Overview
Why were Asians and Africans so divided, some choosing to cooperate with Europeans and others resisting their advances? (The Earth and Its Peoples, 664)
The peoples of the Africa and Asia took varied positions on interaction with Europeans. One clear reason for this is the vast regions of land and varied cultures that constitute these areas. Even though Britain had recently taken a resolute opposition to slavery, West African elites still welcomed them because of the raw materials and technology they traded to the regions along that coast. In the early 19th century, the British East India Company established more trade warehouses and thoroughfares in the Indian subcontinent. This occupation of Indian lands that was welcomed by some groups and fiercely opposed by others. While met by more opposition, the British Empire expanded into the other Indian Ocean territories up to the end of the century.
Because the trans-Atlantic slave trade was profitable for African elites and brought western many valuable goods to West Africa, when it was effectively shut down after 1808 by British patrols, people along this coast were eager to keep the European trade lines alive. The imposition of this “legitimate trade” (any non-slave trade) saw a huge rise of African export of gold and palm oil. For these the British traded guns and technologies of the Industrial Revolution, some that interested Africans and some that did not. With the help of the new, swift, sturdy clipper ship, the British were able to transport these goods faster than ever before.
Western influences came from more than just trade, however. The recapture of blacks from slaving ships by British patrols, and subsequent assistance in the creation of free colonie...
... middle of paper ...
...dia Company after the Battle of Plassey) or his son show opposition to the British, the EIC could (and should) easily take control. His tone leads me to believe that he values the Indians as pawns in an international battle for British wealth. As seen in the line “…I have made it pretty clear to you, that there will be little or no difficulty in obtaining the absolute possession of these rich kingdoms…”, Clive has a blunt confidence about the acquisition of Indian lands.
He alludes to the frustrations of the Mughal Empire in ruling the Indian subcontinent and its peoples. He states that by paying the annual taxes of the state, the British will have little difficulty obtaining the consent of the Mughal emperor to occupy Indian lands. He also mentions that those taxes have not been sought after by the Mughal’s recently due to their attention to internal conflict.
In a letter from Gandhi to Lord Irwin addressed as “Dear Friend,” he stated, “ Whilst therefore I hold the British rule to be a curse, I do not intend harm to a single Englishmen or to any legitimate interest he may have in India…. And why do I regard the British rule a curse? ...Even the salt [the peasant] must use to live is so taxed as to make burden fall heaviest on him…” (Document A). Gandhi refers to Lord Irwin as “Friend” so that as he reads the letter he is not seeing himself as a higher power. Gandhi was opposed to the British rule because they placed a high tax on the salt that the poor men and/or women need to
The British had a triangle of trade with Africa. They would go to Africa trade finished goods and bring them to
The trans-Atlantic trade of African slaves contributed to maintaining progression of labor systems as well as promoting change in the British North American colonies. The slaves provided labor and helped produce the cash crops that were then exported to Europe where they traded the goods to trade with Africans for more slaves. The Africans enslaved each other and sold more slaves to be sent to the colonies in
... The Economic History Review, by Behrendt, Stephen D. David Eltis, David Richardson that stated, “…second impact of Africans that goes beyond violence on slave ships followed from the natural Africans assumption of equal status in the trading relationship…came in the wake of holding Europeans…”(Source 9). The result of considering the equal status between the Africans and the Europeans from Africa’s point of view was the Atlantic slave trade which millions of African people’s live had been jeopardized and their fate had been seal to work in the fields for the rest of their lives.
Cotton, spices, silk, and tea from Asia mingled in European markets with ivory, gold, and palm oil from Africa; furs, fish, and timber from North America; and cotton, sugar, and tobacco from both North and South America. The lucra¬tive trade in enslaved human beings provided cheap labor where it was lacking. The profits accrued in Europe, increasingly in France and Britain as the Portuguese, Spanish, and then Dutch declined in relative power. It was a global network, made possible by the advancing tech¬nology of the colonialists.
