Free-Trade Empire and “Pax Britannica”

Shigeru Akita
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Shigeru Akita: Osaka University

Chapter Chapter 3 in History of the British Empire from Asian Perspectives, 2025, pp 41-90 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter deals with the nineteenth century, the heyday of the British Empire. In this century, the British Empire built not only official colonies, but also an “informal empire” in Asia and Latin America, backed by its overwhelming economic power. China after the Opium Wars was a typical example. After the “Great Mutiny” in the middle of the century, British India formed the core of the Empire, and cotton products made in Manchester were exported to India in large quantities. However, in addition to manufacturing interests, the interests of the City of London, the centre of the world’s finance and service sectors, also exerted a great influence through railway construction and overseas investment. Britain’s influence as a hegemonic state that exceeded the formal and informal empires extended to Japan as well. In this chapter, the author depicts the relationship between the Asian world and the British Empire.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/978-981-96-1004-4_3

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