Book contents
- British World Policy and the Projection of Global Power, c.1830–1960
- British World Policy and the Projection of Global Power, c.1830–1960
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Notes on the Contributors
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Introduction: British World Policy and the White Queen’s Memory
- 1 The War Trade Intelligence Department and British Economic Warfare during the First World War
- 2 The British Empire and the Meaning of ‘Minimum Force Necessary’ in Colonial Counter-Insurgencies Operations, c.1857–1967
- 3 Yokohama for the British in the Late Nineteenth Century: A Hub for Imperial Defence and a Node of Influence for Change
- 4 ‘The Diplomatic Digestive Organ’: The Foreign Office As the Nerve Centre of Foreign Policy, c.1800–1940
- 5 Financial and Commercial Networks between Great Britain and South America during the Long Nineteenth Century
- 6 Britain through Russian Eyes: 1900–1914
- 7 Imperial Germany’s Naval Challenge and the Renewal of British Power
- 8 Views of War, 1914 and 1939: Second Thoughts
- 9 The Ambassadors, 1919–1939
- 10 The Tattered Ties that Bind: The Imperial General Staff and the Dominions, 1919–1939
- 11 Seeking a Family Consensus? Anglo-Dominion Relations and the Failed Imperial Conference of 1941
- 12 Imperial Hubs and their Limitations: British Assessments of Imposing Sanctions on Japan, 1937
- Index
5 - Financial and Commercial Networks between Great Britain and South America during the Long Nineteenth Century
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 September 2019
- British World Policy and the Projection of Global Power, c.1830–1960
- British World Policy and the Projection of Global Power, c.1830–1960
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Notes on the Contributors
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Introduction: British World Policy and the White Queen’s Memory
- 1 The War Trade Intelligence Department and British Economic Warfare during the First World War
- 2 The British Empire and the Meaning of ‘Minimum Force Necessary’ in Colonial Counter-Insurgencies Operations, c.1857–1967
- 3 Yokohama for the British in the Late Nineteenth Century: A Hub for Imperial Defence and a Node of Influence for Change
- 4 ‘The Diplomatic Digestive Organ’: The Foreign Office As the Nerve Centre of Foreign Policy, c.1800–1940
- 5 Financial and Commercial Networks between Great Britain and South America during the Long Nineteenth Century
- 6 Britain through Russian Eyes: 1900–1914
- 7 Imperial Germany’s Naval Challenge and the Renewal of British Power
- 8 Views of War, 1914 and 1939: Second Thoughts
- 9 The Ambassadors, 1919–1939
- 10 The Tattered Ties that Bind: The Imperial General Staff and the Dominions, 1919–1939
- 11 Seeking a Family Consensus? Anglo-Dominion Relations and the Failed Imperial Conference of 1941
- 12 Imperial Hubs and their Limitations: British Assessments of Imposing Sanctions on Japan, 1937
- Index
Summary
During the century after independence, both governments and businesses in the countries of South America alternated between boom and bust. How was an investor back in Great Britain to know when to invest and in what? How was a merchant bank in the City of London to know to whom to lend money, whether it was a capital loan or the buying of an ‘acceptance’ from a merchant (by which the merchant received payment for his goods from the bank before the goods were paid for across the ocean)? And how was a new businessman in a South American country to know with whom he could safely deal? They all needed networks of information, contact with a firm or an individual whom they could trust to provide them with that information. This was particularly crucial in the decades before the laying of the transoceanic cable between Great Britain and South America, when months could elapse without contact. How were these networks of information established, and by whom? And were they always successful? The answer to the last question was, of course, no, but having them was better than not having them. What was also vital to the position of British business in South America was the strength provided by networks of interconnected services.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019