What was the importance of the evolution of Britain's networks of ports, entrepots and trade routes 1763-1914?

What is a port?

a place where ships unload their cargo

What is an entrepot?

a location, sometimes a port or city where goods are brought for import and export
- stored without customs duties

What is a trade route?

the term used to describe the exchange of goods between two nations travelling a certain way

Summarise how the nature of the British Empire and trade was changing in the 19th century.

- government paid high price trying to enforce colonial rule on North American colonies
- first - British merchants led way driven by profits 
- imperial ideology emerging - by 1940s willing to dispatch warships and acquire naval bases in Far East → late 19th = driven by need to protect possessions

Why was the East India Company seeking to expand trade with China?

• lost its monopoly in India 1813, retained within China until 1833

• growing market for Chinese goods - tea, silk and porcelain

What were the problems for Britain and the EIC when trading with China?

- foreign trade heavily regulated by Chinese authorities
→ Europeans not permitted to leave trading base at Canton, only licensed to deal with guild of merchants known as the 'Hongs' and heavily taxed by the local governor
→ American consul describe Hong merchants as "intelligent, exact accountants"
- only way to reach Canton from EIC's base in Calcutta was to pass through Straits of Malacca 
→ colonised by Dutch who had a monopoly over spices = protectionist = refused British ships entry or charged high tariffs, also known for piracy

How was Singapore established as a British entrepot?

- 6th February 1819 treaty signed = EIC set up trading post in Singapore 
- in exchange = yearly sum of over 8,000 dollars
- British flag formally hosted same day
- treaty written in English on left and Malay on right - legal backing
- Britain pledged to assist Sultan in event of external attacks but not involved in internal disputes and Sultan agreed to protect EIC against enemies

Why were the Dutch angered by British settlement on Singapore?

- enabled British to encroach onto land the Dutch viewed as theirs
- added to other issues negotiated in an Anglo-Dutch Treaty
- future secured by rapid growth → 1819 trade worth 400,000 dollars passed through, 1824 increased to 11 million

How and why did Singapore grow?

- status as an entrepot - deliberate choice by Ruffles who intended to create a staging post for India-China trade route
- drew merchants from the Malay Archipelago and further afield and goods from all over SE Asia flooded in
- key aspect = individual ships no longer needed to complete whole journey - ships with goods from China for Britain could offload these at Singapore in exchange for textiles, guns and opium 
→ ships bound for Europe could take Chinese goods without needing to visit China, and spices from Malay Archipelago without visiting expensive Dutch ports
→ also undermined Dutch ambitions to dominate Archipelago trade and deter other European nations (especially France, Russia and the US) from having footholds on adjacent states

How many British merchants houses were there in Singapore in 1846?

20 (others owned by European countries

How was the growth of Singapore not unprecedented?

Amsterdam and Antwerp = global commerce hubs in 16th and 17th centuries
→ parts of West Indies often only clearing houses for slaves to be shipped to Spanish colonies or where North American goods could be loaded onto slave ships for their return journey

What did the growth of Singapore signal?

new era for imperial trade → demonstrated the possibilities of free trade to British politicians e.g Peel

Who were merchants in Singapore supported by?

chandlers, banks and auction houses 

What problems continued to hinder British trade interests in the East?

- pirates - over 100 vessels - sailing from Philippines and North Borneo plagued seas
- capable of attacking large European sailing ships
- Chinese demand for British wool and Indian cotton limited and did not meet Britain's demand for Chinese goods = negative balance of trade

How did Britain gain a positive trade balance with China?

- opium - grown cheaply in India, illegal in China so smuggled
- Historian Niall Ferguson - so crucial to finances of rule in India
- China imported 75 tons 1775, 347 tons 1822
- initially EIC held monopoly but trade expanded when it expired 1833 - by 1839 imports = 2553

What is meant by 'gunboat diplomacy'?

