Pre-1914 British Capital Market and British Capital Exports

Abstract

Returning to the analysis of the Jenks-Simon data, we find that between 1865 and 1914, £4.1 billion was called in British capital markets for securities of companies operating overseas and the obligations of foreign and colonial governments at all levels.¹² The magnitude of British capital exports has been noted frequently, but its geographic breadth is as impressive as its volume. Over the half-century, Britain invested in 150 countries and colonies including the dependencies of twelve other colonial powers. The global scope of the British market may best be seen from the following: during the earliest years surveyed, 1865–9, governmental bodies and enterprises in 65 nations sought funds in Great Britain; by 1910–14 this number had risen to 120. (See Table 55.) Countries seeking British funds ranged from as few as 27 in 1877 to as many as 86 in 1910, the number of countries and colonies utilizing the British capital market moving in a manner parallel with changes in the volume of capital exports.