The British Imperial Establishment, Post Imperial Era, and the ‘Churchillian’ World View, 1945-2016. (Adjustments & Challenges in Contemporary British Diplomatic Strategy)

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free
trade Britain could build up an informal empire of economic influence
whenever opportunities presented
themselves.”14

To
the investors, the United States and Europe became more attractive for
investment. This is because both
Europe and the United States were undergoing
the process of industrialization. For example, Belgium and
France needed major
improvements in their communication systems and this required financial help.
By
1854, about £35-40 million in French railways and £25-30 million in Belgian
railways, was poured by
Britain into the construction of these two countries’
railway networks. In addition, there was
considerable British investment in the
government securities of France.

As
for the United States, it was the major beneficiary. “It is estimated that
in 1838 British
investment there amounted to $174 million; it helped to cover that
country’s national debt, bought
government securities and was ploughed into
canals, cotton and banks. British money also helped to build
rail-roads across the
great American prairies.”15 British
investment in foreign countries continued to
increase. By 1870 British investment abroad almost doubled
the amount Britain
had invested in the Empire. Europe and the United States were the
leading
recipients

Ironically, “the factor which throughout the nineteenth century had made
Britain so
unchallengeable-industrialization”16 also pushed her from
an
undoubted supremacy to a steady decline. As we have said, as a result of rapid
production of
goods which saturated home and colonial markets, Britain had to
seek markets elsewhere to sell the
overproduced goods. Therefore, the Parliament
had to adopt the idea of free trade. Since Europe and the
United States were on
the way to industrialization, they became more attractive o the investors
for
investing there.

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