- use of force to influence foreign events
- British foreign secretary (Lord Palmerston) dispatched a Naval Squadron to force the opium trade to operate
→ drugs destroyed 1839 as was ruining China morally and financially, but British forced them to trade

What was the function and role of Hong Kong for the British?

- Palmerston's instructions to occupy 'convenient part of Chinese territory'
- navy seized Hong Kong 1841
- one of best deep-water harbours in the world → war and trading ships = power base
- established as an entrepot (at first staging post for Royal Navy)
- Chinese forced into opening new ports to foreign trade → population = 15,000 1841, 300,000 1900

What did the opium wars begin with?

British buying Chinese tea - became the national drink
→ 10% national revenue

Where was key to opium trade?

India - where it was grown

How many opium chests imported into China by 1835?

35,000

How long did it take to rid of the opium?

over 500 workers over 3 weeks

When did the first opium war end? 

1842 with the Treaty of Nanking

What were the terms of the Treaty of Nanking?

- 6m silver dollars compensation for destroyed opium, 3m to British merchants in Canton, 12m in reparations to cover cost of war - paid within 3 years (5% interest if late)
- cede Hong Kong to British
- open ports of Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo and Shanghai to foreign traders - import tariffs standardised to low of 5%
- grant British citizens legal protection in China

Why was Shanghai the most important new port?

- situated at mouth of Yangtze = China's largest river = ships could travel far inland
- after opening - British settlement founded for exclusive use of British merchants
- surpassed Canton shortly after opening - better location and trade method

How did other foreign powers take advantage of Shanghai?

- followed suit of British - other nations like U.S and France established settlements
- various Land Regulations safeguarded foreign interests and ended administering policies
- foreigners invested a lot -> 1854 Shanghai Municipal Council created to manage settlements and services e.g roads, bridges, sanitation and taxes
- over time many utility companies established in accordance with needs of growing population - Shangai Water Works, Shanghai Gas Company, Shanghai Electric Company, Brush Electric Tramway Company
- wharves and warehouses built for lading and storing merchandise

What was the impact on the Opium Trade?

- boomed - imports grew - by 1880 = 6,500 tonnes
- British merchants could travel up Yangtze but generally easier to sell to middlemen in Shanghai

What was the impact on the Chinese emperor?

- authority undermined
- violence broke out 1850 - Taiping Rebellion - escalated into civil war lasting until 1864 (Shanghai businessmen benefitted)

Why did the Treaty of Nanking become known as the 'unequal treaty'?

favoured Britain and weakened China without giving China say
→ forced to pay compensation, British control with extraterritoriality, China couldn't tax British goods heavily

Which country led the construction of the Suez Canal?

France
→ 1859-69
→ estimated cost = 200 million francs, completed for 433 million

What were the initial setbacks with the Suez Canal?

- commercial value uncertain - Red Sea-Mediterranean route only suitable for steamships
- political uncertainty in Egypt = investment was risky
- officially first ship = l'Aigle (French), but HMS Newport (British) navigated sneakily night before ceremonial opening
- shipping passing through initially lower than expected at 436,000 tons in 1870

How and why did the British benefit from the Suez Canal's dependency on steamships?

- steamships became more powerful and common, canal not practical for sailing ships
- steamships became more competitive on Asian trade routes → British was main beneficiary with the most industrialised dockyards
- by 1874 3/4 tonnage through = British
- steam tonnage arriving in Britain from Asia increased 178% 1868-74

How and why did the British (under Disraeli) gain a vested interest in the Suez Canal?

- 1875 Khedive of Egypt forced to sell his stock in canal to pay off debts
- British PM Disraeli borrowed money from the Rothschilds to quickly buy the shares for £4millon without issuing government bonds or informing Britain
- allowed Britain to secure a strategic route to India

What was the significance of Disraeli's decision?

