to £5 million per year

Colonial Development and Welfare Act 1945

Increased aid available to colonies to £120 million over 10 years Required each colony to produce 10 year development plan showing how it would use funds

EEC created

1957

The Suez Crisis

October 1956

Nasser announced the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company

16 July 1956

British membership of EEC vetoed

1963 1967

Approx 58% of all overseas investments in the UK in shares and securities were in Empire

1956

Imports from Commonwealth 1948

44.9% £933 million

Imports from Commonwealth 1954

48.3%

Imports from Commonwealth 1965

29.8%

Imports from Western Europe 1948

20.5%

Imports from Western Europe 1965

30.6%

Exports to Commonwealth 1948

46.1%

Exports to Commonwealth in 1960

35.7%

Exports to Commonwealth in 1965

27.9%

Exports to Western Europe in 1948

24.8%

Exports to Western Europe in 1965

32.5%

Sterling Devaluation

1967

Boycott of British imported goods by workers

1948 Gold Coast (Ghana) Encouraged by Kwame Nkrumah

Colonial Development Corporation set up

1948

Colonial Development Corporation renamed the Commonwealth Development Corporation

1963

The Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme

1948

Importance of Malaya

Rubber Major contributor to the Hard Currency Pool

Trade And Commerce Flashcards

(103 cards)