Economic development

Question 1

What are the strengths of British Industrial Power in 1851?

Answer 1

• the Great Exhibition in 1851 showed a symbol of international economic corporation where Britain took most of the prizes
• able to establish global dominance
• Britiain was the 1st nation to dominate international economy
• other countries are dependent on Britain to provide ships to carry cargoe around the world
• International economy dependent on Britain for iron, machinery and coal as their own industries were not developed enough
• Britain knows as the “Workshop of the World” as over 40% of manufactured goods came from Britain
• 25% of the World`s trade passed through British ports

Question 2

What were the weaknesses of British Industrial power in 1851?

Answer 2

• position depended on the fact they had an economic head start
• heavily dependent on their colonies and it was expensive to maintain their colonial control
• slow technological innovations in fields such as steel production allowed other countries to catch up with them and eventually overtake them
• over-reliance on traditional industries (coal)
• laissez-faire style government (tax low, free trade encouraged, minimal intervention)

Question 3

Why was Britain called the “Workshop of the World”?

Answer 3

• over 40% of total manufactured goods came from Britain
• 25% of the worlds trade passed through British ports
• unprecedented demand for British goods abroad
• growth in export trade continued for the next 20 years emphasising Britain as superior
• international hub for trade

Question 4

What was the Golden Age of agriculture?

Answer 4

• 1850s harvest produced successive high yields, farmers incomes increased and due to scientific and technological advances Britain entered a period of High Farming
• farmers switched from arable farming to mixed farming where they grew wheat, crops and stocked cattle, pigs and sheep
• a lot of farming profit came from livestock rearing
• Industry worth £8 million a year by 1870
• technological developments of seed drills and ploughs led to better crop production
• early 1780s, British farmers produced about 50% of home consumption of wheat and 90% of the meat

Question 5

What were the staple industries? What was their produced economic growth rate?

Answer 5

• 2%-3% per annum
• coal
• iron and steel
• engineering
• ship building
• textiles

Question 6

How did the staple industries help the British Economy?

Answer 6

• increased export trade by 53% (approximately between 1869-1880)
• created jobs, putting thousands out of employment
• staple industries led to the building of factories, railways and cities
• made transportation of goods more efficient and encouraged technological advances
• helped Britain achieve global dominance
  Coal and steel supported the growth of the royal navy and overseas trade

Question 7

What are some reasons that led to British Industrial progress?

Answer 7

• first industrial nation
  able to establish markets at home and abroad faster than others
• Britain was the greatest colonial power
  controlled all important sea routes from its colonies and also oversea markets, navy protected trade routes
• had plentiful supply of natural resources, especially coal and iron
  Needed for engineering and production
• Population rose from 27 million in 1851 to 35 million in 1881
  helped to provide workers for factories/railways and aided the expansion of the home market
• had an extensive railway network
  Linked every major town and sea port helping industrial revolution

Question 8

Strength of coal industry?

Answer 8

• to make iron, coke was needed (derived from coal)
• coal needed to fire engines
• 1870 1/8 of coal was bought by the iron indsutry

Question 9

Strength of Iron and steel industry

Answer 9

• vital for engineering projects
• Iron ore production went from 9 million tonnes in 1855 to over 15 million tonned by 1875
• steel was a more versatile and stronger metal than iron so in 1870s many companies replace iron tracks with steel

Question 10

Strength of the railway and engineering industry?

Answer 10

• important to create an industry of tourism
• led to development of precision engineering as companies were tasked to produce trains that use new tech and produce locomotives
• led to development of prosperous railway towns like Crewe, Doncaster and Derby
• 1st London Underground line (the Metropolitan) opened in 1863 and carried 10 million passengers in its opening year

Question 11

Strengths of Ship industry?

Answer 11

• sailing ships made up most of the merchant navy
• aided with world trade growth in 1850
• cheap production of steel and iron allowed for production of british steam ships
• 1850-1880 319,000 to over 3 million tonnes of steam ships registered to Britain

Question 12

Strengths of cotton industry?

Answer 12

• account for 2/3 of british exports in 1851
• largest industry which accounted for 213% of cotton wool in world markets until 1900