Trade

Question	Answer
In 1763, after the Seven Years' War, despite being victorious, British government debt was what percent of its gross domestic profit?	Debt was 157% of its gross domestic profit.
The British government policy was protectionist, what does this mean?	There were taxes and prohibitions on imported goods to protect domestic producers.
The British government policy was also mercantilist, what does this mean?	There was government intervention in trading, to ensure a positive balance of trade - when the value of exports is more than the value of imports.
What did the government's protectionist and mercantilist policies do to the colonies?	They stifled trade and alienated the colonies.
The British government then adopted a policy of free trade, what did this mean?	It minimised taxes to allow merchants to compete across borders. The removal of restrictions favoured merchants producing the cheapest goods.
In the 19th century, why did British trade dominate?	Because they could produce manufactured goods far cheaper than their rivals.
How was Britain's trading dominance challenged by other European powers?	Because other European powers were seeking increased geopolitical influence. Colonies went from being seen as trading interests, to valuable by ideological imperialists, as demonstrated in the Scramble for Africa (1881-1914).
What was the route/plan of British slavers vessels?	They set sail from English ports and traded textiles, alcohol and firearms for slaves at West African ports. Slaves were then transported across the Middle Passage (a crossing of the Atlantic between Africa and the West Indies) to the Americas. Slavers then took cargos of raw materials (Eg sugar, cotton) and returned to their original ports.
By the mid 18th century, Britain dominated this trade route, which is referred to as what?	Triangular trade (the slave trade between Europe, West Africa and the Caribbean) .
Why was the domination of triangular trade beneficial to the Empire?	Due to the enormous profit to be made.
Who owned the Lottery, what year did it set sail, and where from?	The Lottery, owned by Thomas Leyland, set sail from Liverpool in 1798.
What are the details of the profit made on the Lottery?	It cost £2,307 to outfit the ship, and it carried £8,326 worth of goods to Africa. 5 months later its cargo of 453 slaves was sold for a total of £22,726, thus making Leyland a profit of £12,091.
By the 1790s, how many slave ships annually sailed from Liverpool on the triangular trade route?	Around 120-130 slave ships annually.
In 1766, what did 'The Gentleman's Magazine' claim?	That "upwards of 40" members of parliament were planters or had business in plantations. Eg, twice Lord Mayor of London, Willian Beckford, owned thousands of acres in Jamaica.
In 1787, why was there a major breakthrough for the abolitionist movement?	The Quakers (who'd launched the first abolitionist campaign in 1781) joined forces with other non-conformist groups, and William Wilberforce was persuaded to lead a parliamentary campaign.
The campaign was an effective grass-roots campaign, what does this mean?	It was political lobbying to win public support rather than to influence politicians, to increase there pressure on parliament.
What year did Wilberforce and William Pitt the Younger launch the parliament campaign?	1789.
What events overseas meant the Wilberforce's timing to launch the campaign couldn't have been worse?	In Saint Domingue, as a response to slave rebellion, the French emancipated the slaves, meaning abolitionists were now of a pro-French position. Britain conspired with loyalist plantation owners over there to invade the island and restore sugar and coffee slave plantations. In this context, parliament repeatedly votes against Wilberforce's bills.
When Napoleon seize power, with reference to slavery in Saint Domingue, how did this influence the abolitionist movement?	Napoleon wanted to restore revenues from Saint Domingue, so sent an expedition to restore the slave trade on the island. The ex-slaves resisted and the British supported them to undermine the French, and so the public support for the abolitionists was revived.
What year was the Foreign Slave Trade bill, and what did this do?	1806, it prohibited British subjects from providing slaves to the French colonies.
What year was the Slave Trade Act, and what did this do?	1807, it ended British involvement in the slave trade.
In the 1780s, what percentage of Bristol's population's income came from the slave trade?	40%.
The threat of disease from tropical voyages, losses to foreign privateers and the impact of slave rebellions created what?	Financial uncertainty.
What are 2 example of this financial uncertainty and loss.	Eg, during the 18th century, 1 in 10 ships would lose their owners profit and in 1778, merchants in Liverpool lost £700,000.
Although the government had hoped slavery would wither away without the trade to sustain it, but what was the case slavery in the West Indies?	Slavery in the West Indies continued until 1834 when the government emancipated the slaves and effectively bought out the owners of over 700,000 slaves by paying £20,000,000 in compensation for their 'property'. This accounted for approximately 40% of government expenditure that year.
What did mercantilists argue that mercantilism ensured?	It ensured prosperity due to a positive balance of trade (a trade surplus), in which the value of exports exceeds the value of imports.
