Reasons for, and nature of, the changing patterns of trade, 1763-1914

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Which British cities/ports were key for industrial production and trade?

- Bristol

- London

- Glasgow

- Manchester

- Liverpool

- Birmingham

What was the 'Black country'?

An area of the West Midlands that acted as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, named so because it was an area rich in coal

How did agriculture change between 1700 and 1800?

- new machinery meant output almost doubled to feed a growing population

- however, this meant less farmers were needed so there was a surplus of human capital

How did population distribution change because of this surplus labour?

There was a huge migration from towns to cities, to work in factories

How did the industrial revolution change business interests?

There was now a growing interest in potentially lucrative trade, and a growing voice representing merchants that the Government had to appease with its policy

In what way was industrialisation good for the Government?

- brought prestige to the country

- brought in more taxes

How did the revolution change working conditions? What was the result of this?

- new factories and increased output meant little rights for workers, there were no more careers in agriculture so they were easily exploited

- this meant a push forward for trade unions, political reform, new schools, and democracy

Overall, how did the industrial revolution impact trade?

- transformed Britain from an agrarian to an urban industrial society

- stimulated the export of manufactured goods

- decline in rural workforce

- need to import more food

- need to import cheaper materials

- stimulated demand for cheaper goods, also a wider range of goods

TRADE IN COAL AND TEXTILES

TRADE IN COAL AND TEXTILES

Which areas of Britain were key for trade?

Lancashire, Yorkshire, and South Wales

How was coal significant for the industrial revolution?

Without coal, arguably the industrial revolution wouldn't have happened in Britain. Other countries (like Russia) were also primed to enter this stage of technological innovation, but without coal deposits they weren't able to

How did coal output change between 1815 and 1830?

Nearly doubled

Where was this coal exported to?

- India

- China

- South America

- Caribbean (more here than the rest of North America combined)

- Western Europe

- Russian + Ottoman empire

- London (for manufacturing)

How much of the world's coal was Britain producing in 1851?

2/3

How did trade in coal influence infrastructure?

Meant the development of transport and rail because coal had to be moved around the country to London and ports where it could be exported

What changed about textile production in the 18th cent?

- new methods of production meant development of textile factories

- this increased both production and exports, and was a catalyst for technological change

What was the cotton industry like in 1763?

- most plantations were in America

- during the War of Independence, Britain relies on India

- Liverpool, Bristol, and Glasgow were important sites of industry

What was the cotton industry like in 1860?

- Lancashire became the center of the cotton industry because the damp climate was better for spinning yarn

- by 1860, Lancashire was producing half the world's cotton

What was the cotton industry like in 1900?

Lancashire mills were producing 8bn yards of cloth a year, and this was being exported all over the world

What was the cotton industry like in 1914?

- because of WW1, cotton was no longer exported to foreign markets

- this led countries like Japan to begin weaving their cotton, and it began the demise of British cotton industry

Give some important innovations and inventions in cotton production

- (1764) Spinning Jenny, allowed a single worker to operate 8 spindles simultaneously

- (1769) Arkwright cotton spinning machine

Which product(s) did Malaysia export?

Rubber, grown and sold

Which product(s) did Jamaica export?

Sugar - needed slave trade to exploit their resources because Britain had developed such a huge demand for sugar

Which product(s) did India export?

Cotton

Which product(s) did Australia export?

Wool

Which product(s) did West Africa export?

Cocoa

Which product(s) did the Far East (East and South-East Asia) export?

Tea, silk, and porcelain from China

What caused a shift in trade to the 'Americas' between 1812 and the 1820s?

(1812) collapse of the Spanish Empire in South America

(1820s) growth of 'informal' British empire in South America, Britain now had a manufacturing base to supply Latin American countries

What did Britain export to the Americas?

- goods and skilled labour, also helped to improve infrastructure

- by middle of 18th cent, 7% of British exports went to Latin America

Why was trade to North American disrupted?

- trade was subject to fluctuations

- because of the American Civil War, trade was disrupted, but by the late 19th cent the US had begun to produce a wider range of manufactured good

What did India most importantly provide Britain with?

A market for manufactured goods

How was trade to India boosted?

Opening of the Suez Canal in 1869

How did trade to the Far East change?

- trade increased as demand for goods increased (tea, silk, porcelain from China)

- Treaty of Nanking made more territory available

THE SLAVE TRADE

THE SLAVE TRADE

Give some consequences of the Seven Years' War:

- debt (157% of GDP) resulted in end of salutary neglect in the American colonies

- ended French influence in North America, leaving Canada in British hands

- ended French influence in Bengal

- the Royal Navy 'ruled the waves', but government investment slowed

- allowed the British to dominate the slave trade. Jamaica became the 'jewel in the crown' because of suagr

Where did the triangle trade of slavery travel between?

