How Did The Increase Of Trade In The 19th Century

Over the course of the 19th century, the world economy experienced a large increase in trade: in 1913 the volume of foreign trade per capita was more than 25 times greater than in 1800. The largest expansion took place between the early 1840s and 1873 during which total trade was increasing at more than 6 % annually. One of the main causes behind these growth rates was the decline in freight rates – both transoceanic tariffs and domestic transport costs decreased, thanks to the the construction of railways, canals and larger steamships. A further cause was the decrease in tariffs on imports and exports and the abolition of many prohibitions on imports of commodities. The latter was brought about by the spread of free trade ideas and a general movement towards
However, it is important to note that the annual volume of exports of European countries kept increasing. The rate of growth of international commerce did indeed decrease following the financial panics, but nonetheless, that rate remained positive and accelerated again from circa 1894 to 1914 – in the years before World War I the growth was 4.5% per year, nearly as high as in the years before 1873. European countries were contingent on international trade than they had ever been: for the larger developed countries such as Germany, France and Britain, exports made up between 15 and 20 % of total national income and even the US which depended much less on other countries, was the international 3rd largest exporter by 1914. In conclusion, even though the return to protectionism marked a drastic change in the way countries viewed free trade across borders, the world economy was more unified and mutually-reliant at the beginning of the 20th century than ever