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A soft touch? British industry, empire markets, and the self‐governing dominions, c.1870–1914

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  • Andrew Thompson
  • Gary Magee

Abstract

The belief that Britain's empire markets were soft is well entrenched in the literature. It is, however, a belief that has been largely untested. Indeed, the literature does not even offer an explicit definition of softness. This article attempts to fill this gap by discussing the meaning of the term and then posing the question whether between 1870 and 1914 Britain's fastest growing markets—Australasia and Canada—can in fact reasonably be labelled soft, as has often been assumed. The article concludes that the demand for British imports in these markets was driven more by considerations of income and price than by colonial sentiment or preference.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Thompson & Gary Magee, 2003. "A soft touch? British industry, empire markets, and the self‐governing dominions, c.1870–1914," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 56(4), pages 689-717, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:56:y:2003:i:4:p:689-717
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2003.00266.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Brian D. Varian, 2017. "British Capital and Merchandise Exports, 1870–1913: The Bilateral Case of New Zealand," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(2), pages 239-262, July.
    2. Andrew Dilley, 2013. "The Politics of Commerce," SAGE Open, , vol. 3(4), pages 21582440135, November.
    3. Andrew Dilley, 2013. "The politics of Imperial commerce: The Congress of Chambers of Commerce of the Empire, 1886-1914," Working Papers 13008, Economic History Society.
    4. Teresa Silva Lopes & Paulo Guimaraes, 2014. "Trademarks and British dominance in consumer goods, 1876–1914," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 67(3), pages 793-817, August.
    5. Tim Rooth, 2006. "Revisiting the mature economy: Britain, 1860-1939," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 119-126.

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