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Imperial consolidation and Liberal rule, c1890-1914: Trade and commerce…
Imperial consolidation and Liberal rule, c1890-1914: Trade and commerce
Trade and commerce
Empire blamed for Britain's failure to modernise industry, anti-imperialists believed holding back developments that would have helped raise living standards for workers
Britain fell behind in chemical and electrical engineering result poor investment and productivity e.g. Britain relying rubber imports from Africa and Asia- French, Russians and Germans started own synthetic rubber production by 1910
Anti-imperialists argued Empire cost middle-class people more than benefited them- supporting cost imperial defence in taxes
Anti-imperialists argued colonies blunted British commercial enterprise, import colonial food produce into Britain undermined domestic food production and served to depopulate countryside
1897: Tropical Africa only 1.2% British exports, colonies bought increasing amounts from foreign nations rather than Britain
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Cost of maintaining a huge navy: India was self-financing and white colonies relied on Britain for defence, others subsidised and costs acquiring empire outweighed returns
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Cheese, apples, potatoes and fresh mutton was Empire's main food supplier
1894: Britain imported 64 million hundredweight of wheat- 30.7 million from USA, 17.2 million from Russia and only 3.6 million from Canada
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Imperial Federation League established in 1884 promote closer colonial ties disbanded in 1893 (waning interest in Empire's commercial importance)
Imported West African timber, cocoa, rubber, peanuts and palm oil
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India
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Exported huge quantities of goods to Britain e.g. raw cotton and tea (consumed in Britain and exported from Britain to other countries)
Under free trade no economic difference to colony to trade within Empire- Britain had disproportionate amount of trade and investment in its own colonies
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Investment in empire
Loans within Empire safe, loans to foreign nations provide bigger returns
Loans within Empire used develop rival manufacturers to Britain e.g. building up Indian cotton and jute mills (dangerous)
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Shares sold in ventures from minerals, tobacco and timber to transport and public utilities
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The Colonial Loans and Colonial Stocks Acts of 1899 and 1900: facilitated number infrastructure projects e.g. rail links into African interior from ports of Lagos and Mombasa
Britain set standard for international monetary system, nations mirror Britain by adopting gold standard
1908: only China, Persia and some Central American countries still used 'silver standard'
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