Great Britain and South Saharan Africa Imports and Exports, 1854 and 1900. " Chart. The. The British Empire: 1558-1995.
They built roads and railroads. British rule brought peace and order to the countryside. They revised the legal system to promote justice for the Indians, regardless of class. Indian landowners and princes, who still owned territory, grew rich from exporting cash crops such as cotton and jute. The British introduced the telegraph and the postal system as a means of communication.
Africa is a land of riches like no other, so as expected, European countries would have some sort of desire to conquer properties in whatever way they did. As stated in African Colonies and their Exports Chart, countless of natural resources are found in different areas in Africa. Not only does the data show plenty of resources, but also a variety (Doc D). This confirms that Africa is a wealthy land that Europeans grew fond of and hoped to take over. Specified in Imports and Exports Graph, following the 1900’s, after the conference to divide up Africa was held, Britain decided to use Africa’s natural resources and specialize in many industries. The imports doubled from 4 million pounds, while the exports boosted from 2.5 million all the way to 21 million pounds (Doc. E). With this lucrative increase in trading and selling, it is fair to conclude that not only were resources a factor of beginning imperialism in Africa, but also a successful result.
The Effects of British Imperialism in India One could approach this topic from two points of view: the British and the Indian. One could choose either party and find very different opinions. When British colonizers first arrived in India, they slowly gained more and more control in India through many ways, the most prominent being trade and commerce. At first, they managed India’s government by pulling the string behind the curtain. However, soon they had acquired complete rule over India, converting it into a true British colony.
The National Archives | Exhibitions & Learning online | Black presence | Africa and the Caribbean. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/africa_caribbean/africa_trade.htm
Europe, in the late 1800’s, was starting a land grab on the African continent. Around 1878, most of Africa was unexplored, but by 1914, most of Africa, with the lucky exception of Liberia and Ethiopia, was carved up between European powers. There were countless motivations that spurred the European powers to carve Africa, like economic, political, and socio–cultural, and there were countless attitudes towards this expansion into Africa, some of approval and some of condemnation. Europe in this period was a world of competing countries. Britain had a global empire to lead, France had competition with Britain for wealth and so did other nations like Germany and Russia.
The British interest in India grew as the need for new world markets and trading ports expanded. Many western Europeans longed for the distant goods of the East, but did not care for the expensive prices that international trade had to offer. Rather than allow for the creation of a global exchange, many countries developed their own system and cooperations for importing rare goods. One of these was East India Company. However, in 1858, England, no longer wishing to pay for the extra expenses charged by the Company, established a colonial control over India (Kaul, BBC News).
The unbalanced relationship between Africa’s resources and European and American financial interest can first be analyzed from 1600 to 1860 leading up to the emancipation proclamation. This era was characterized by Africans giving up their human capital, or human resources in the form of slaves to European’s to trade over to the Americas to support the plantation economy. This was the largest loss of humans for Africa as they sent millions through the slave trade. Many Europeans, such as the Dutch West Indian Company and the Royal African Company, made an enormous amount of money running the slave trade while African’s got little to nothing in return. American’s profited by having free labor for a one time fixed payment to acquire the slaves. This fueled the plantation economy in which Americans deepened their pockets leading up to the civil war. Overall, this relationship heavily favored the westerners and caused Africa to lose a great deal of human resources.
The decision to grant independence to India was not the logical culmination of errors in policy, neither was it as a consequence of a mass revolution forcing the British out of India, but rather, the decision was undertaken voluntarily. Patrick French argues that: “The British left India because they lost control over crucial areas of the administration, and lacked the will and the financial or military ability to recover that control”.
As the Europeans started to invade Africa and split up the land, they paid no attention to the already existing natural boundaries. Over time, villages with different cultures had set these boundaries. The Europeans ignored these invisible borders as they invaded. This caused soci...