(COI) Consequences of Industrialization 1750-1900 Module Overview

The Colonial Era (#303740)

Introduction 

The Industrial Revolution had a significant impact on the world and the people in it. Products were now more abundant, cheaper and accessible. Cities were growing at exponential rates, transportation was making it easier to travel and industrialized countries were growing in strength and wealth. As industrialization spread around the world, it became a huge motivator for industrialized countries of the world to show and exert their newfound strengths to the world. A variety of ideologies in culture, religion and race will be used to justify their actions in this new movement called Imperialism. Social Darwinism, nationalism, the concept of the civilizing mission as well as the desire to religiously convert indigenous populations were just a few of the motivators that led to the development of imperialism. This then led to a rise in imperialism as industrialized countries looked for places to provide the raw materials for their goods, labor forces for harvesting these materials and ready markets for their finished goods once manufactured.  

Western European industrialization fundamentally altered the nature of European overseas expansion. In previous times, Europeans sought desired material goods or moved against threats from external enemies. In the Americas, they seized lands for plantation crops. Christian missionaries sought converts. Much of the secular and religious thrust was due to a desire to strengthen Europe in the long contest with Islam. Industrialization brought new motives for expansion. Raw materials were needed to fuel industrial growth, and markets were required for its manufacturing production. Christian proselytizing continued, but private initiative replaced state direction. Another change was that the increased power of the West made it fear European imperial rivalries more than indigenous opposition. Europeans then had gained the capacity to push into and occupy territories once closed to them by disease or local resistance.

Most Latin American nations gained independence from colonial control early in the nineteenth century. The political culture of its leaders had been shaped by the Enlightenment, but they faced problems growing from their own history. Their colonial heritage did not include participatory government; highly centralized states had created patterns of both dependence and resentment. Class and regional interests divided nations; wealth was unevenly distributed. The rise of European industrial capitalism placed Latin American nations in a dependent economic position. Asia was also affected in this way in certain parts. China, Egypt and South Asia would fall prey to imperialist nations as they were used for economic purposes for these nations. England introduced opium to Chinese populations in order to strengthen their influence in the region and weaken the Chinese and make them dependent on imperialist nations. South Asia and Egypt were used for cotton production while Africa was used for diamonds and palm oil. The Middle East did not escape either as it was used to produce the opium used to addict the Chinese population.

Migration will also be affected by this growing interconnectedness of the world. As new opportunities arose and news modes of transportation, demographics in both industrialized and unindustrialized countries alike will be impacted by this. 

 

Essential Questions

• How did ideologies contribute to the development of imperialism from 1750 to 1900?
• By what processes did state power shift in various parts of the world from 1750 to 1900?
• Explain how and why internal and external factors have influenced the process of state building from 1750 to 1900.
• How did various environmental factors contribute to the development of the global economy of this period?
• How did various economic factors contribute to the development of the global economy in this period?
• Explain how and why new patterns of migration affected society from 1750 to 1900?
• What was the relative significance of the effects of imperialism from 1750 to 1900?

 

[CC BY 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION