"Britain enjoued economic prosperity between 1851-1886" Analyse and evaluate this statement

P1 - Continued industrial might

• First nation to industrialise - other countries lagging eg. US having difficulty to supply own rapidly increasing population & held back by Civil War (1861-65) with Germany not unified by 1871 hence both countries were important buyers of British manufactures eg. world’s traded goods manufactured in GB was 40%

• Staple industries including coal and textiles eg. Output of coal increased from 50 million tons-130 million tons (1850-75), Tons of steam ships increased from 319,000 to 3 million tons (1850-80), 2/3s of world cotton cloth manufactured in GB helped GB maintain position as leading exporter of manufactured goods

• Inventions helped to keep GB at forefront by allowing industries eg. in iron & steel to grow → Bessamer’s convertor system helped produced steel in large quantities at lower prices giving GB global advantage over building infrastructure eg. railways, bridges and ships and switching iron to steel for building this

• ‘Railways Mania’ Spread of railways contributed to boom eg. in 1843 only less than 2000 miles of track BUT rest of decade saw large investment of cash into railway building → 9069 to 14510 miles of track (1850-75), Created jobs & large market for iron & steel industries and rails, locomotives etc, Quicker transportation of manufactured goods to all kinds of ports allowing economy becoming transport orientated with railways playing key role in domestic & global trade

• HOWEVER: Foreign comeptition exacerbated by tariffs implemented in Europe eg. Germany in 1879 whilst GB stuck to FT stagnated economic progress

P2 - Agriculture

• High farming techniques created greater productivity eg. Use of clay pipes improved poor drainage, increase in mixed farming (growing crops whilst raising cattle and ships etc), Artificial fertilisers used eg. guano (imported from Peru & worth £8M a year by 1870) and animal feedstuffs (worth £5M a year by 1870), Horse-drawn reaper, ploughs, seed drillss and steam-driven threshing machine also improved stability of farmers & productivity

• Growing population increased demand & hence higher profits & prices eg. prices for meat, wool for clothing, cheese and butter reached almost 50%

• Railways enabled livestock & perishable goods to be transported quickly & cheaply over long distances in cities allowing farmers who previously lived far away from towns and cities to have whole new market at their disposal eg. counties like Herefordshire supplied milk to London & Aberdeenshire supplying meat to Lancashire and London

• Good summers produced good harvest 1850-73

• HOWEVER - As bad weather hit 1873 with now wet summers causing poor harvests, this also helped spread pneumonia & foot and mouth disease among livestock causing great losses for farmers → Led to relying on cheap foreign imports to make up for shortages as transcontinental railways opened up fertile prairies of North America as vast wheat-growing areas & large merchant steam ships enabled US & Canadian and Argentinian wheat to be transported swiftly & cheaply to GB eg. 1868 cost of transporting a ton of wheat from Chicago to Liverpool was 65s but 1882 it fell to 24s. Caused lasting effects of rural population by increasing urban migration as people sough work in industrial cities as their wages fell

P3 - Foreign Competition (counter)

• Advantages turned into disadvantages of being 1st nation to industrialise eg. machinery & equipment became old/obsolete → Germany & US adapted to newer technology eg. Germany used Siemens Furnaces to make steel

• As bad weather hit 1873 with now wet summers causing poor harvests, this also helped spread pneumonia & foot and mouth disease among livestock causing great losses for farmers → Led to relying on cheap foreign imports to make up for shortages as transcontinental railways opened up fertile prairies of North America as vast wheat-growing areas & large merchant steam ships enabled US & Canadian and Argentinian wheat to be transported swiftly & cheaply to GB eg. 1868 cost of transporting a ton of wheat from Chicago to Liverpool was 65s but 1882 it fell to 24s. Caused lasting effects of rural population by increasing urban migration as people sough work in industrial cities as their wages fell

• Failure of Disraeli govt (1874-80) to introduce protection despite pressure contributed to economic stagnation

THOUGH → GB’s balance of payments remained in surplus due to invisible exports and imports, a sign of a thriving economy and contributed to London’s position as the world’s main centre of international banking, trade and insurance.

Conclusion

• No serious economic slumps as compared to depression in 1930s with a possible period of prosperity though this is limited up till 1873

• Overall GB encountered economic stability rather than continuous prosperity with moderate events of economic stagnation as represented by depression in 1873

• Shows GB didn’t completely enjoy economic prosperity