- Britain (cotton, cloth, guns, manufactured products) TO

- West Africa (slaves)

TO

- The Caribbean (rum, sugar, and tobacco)

How much did exports increase between 1700 and 1800?

Four times

Which four factors were driving the slave trade before it was abolished?

- the needs of British manufacturers

- profits of traders and merchants

- British consumer demand

- needs of the plantation systems in North America

How did the needs of British manufacturers drive the slave trade?

- under the Navigation acts, sugar could only be fully refined in Britain

- industries making agricultural equipment for the plantations created demand

How did the profits of traders and merchants drive the slave trade?

- Liverpool coined 'metropolis of slavery' because it was the largest slave port in the world

When was the West Indian dockyard opened? What was it?

- 1802

- cost over £1.3m to build and it could contain over 600 large ships

How did British consumer demand drive the slave trade?

- Britain consumed 5x as much sugar in 1770 as in 1710

- by 1750, sugar surpassed grain as the most valuable commodity in European trade (came largely from a change in eating habits of jams, candy, tea)

How did the needs of the plantation system in North America drive the slave trade?

- many enslaved people died on the journey to North America, crossing the middle passage

- once they made it to the plantations, about another 35% died during first year of 'seasoning'

In the 1760s, how many African enslaved people were transported on British ships?

Over half of the 80,000

How did the slave trade drive manufacturing in Britain?

- metal goods were sold in exchange for enslaved people

- other industries flourished

- glass head production boomed

- growth of Liverpool

When was the slave trade abolished?

1807

When was slavery abolished?

1833

Which society was William Wilberforce a part of?

The Clapham Sect

What was the rebellion of enslaved people?

- French revolutionary ideas spread to the Caribbean

- revolt broke out in 1791 on Saint-Dominique

- however, this was short-lived

What was the Zong legal case? When was it?

1783: Captain of Liverpool ship threw 131 Africans overboard with a case of disease. They tried to claim 'lost cargo' insurance

Name some leading figure in the abolition of the slave trade

- Montesquieu and Rousseau, enlightenment thinkers

- Adam Smith and the 'Wealth of Nations'

- William Wilberforce continued to push abolitionism through parliament until it was passed

Give some consequences of abolition

- mercantilist system continued, but not through 'triangle'

- 1820s, sugar overtook as the most valuable commodity

- new markets increased in importance (Latin America, India, and the Far East

- Slavery continued in the British Empire until 1834, British consumers still benefitted from slave-produced goods

GOVERNMENT POLICY AND A MOVE TO FREE TRADE

GOVERNMENT POLICY AND A MOVE TO FREE TRADE

When were the Navigation Acts first introduced?

1651

What did the Navigation Acts do?

- every colonial good produced for export could only be carried on English-built, British-owned ships

- certain goods had to be shipped to an English port even if they were re-exported to another European destination

- European imports to British colonies must go through an English port

When were the Corn Laws introduced?

1815, they prohibited the importation of foreign corn into Britain

When was the 'poor law' introduced, what did it do? How did this catalyze a move to free trade?

- 1834

- made life for the unemployed unbearable

- mass lay-offs, public disorder, violent outbursts of political radicalisation

- people wanted free trade because it would generate more jobs and get people out of poverty

How did food shortages catalyze a move to free trade?

- by 1840, Britain didn't have enough food to feed its population

- this was particularly disastrous in Ireland, where famine was widespread

- people wanted free trade to get access to cheaper food in greater quantities

When was there a move to free trade?

- 1820s, reduced tariffs

- slump of the early 1840s saw a revival of demand for free trade

What was the main barrier to free trade?

The Corn Laws, in 1838 the anti-corn law league was founded

How did a changing political landscape influence the move to free trade?

- in 1830s, Whigs got voted in to power

- public held much larger role in determining trade policy

When were the Corn Laws finally abolished?

1846

When were the Navigation Acts repealed?

1849 (however, 1/3 of world's trade still carried in British ships)

What was the impact of a move to free trade on trade patterns?

- increase in the volume of trade

- increase in volume of foreign produced grain

- economic decline of the West Indies plantations

- patterns of trade became global

- growth of Britain's 'informal empire'

Who did the move to free trade hurt?

- EIC, had to move their interest to Opium trade in China

- West Indian sugar producers, economy collapsed and forced to emancipate slaves because couldn't compete with cheaper global prices

In what way was Britain an 'informal empire'?

- held just under 1/2 of the world's industrial capacity

- huge investment overseas meant underdeveloped and developing countries were reliant on British power