- geopolitical move - Disraeli stated "great hold" over Egypt and "highway to our Indian empire"
- profitable → dividents on shares rose from 4.7% (first 5 years) to 33% (by 1911)
- shift from traditional justifications to serving strategic interests, not just economic
- sparked political and military tension with Egypt culminating in conflict by 1882

How did Britain's relationship with China change overtime?

- initially entrepots, over time = improving British status
- leads to opium and gunboat diplomacy
- Shanghai Europeans taking control of administrative affairs

Why was Zanzibar so wealthy?

- Arab traders used it as their base to launch slave raiding expeditions in interior of Eastern Africa
- Africa slavers would know where they could find a market for enemies they may have captured
- cloves, ivory, spices, tea, coffee, gold also part of this - caravans travelled in and out
- European attracted to wealth - obvious entrepot and had plenty of cash, more accommodating with less diseases - natural hub of civilisations
- 1841 Sultan Abu Said = realised was the wealthiest part of Africa so moved his court to the island to take advantage of commercial opportunities

How did the EIC become involved in Zanzibar?

- East India Company and Bombay merchants would all have representatives on the island to coordinate the purchase and movement of goods
- Sultan happy to use wealth to access latest European weapons and technology
- soft power of informal empire

How did the British become involved in Zanzibar's domestic policies?

- initially safeguarded trade route around the Cape to India and suppressing slave trade through diplomacy - consular officials at key ports banked by Royal Navy
- Royal Navy squadrons ineffective at intercepting slavers but intimidated locals
→ 50,000 slaves traded annually at Zanzibar
- 1822 persuaded sultan to ban export of slaves from Zanzibar, though still imported from Africa
→ slavery banned 1873
- British drawn into domestic politics supporting favourable candidates

Whilst the decline of slavery had an impact on Zanzibar...

its status as a valuable entrepot on route between India and Europe where merchants could acquire African ivory and rubber, or cloves grown on plantations

Between 1859 and 1879 how did the number of European and American ships utilising Zanzibar grow significantly?

65 ships and 18,877 tons to 96 ships and 95,403 tons
→ most shipping was British

What was the German initiative in 1884?

- Peters became founder of German East Africa company
- convinced indigenous to give Germany control of land = colony East Africa - chancellor declared Peters was under imperial protection

What secured a foothold for British interests in East Africa?

- Mackinnon obtained another concession and raised £250,000
- safeguarding upper reaches of the Nile
- government established series of East African protectorates 1895 to launch 'Scramble for Africa'

How were the sultan's rights to territory in Zanzibar ignored as Britain and Germany battled?

- Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty signed 1890 between UK and German Empire
→ Germany control of Caprivi Strip, Heligoland in North Sea and the heartland of German East Africa
→ in return, recognised British authority in Zanzibar

What led to the 38-minute war?

- Zanzibar had no influence in negotiations 
- pro-British sultan died 1896, replacement concerned British = bombarded city

Why was Britain's advantage as the first industrialised country rapidly eroding?

technological innovation of the Industrial Revolution spread
→ France, Germany, the USA and Japan. Russian Empire = territory and army

For Britain, what was its main concern with Russia?

- Russian influence in central Asia and its direct land threat to British India
- water of Asia not dominated by the Royal Navy
- political struggle = the 'Great Game'

Why was the tsar seeking to expand East?

wanted warm water ports

What did the Chinese do to protect itself from Japan and Russia?

- purchased modern guns from Germany
- coastal fortress at Port Arthur to control the Yellow Sea
→ Japanese Empire captured it 1894, Russia persuaded France and Germany into supporting intervention and liberating it - December 1885 - returned, 1898 leased to Russia as could not protect it

What was the 1898 lease of Weihaiwei?

British government demanded another port so the Royal Navy could oversee developments in Port Arthur → wanted to protect interests in China, the developments were of concern as it already possessed Hong Kong

Why was the lease of Weihaiwei a significant development in British imperialist and colonial interests?

- the port had no commercial value and British shipping was better served by Royal Navy at Hong Kong
- East Africa = unprofitable protectorates to prevent German expansion