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Impact of colonialism on economy
Industrial revolution and its impact in Europe
Industrial revolution and its impact in Europe
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European success and prosperity today can be taken back to their participation in colonization in the later years of the 19th century. It can be said that European success is because of imperialism. These countries gained in many aspects.
I would start with the greatest gain which was the economic aspect. Firstly, Britain had started their Industrial Revolution which gave them a greater advantage in development in Europe in the late 18th century. With Industrialization taking place they needed a constant flow of raw materials at cheap prices. It can be said that Britain created a land of milk and honey which they could not maintain by themselves. They showed that there was a flaw in their economic planning when their raw material reserves were diminishing at a fast rate. To maintain the high standard of living they had set they had to ensure that there was a constant flow of raw materials. Obtaining raw materials in Europe at that time proved to be an expensive endeavour and they saw imperialism as the gateway out of their problem. The colonies supplied European countries with raw materials like Gold, Rubber, Tea, Cotton etc.. Britain obtained tea, cotton, gold and various items from Southern Africa. Belgium obtained Rubber from the Congo at cheap prices. This made them one of the biggest contenders in the rubber industry. This improved their economy greatly and raised the country's standard of living.
Investment also comes into play. Because of the Long Depression there was a large surplus of capital and many European countries invested in the works of their colonies.
Trading companies were set up in the colonies. These companies were the ones that managed the trading activities of the raw materials in the colonies. Profit from trading in the colonies would mostly return to the 'motherland.' These inflows of money increased European economies. for example, Belgium would receive profits from rubber trading in Congo.
The Colonies provided marktes for European finished goods. This was a great benefit for them. Britain had markets in India and had largely monopolised markets where there was British influence.
Secondly the aspect of Empires comes into play. The successes of the First World War are mainly because of the colonies. Imperialism was a major cause of the war but the war victories were also because of the colonies. The colonies were joined to their "motherland" when it came time for armament for any conflicts. Britain had a strong navy but a useless army.
In a similar economic revolution, the colonies outgrew their mercantile relationship with the mother country and developed an expanding capitalist system of their own. England's economic system was primarily based on mercantilism, which was directly related to the colonies. This concept of mercantilism said that wealth is power and however much power you have is how much gold and silver one country has in its treasury. For this concept to take place, England had to export more than import. Because the colonies had the raw materials needed England set up laws such as navigation laws to restrict what the colonies coul...
The colonies were prohibited from trading with other countries, being limited to only Britain. Navy ships patrolled the area in search for smugglers and manufacturing in the colonies became restricted so it wouldn’t compete with the industries in Great Britain. Worker in the towns had less chances to work and earn money due to the restriction of
Though it seems that British policy may have stifled trade in the Atlantic colonies by regulating trade and dividing territories from Canada to the islands of the Caribbean, It is more likely that the policies helped more than hurt American trade. America directly benefited from the establishment of Jamestown, even though the Virginia Company was a near failure. The Massachusetts Bay colony provided a place for puritans to settle. When the Navigation Acts were imposed upon the early colonists, along with the writs of assistance and the various taxes that Great Britain thought were necessary, the colonists mostly ignored them. The Navigation Acts didn’t prevent smuggling, and was more likely a symbolic gesture. By the end of the French and Indian War, America was strong, even though the war cost over £2 million.
European countries were able to benefit economically by spreading cultural ideas to Africa. The Europeans in the north had a more advanced way of living than the Africans. Document C states that Europe had invented the first machine gun as well as the repeating rifle in the late 1800s. Both of these
The epoch of imperialism cannot be defined simply as proliferation of inflated egos tied to the hardened opinions of nationalists, but also a multi-faceted global rivalry with roots of philosophies tainted with racism and Social Darwinism. The technique of each imperialist was specific to the motivations and desires of each combative, predominantly Western power and subsequently impacted the success of each imperialist and its colonies. Driven by industrialization, Europeans were aware of the urgent need for raw materials and new markets to maintain a constant rate of expansion and wealth. Imperialism became a competition; in general, the European countries led with fervor while the non-Western regions deemed likely to be stepped on. Britain was endowed with geographic and political advantages that allowed the country to become the first to unwittingly stumble onto industrialization. Britain was an island, therefore had developed a unique naval strength which subsequently gave Britain leverage when globalization blossomed from expanding maritime trade. Meanwhile, the rest of Europe, including Belgium, trailed behind. Presently, colonized regions still bear the traits and scars from the subjugators of their past.
