Economic interest = reason for
expansion
To what extent did economic interests
govern the expansion of the British
Empire during the years 1763-1914?
Introduction:
three factors: economic, geopolitical, political.
definition of economic: expanded for financial + trading opportunities.
definition of geopolitical: to increase soft power and influence.
based on these definitions, it was likely that economics drove expansion,
but geopolitics did play a role in where they chose to expand.
Paragraph 1: economic factors. Singapore.
British established Singapore as an entrepot in 1819
The sultan of Singapore had signed a treaty that gave the British the right to
set up trading post in Singapore
Therefore marked Singapore as a British settlement
The British explicitly stated that they would not get involved in internal
disputes, and only external attacks.
This would suggest this was largely an economic move, not a
geopolitical one - they weren’t looking to have influence over the
country’s domestic politics.
It is likely that them intervening in external attacks would be because it
could impact their own trading, which once again is an economic factor.
The location of Singapore meant that individual ships no longer needed to
complete whole journeys to the destination port of their goods.
for example, goods coming from China to Britain could now be
offloaded at Singapore.
Economic interest = reason for expansion 1
expansion
To what extent did economic interests
govern the expansion of the British
Empire during the years 1763-1914?
Introduction:
three factors: economic, geopolitical, political.
definition of economic: expanded for financial + trading opportunities.
definition of geopolitical: to increase soft power and influence.
based on these definitions, it was likely that economics drove expansion,
but geopolitics did play a role in where they chose to expand.
Paragraph 1: economic factors. Singapore.
British established Singapore as an entrepot in 1819
The sultan of Singapore had signed a treaty that gave the British the right to
set up trading post in Singapore
Therefore marked Singapore as a British settlement
The British explicitly stated that they would not get involved in internal
disputes, and only external attacks.
This would suggest this was largely an economic move, not a
geopolitical one - they weren’t looking to have influence over the
country’s domestic politics.
It is likely that them intervening in external attacks would be because it
could impact their own trading, which once again is an economic factor.
The location of Singapore meant that individual ships no longer needed to
complete whole journeys to the destination port of their goods.
for example, goods coming from China to Britain could now be
offloaded at Singapore.
Economic interest = reason for expansion 1
