‘The Great Emporium’: Foreign Trade and Invisible Earnings, 1850–1914

The steady shift in the epicentre o f British economic activity after 1850 from north to south, and from the traditional staples o f the Industrial R evolution to services, is reflected in the changing composition o f British foreign trade. The period witnessed a steady increase in the importance o f ‘invisible’ income from trade in services and from the returns on overseas investments, while ‘visible’ exports suffered from increased competition and the slow pace o f transformation of Britain’s industrial base.