In 1776, what is the name of the book published by Adam Smith?	The Wealth of Nations.
What did 'the Wealth of Nations' do?	It attacked mercantilism, arguing that tariffs prevented trade from operating effectively and that removing barriers on trade would increase wealth, allowing merchants to find the best deals.
In 17th century, because British and Irish agricultural commodities were similar, what did parliament do?	Parliament introduced tariffs and prohibitions to reduce Irish competition.
In 1790, what were the value of Irish exports compared to Irish imports, and what does this show?	Irish exports were £4.9 million, while their imports were £3.8 million, demonstrating balanced economic growth.
In 1778, protestors in Dublin had what?	A cannon, on which was a sign saying 'Free trade or this!'
What were some of the Irish trade restrictions?	They weren't allowed to trade silk and glass anywhere, raw wool anywhere except Britain, and woollen cloth anywhere except a few designated British ports.
In 1779, the government consulted Adam Smith on how to respond to the Irish protests. What did he think?	Smith was sympathetic of the "unjust and oppressive" restrictions and recommended that Ireland should be allowed to trade freely.
What year did the government remove all trade restriction in Ireland?	1779.
In 1830 with the election of the Whigs, and the Representation of the Peoples Act in 1832, what did this mean for trade?	The Representation of the Peoples Act increased the electorate by around 250,000, an increase of 60%, thus giving manufacturers and consumers more say in the trading policy.
What year was the Anti-Corn Law league founded, and what was the Corn Laws?	1838, the Corn Laws had been introduced in 1815 and were designed to keep grain prices high by excluding foreign grain from the British market.
What year was the Conservative Party founded, and who was it headed by?	1834, it was founded by Sir Robert Peel, a strong advocate of free trade.
What year did the Conservatives win the election, making Peel Prime Minister?	1841 election.
With Peel as Prime Minister, between 1842-46, how many import tariffs were abolished?	Over 1,200 import tariffs were abolished.
Mercantilism went hand-in-hand with what?	Protectionism, which discouraged foreign involvement in trade, encouraging merchants to trade with their own colonies - done so through tariffs, quotas and prohibitions.
Between what years were the Navigation Acts passed, and what was this?	1651-73, they were the basis for mercantilist economic relations between Britain and its colonies.
What did the Navigation Acts mean?	Colonial goods for exports had to be carried on British owned ships. Certain goods (including sugar, cotton and tobacco) had to be shipped to English ports even if they were destined for European destinations. And European imports to British colonies had to be shipped to English ports and reshipped onwards.
What did the Navigation Acts allow and reflect?	they allowed Britain to monopolise trade, and reflected the belief that the colonies existed to supply the mother country and provide employment for its shipping fleet.
What is the term used to refer to the fact that Britain tended not to enforce trading regulations too tightly?	Salutary neglect, the 'light touch approach'.
What year did the 'soft touch' approach change, and why?	In 1763, the 'soft touch' approach changed when the British government decided to create a large standing army in North America, and aimed to make their North American colonies pay for their own protection.
What year were the Navigation Acts repealed?	1849.
What were the sugar duties?	Imposed in the 1764 Sugar Act, sugar duties ensured preferential rates for British West Indies sugar producers and were seen as essential for plantation owner after the abolition of slave ownership (1833) as they were uncompetitive compared to slave colonies (Eg Cuba and Brazil).
What had the Corn Laws acquired?	They'd acquired significant importance to many landowners.
From what year onwards did the potato crop in Ireland begin to fail, resulting in severe food shortages, and what did Peel argue was the solution?	From 1845 onwards. Peel argued the solution was to repeal the Corn Laws to lower grain prices, which was unpopular with most of the Conservative Party.
What year did Peel push the Importation Act through parliament, and what did this do?	1846, simultaneously abolishing sugar duties and the corn laws.m
The abolition of sugar duties led to what in the West Indies?	Led to economic decline in the West Indies as plantation owners lost business to slave-grown foreign sugar.
The repeal of the Corn laws didn't improve the economic situation in Ireland, and between 1845-52, how many died and how many were forced to emigrate?	Between 1845-52, over 1 million died in Ireland and 1 million were forced to emigrate.
What did the repeal of the Navigation Acts show?	It showed the dominance of the free trade movement. They had been the basis of British defence policy for the last 200 years. As well as embedding mercantilist economic policy, they also aimed to increase the number of British ships on the basis that this would provide a larger manpower for the navy to prepare for war. This, dismantling the Acts, arguably, suggests prioritising free trade over national defence.

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	Created by Lauren Le Prevost over 7 years ago