Topic: Global Economic Development

Economic needs was one of the biggest motivations for imperialism during 1750-1900. Europe looked to Africa and Asia for raw materials for their manufactured goods while America looked to South America for agricultural needs including workers.

Technological Developments

• The introduction of railroads decreased the cost to transport raw materials. European colonizers emphasized that the railroads provided transportation for their colonies, but they mainly served their own economic interests.

• De Beers Diamonds: diamond monopoly that controlled the demand and supply of the diamond industry. Started by Cecil Rhodes. Controlled 90% of world diamond production.

• Cecil Rhodes was one of the investors of Britain’s railroad system design stretching from Cape Town to Cario, Egypt, in order to connect Britain’s colonies and make governing them easier. However, the railroad was never completed as Britain did not take control of enough land.

• The development of efficient steam boats made it possible to transport large amounts of people, goods, materials, and eventually perishable food with refrigeration.

• Telegraph connected nations causing their trade relations to run smoothly.

Agricultural Products

• Subsistence Farming: farming where most of the crops/livestock raised are used to maintain the farmer and the farmer's family, with any, surplus for sale or trade.

• Under the control of imperialists, subsistence farmers started to grow cash crops for imperial demand. However, the rise of cash crops made food prices increase.

• Cash Crops: agricultural harvest that are planted for the purpose of selling on the market or for export to make profit.

• Guano: seabird and bat excrement used as fertilizer; a major trade item of Peru in the late nineteenth century.

Raw Materials

• Export Economies: An economy specialized in production of one or a few natural resources (often cotton, rubber, sugar) which are exported to other countries.

• British Parliament banned India’s production of cotton textiles in 1721 as they competed with the British wool industry.

• During the Industrial Revolution, Britain got 80 percent of their cotton from America to support their textile industry. But, with the American Civil War blocking off cotton exports, cotton farms in Egypt and India benefited as they held the most supply for Britain.

• Cecil Rhodes became prime minister of the Cape Parliament and his racist laws paved the way for apartheid.

• Apartheid: 20th century South Africa’s policy of segregation and discrimination based off of race.

Global Consequences

• Cash crop influenced the use of Mono-culture farming.

• Mono-culture Farming: practice of using large amount of farming land for a single crop.

• Cash crops rapid production depleted the soil’s natural fertility,.

• Mono-culture farming made diseases and pests easy to spread through crops.

• Overall diversity has depleted due to mono-culture farming.