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Trade and commerce; the chartered companies - Coggle Diagram
Trade and commerce; the chartered companies
Infrastructure of trade
Ships and shipping
Emergence of clipper ships which were perfect for low-volume high profit goods such as tea, opium and spices
Used for route to China and India after Treaty of Nanking in 1843 but had short lifespans, often lasting no more than 20 years
Huge competitiveness amongst clipper ships, times recorded in newspapers
Steam ships used for bulky and heavy goods across oceans and up rivers
Development of compound steam engine in 1850s improved efficiency of iron-hulled ocean-going ships; used less coal
Steamship companies reduced travel time to West Africa to under 3 weeks with even more cargo capacity
Steamship construction further stimulated by 1869 construction of Suez Canal and development of triple expansion steam engine in 1870s
Steamships used in inland regions such as Niger by 1870s
Railways
Reliance on British railways for economic development ensured British control
Used threat of price to pressure Canada to accept British policies on defence in mid-1860s
Opened u Canadian prairies, enabled Australian export of wheat and wool, allowed for South African expansion
In India, unintentionally linked jute-growing areas of north to mills in Bombay of Calcutta and enabled rice to reach ports for export
Provided link between interior areas of production and sea in West Africa
Canals and rivers
Means of transport for trade and sought out by explorers
River adjustments could facilitate trade and canals offered waterway when there was no viable alternative
Large-scale development of canals in India after 1857
Canada post-1867 saw deepened canals around St Lawrence/ Great Lakes seaway system and Welland Canal to overcome height differences between Lakes Eyrie and Ontario
Products of trade and commerce
Agriculture
Most colonial economies agricultural naturally bar India
Vast land in Canada, Australia, New Zealand allowed production of cheap foodstuffs and raw agricultural materials such as wool
Colonies produced goods at cheaper price than in Europe
Tropical colonies such as South Africa produced sugar, coffee, cocoa, groundnuts, copra and palm oil- previously unavailable to Britain
Although small-scale production and local subsistence farming, native farmers sold at whatever price they were offered, sometimes very low
Indian 'coolies' transported to work on plantations for fixed period in West Indian colonies, sometimes South Africa
Sisal plantations in British East Africa and Taganyika, sugar in Mauritius and Natal, rubber palm oil in Malaya and North Borneo, copra in Solomon Islands and sugar in Fiji and Queensland,Australia
Exploited workers with low wages for hard, unpleasant work
Mining
Precious metals provided motive for European expansion and became an important trading commodity
Tin in Nigeria, gold in Gold Coast and diamonds in Sierra Leone boosted development in colonies
Copper in Northern Rhodesia, gold and coal in Southern Rhodesia
Gold rush in Transvaal after discovery of diamonds in the Witwatersrand, 1886
Influx of 30,000 migrants when Transvaal mines required skilled labourers and tin mines closing down in Cornwall at the same time
Discovery of diamonds led to formation of Kimberley Diamond Syndicate in 1890
By 1866, £124m of gold produced in Victoria, 1/3 of total world production at the time
Gold discoveries in Australia: New South Wales in 1851, around Kalgoorlie in 1880s
Also in New Zealand on west coast of South Island in 1860s
Industry
Limited development as reliance on British manufacture, so could not compete in world market
India had large local demand but native mills could not compete with prices of imported textiles from British
Underdeveloped areas thrived to modernise with British capital and technology, however development curbed by British exploitation and control of economy
Chartered Companies
Commercial organisations enjoying special state privileges; usually a charter
Built on idea power of states depended on how much of finite global wealth they controlled
Key stakeholders often politicians; often a means of gaining political influence
Royal Niger Company
Goldie worked to collect all British companies in West Africa region into single company into United African Company in 1870s
Had collected three of the biggest firms by 1879 in Niger region
Renamed National African Company and successfully absorbed and eliminated French firms, often buying out competitors throughout 1880s
Berlin Conference recognised British occupation in West Africa
1887, secured royal charter and renamed to Royal Niger Company; imposed duties near 100% to make it unprofitable for other companies' involvement; essentially monopoly
Seen as way of expanding trade and influence at no cost to state from 1870s onwards