Promoting Free Trade in the Victorian Era: Part One

The latter half of the 19th century is often seen as an era of globalization. An intellectual case for free trade had been developed by David Ricardo in the early part of the century. However, it was many years before the doctrine took hold politically. This excerpt shows the promotion of the idea through the building of the Crystal Palace in London. The commentary notes the semi-religious aura that surrounded the concept. (You still hear people talking about "believing" in free trade.) The Crystal Palace itself was moved to another location after the exhibit depicted in the video. It burned in the 1930s. This is Part One.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• free-trade
• Victoria-and-Albert
• Crystal-Palace
• Britain
• globalization