industrialization resulted in evils that the world could have never been ready for capitalism colonialism imperialism and exploitation powerful nations establish their control over other countries by exerting political pressure and infiltrating or invading them outright The invaded or the conquered country was referred to as a colony. And the practice of exerting political and military power to control the conquered nation was known as colonialism. What did the invading nation stand to gain from all this?
Well, they gained raw materials, cheap labor by employing the natives. agricultural lands that could be used to grow crops like indigo, opium, rubber, tea, and tobacco for their commercial value, and ports for maritime trade. At least till the end of the 1600s, the European powers were busy fighting one another.
However, the discovery of trade routes And the increase in geographical knowledge led them to Africa and Asia. The European powers spent over two centuries fighting with each other over two things. Access to resources in the colonies and trade routes. They did not want to trade with the same people as their competitors. But why colonize a place at all?
One reason was that they needed the raw material obtained from the colonies. This was essential for the industrialization of the colonizing countries. Thus, the race was on. Ironically, they manufactured goods in such huge quantities that the colonists brought goods back to their colonies to sell. This brings us to the second reason.
The colonies served as markets for the finished goods of the colonists. Since there was surplus food and resources in the colonizing countries, this had a positive effect on the populace, and the population grew exponentially. This gives us the third reason for colonizing.
The colonists... were looking for new places to accommodate themselves. Also, the European powers deemed the possession of colonies prestigious. Well, duh!
The Europeans deemed it their responsibility to take civilization to many countries in Asia and Africa. What? Seriously? In the long run, the tensions among the colonialists over the control of resources and trade routes created conflicts, which escalated into a full-fledged war that involved all the prominent powers of the world. This war was later to be known as the First World War.
The invasion conquest. and exploitation by European colonists had mostly adverse administrative, political, social and economical effects on the colonies. The colonists made the natives grow commercial crops that broke the self-sufficiency of rural society. Food security of the farmers growing indigo and poppy took a hit. And there were multiple instances of famines, starvation and malnutrition.
The colonists charged unreasonably high revenues and evacuated the farmers who couldn't pay up. Since the colonies were their markets in the post-industrial age, they hampered domestic trade within the colonies. The cottage and handicrafts industries were the worst hit. Colonists sometimes went to the extent of destroying the tools of the workers and even resorted to breaking the limbs of weavers.
Since they considered themselves superior to the colonized people, they replaced elements of traditional belief with western ideas or what they believed was right. for the colonized people. The colonists were in every way exploitative and oppressive, but some of their deeds did prove useful to the people in the colonies. For instance, they built roads, canals, railways, and industries to source and refine raw materials.
The colonized people, too, found these useful later. Access to health care and the introduction to new methods of sanitation helped the natives of the colonized countries tackle epidemics. If you like this video and want to watch many many more amazing videos like these, like and subscribe to our channel now.