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British Colonial Empire and Industrial Policy: Protection, Monopolized Trade, and Industrialization

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How Nations Succeed: Manufacturing, Trade, Industrial Policy, and Economic Development

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Abstract

This chapter explains (i) the pre-industrial industrial policies in the UK that enabled the Industrial Revolution—thus supporting the hypothesis “industrialization was never an accident”—and (ii) the post-industrial industrial policies in the UK that aimed at making the UK the ‘workshop of the world’ (as is China today). These policies aimed at keeping colonies and other developing countries as importers of manufactured goods and Britain as the exporter.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Kennedy (1989: 193).

  2. 2.

    Szirmai (2015), Table 5.1.

  3. 3.

    Kennedy (1989: 193).

  4. 4.

    Jevons (1866).

  5. 5.

    For British trade during 1660–1700 see Davis (1954: 151–153).

  6. 6.

    Words in brackets are those of the author.

  7. 7.

    Stokey (2001).

  8. 8.

    It is known that the Flemings migrated to the British Isles from earlier times, including as mercenaries. From time to time, they were forced to leave England due to political reasons or when they had problems with the local population.

  9. 9.

    Llewellyn (1936).

  10. 10.

    Chang (2002).

  11. 11.

    Llewellyn (1936).

  12. 12.

    Llewellyn (1936).

  13. 13.

    Llewellyn (1936).

  14. 14.

    Llewellyn (1936).

  15. 15.

    See Crawford (1924), Smith and Cothren (1999), Chang (2007).

  16. 16.

    Lambert and Milan (2014: 733).

  17. 17.

    Rothbard (1995).

  18. 18.

    Rothbard (1995).

  19. 19.

    Chang (2007).

  20. 20.

    Thomas and McCloskey (1981: 94–95).

  21. 21.

    Fletcher and Kipling (1911: 105).

  22. 22.

    Bills, Public (3): Ancient statutes, charity, Ireland vol. 8. (Folios 1167 to 1750) p. 1309; Encyclopaedia Londinensis (1815: 635).

  23. 23.

    The Letter from John Adams to Secretary Jay (8 August 1785); Adams (1851: 296).

  24. 24.

    Cunningham (1892: 413–414).

  25. 25.

    For example, Cunningham (1892: 413) notes that John Taverner of Hull received a large encouragement when he built a large carrack.

  26. 26.

    Cunningham (1892: 413–414).

  27. 27.

    Bogart (1918: 91).

  28. 28.

    Text and spellings from Mun (1664).

  29. 29.

    Thomas and McCloskey (1981: 91–92), Morton (2003: 14).

  30. 30.

    After different rounds of legislation from 1660, by 1764, the list was expanded to include tobacco , sugar, indigo, cotton, ginger, fustic, and other dyewoods; later, naval stores, hemp, rice, molasses, beaver skins, furs, and copper were added; and still later, by the Sugar Act (1764), coffee pimento, coconuts, whale fins, raw silk, hides and skins, potash, and pearl ash (Thomas and McCloskey 1981) were added.

  31. 31.

    Bogart (1918: 62).

  32. 32.

    British imports from Europe included mostly linen yarn. Imports included flax, hemp, and some finished linens from Holland and Ireland and timber and naval material from the Baltics. Nevertheless, the British, by virtue of growing income and wealth, continued to import wine and gold mostly from Portugal and brandy from France (Thomas and McCloskey 1981: 91–92).

  33. 33.

    Cain (1999).

  34. 34.

    Thomas and McCloskey (1981: 88–89).

  35. 35.

    Davis (1954: 153–154).

  36. 36.

    Lapping (1989: 19).

  37. 37.

    Robins (2006).

  38. 38.

    Chaudhuri (1974: 127).

  39. 39.

    Yafa (2006).

  40. 40.

    Jack (2014), quoting from Seabrook (2015).

  41. 41.

    Robins (2006).

  42. 42.

    Balachandran (2003: 75); Meena (2015).

  43. 43.

    Meena (2015).

  44. 44.

    Meena (2015).

  45. 45.

    Bhatia (1968), Meena (2015).

  46. 46.

    Bhatia (1968), Maitra (2015), Meena (2015), Davis (2001).

  47. 47.

    Mukherjee (2010).

  48. 48.

    Rose (2009: 216), Panigrahi (2004: 94).

  49. 49.

    Minutes from Macaulay’s speeches in the British Parliament on the Government of India Bill on 10 July 1833 (Macaulay 1967).

  50. 50.

    Minutes from Macaulay’s speech in the British Parliament on 2 February 1835 (Macaulay 1967).

  51. 51.

    Minutes from Macaulay’s speech in the British Parliament on 2 February 1835 (Macaulay 1967).

  52. 52.

    To review the fantastic story of cotton and how it drove slavery and capitalism see Beckert (2014).

  53. 53.

    Smith and Cothren (1999).

  54. 54.

    Riello (2013).

  55. 55.

    Solar (2012: 2), Riello (2013), Beckert (2014).

  56. 56.

    Riello (2013).

  57. 57.

    Solar (2012).

  58. 58.

    Beckert (2014).

  59. 59.

    Beckert (2014).

  60. 60.

    Beckert (2014: 87).

  61. 61.

    Beckert (2014: 100–101).

  62. 62.

    Beckert (2014).

  63. 63.

    Beckert (2014: 98–100).

  64. 64.

    Beckert (2014: 100).

  65. 65.

    North (1961: 233).

  66. 66.

    Dattel (2010: 61).

  67. 67.

    Riello (2010).

  68. 68.

    Beckert (2014: 93).

  69. 69.

    Inikori (1979: 58).

  70. 70.

    Ludlow (1918: 139).

  71. 71.

    Broadberry and Gupta (2010).

  72. 72.

    Laycock (2012).

  73. 73.

    Keller et al. (2011).

  74. 74.

    Keller et al. (2011).

  75. 75.

    Laycock (2012), Keller et al. (2011).

  76. 76.

    Backhouse and Bland (1914).

  77. 77.

    Opium Trade (2008) Encyclopaedia Britannica and Spence (1992: 235).

  78. 78.

    Hanes and Sanello (2004).

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  1. Istanbul Commerce University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Murat A. Yülek

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Yülek, M.A. (2018). British Colonial Empire and Industrial Policy: Protection, Monopolized Trade, and Industrialization. In: How Nations Succeed: Manufacturing, Trade, Industrial Policy, and Economic Development. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0568-9_3

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