By colonizing North America, England could further explore Canada. Colonization also helped establish the slave trade. Colonizing in India benefited England because it diversified their produce supply. There was great benefit in India. England could acquire resources that they could not have come across otherwise.
The first way is through economic growth. With all the new trade routes developed and all the new cultures introduce this became a great haven for trade. The Europeans along with the rest of the people in the world were being introduced to stuff they had never seen before. This aloud for abundant trade and many new developments.
This theory of economics said that colonies are only here to serve and glorify their mother country, in this case Britain. This lead to Britain's passing of the Navigation Laws. These laws mandated that all goods from the colonies had to be carried by British ships, thus making British merchants rich and important because everybody wanted goods form the New World and now they would have to go threw Britain to get them. The Navigational Acts were tolerated to a certain extent but also disobeyed by the common people when necessary. In 1763, the Seven-Year War in Europe and the French and Indian War in the colonies was over, and with the end came a British debt of ove...
Economic concerns of the British caused the colonization of British North America. Such economic concerns included the opportunity to acquire gold, silver, a North American waterway that would lead directly to China and the Indies, and the prospect of countering Spain's dominance in North America (Boorstin et al. 34). In addition to these economic reasons for colonization, the English were also seeking to obtain the essential "raw materials" in America that they had been previously buying from other European countries for exorbitant amounts of money and gold (Boorstin et al. 34). Great Britain also sought to solve other economic problems through American colonization. For example, England needed to replenish some of its diminishing materials and assets, generate another "market" to export its cargo and merchandise, maintain its powerful navy and "merchant marine" through business with new American colonies, and to provide a new place for the unemployed to settle rather than escalating populace/crime and the economic burden in its own cities (Boorstin et al. 34).
And provide India with ‘proper’ education and standards. Communication, transport, industrialization, sanitation all improved and slavery, internal relations, conflicts and unacceptable practices all ceased. So Britain’s rule could also be considered the best thing to happen to India.
European nations felt bored with what they had. They wanted to explore the world and spend and earn money. They wanted to control the countries also. Europe thought that expansion would get them resources and markets to trade with. Europeans were motivated to expand because they knew the economy would grow stronger, they did not want other untrusted countries gaining resources and goods, and they had pity on the countries that were not organized or governed.
European colonialism was the period between 16th and mid-20th century. The triangle trade had emerged in the 16th century and slaves, sugar, furs, and cotton, enforced through military interventions, drew together the people, politics, economics, and even diseases of Europe, Africa, and the Americans in a triangle of previously unimaginable, highly unequal, and long-lasting relationships of exchange. Even today, we can find traces of many of these connections in the global economy for example, the French military operating in Côte d’Ivoire. So, the European colonialism played a pivotal role in establishing the framework for today’s global economic system.
The English also built many institutions in India and set up a productive government. "They have framed wise laws and have established courts of justice"(The Economic History Of India Under Early British Rule). In addition to all these positive effects, Britain also linked India to the modern world through modern science and modern thought. However, where the is good, there has to be bad. British colonization of India had its drawbacks.
As Great Britain began forming a union with England and Scotland they soon became the leader in building a unified economy, was this unified economy good or bad for the colonists? As the English began constructing trade laws a mercantile for importing and exporting was developed. This system was the true definition of a monopoly. These laws, that were put in place, caused economic warfare with France. For the colonist these terms were extremely restrictive and limited as they could only ship their products on British or American ships and they could only buy most of their goods from Britain. My thought is the way to make money is to export more goods than you are importing. This doesn’t seem to be too much of a positive thing for the colonists.
Western Colonialism was a political and economic phenomenon where many European nations explored, conquered, settled and exploited large areas of the world. In the West colonialism began during the 15th century, which is also referred to as The Age of Discovery. The Age of Discovery was mainly led by a development in Human mobility. The flourishing technologies in the west at the time had endorsed European travel on a transcontinental scale, this then lead to colonization around the rest of the world. The travel around the Atlantic Ocean stimulated colonization. Furthermore, it is important to consider all the contributing factors that were key to the western worlds domination. Other key factors were their developed military forces, the ever