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TOPIC-1
Silk Routes Link the World
- Silk routes was the name given to the land and sea routes which carried West-bound Chinese silk cargo to distant countries of the western world.
- They knit together vast regions within and Asia, with Europe and northern Africa. The silk route has been predominant even before the Christian Era and was in existence till the 15th Century.
- Chinese pottery, Indian textiles and South-East Asian spices were transported through the same routes Precious metals such as gold and silver were sent back to Asia from Europe.
- They are examples of the vibrant pre-modern trade and cultural links between distant parts of the world.
However, culture and trade went hand in hand. Trade was facilitated using these routes and the cultural representatives of the East and West, for example, Christian missionaries, Muslim preachers and Buddhist monks travelled along the same routes.
Frequently Asked
Native Americans were popularly known as American- Indians.
Food Travels
Spaghetti and Potato Pre-modern world also saw long-distance cultural exchange through food.
(1) Travelling merchants carried their native food to the places they visited. Noodles came from China to the West and became spaghetti Similarly, pasta travelled from Arab to Sicily in Italy
(2) Even readymade foods found in a region of the world might owe their origin to another place in the world.
(3) Common foods such as potatoes, soya, groundnuts maize, tomatoes, chilies and sweet potatoes were introduced in Europe and Asia after Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered the Americas. We owe the origin of various everyday foods to the American Indians
(4) Introduction of new food items made the lives of people easier. They became dependent on their growth for their sustenance.
(5) The humble potato became the staple food for Europeans, so much so that when the crop failed hundreds and thousands of people died of starvation
Frequently Asked
Due to heavy dependence on potatoes (introduced in Ire- land by travelers from America)around 1.000.000 people died of starvation in Ireland.
Almost double emigrated i search of work during the Great Irish Potato Famine (18 to 1849) when the potato crop was destroyed by a diseases.
Conquest, Disease and Trade
The discovery of sea routes to Asia and A brought the world closer during the sixteenth.
America, which had been cut off from the rest of the world before the discovery of this route, transformed lives and trade through its products after the sixteenth century.
Places like present-day Peru and Mexico had reserves of precious metals, especially silver, which enhanced the wealth of Europe and made trade with Asia possible.
Many legends about the wealth of South America and the city of gold, El Dorado were popular among seventeenth century, Europeans, triggering various expeditions to find these reserves and mines.
The Portuguese and Spanish conquest and colonisation of America was underway by the mid- sixteenth century. With these expeditions, exchange of food and goods, exchange and introduction of germs and diseases like smallpox also began.
Topic -2
The Nineteenth century (1815-1914)
A World Economy Takes Shape
Changes in food production and consumption patterns can be observed as the first changes experienced due to the changing economic order of the world.
Population growth and high demand due to an increase in the number of urban centres and industries pushed up food grain prices. British government restricted the import of corn through the Corn Laws' under pressure of the landed aristocracy which was dominant in the British society.
(1) Capital was facilitated from London and labour was supplied in Australia and America through migration.
(2) By 1890, a global agricultural economy had taken shape, accompanied by complex changes in labour movement patterns, capital flows, ecologies and technology.
Similar changes could be noticed in India. The British Indian government built a network of irrigation canals to transform semi-desert waste lands into fertile agricultural lands to grow wheat and cotton for export.
These canal colonies were settled and inhabited by workers and farmers swiftly .Similar things happened in cotton and rubber growing areas. World trade multiplied by 25 - 40 times during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Most of this trade comprised primary agricultural products like wheat and cotton, and minerals such as coal.
Role of Technology
Technological advances were often the result of larger social, political and economic factors.
Important
The colonisation stimulated new investments and improvements in transport, equipment and communication etc..
The trade in meat changed completely due to this transformation. Earlier, animals were slaughtered after reaching the destination in Europe, which made it an expensive commodity.
Most of the time, the animals arrived malnourished-unfit for human consumption, or they fell ill and died on board the ships.
All this led to a higher demand for meat but Europeans found it difficult to still consume meat due to high prices.
The answer to this was refrigerated ships Built to enable transportation of slaughtered animals from their starting point in America, Australia or - New Zealand to Europe as frozen meat. Prices fell tremendously due to this and meat became widely available.
Diets became richer due to its inclusion, promoting healthier living conditions and social peace within the country and support for imperialism grew.
Late Nineteenth century colonialism
countries (other name for colonised nations) were integrated into the world economy. For example. Europeans looked at Africa and carved up the continent for economic gain.
In 1885, powerful European nations carved up Africa between them. They drew almost straight borders within the continents, demarcating their territories. Most territories were taken up by Britain and France. Belgium, Germany and the US also became colonial powers after this division.
Rinderpest- A Cattle Plague
In Africa, cattle plague or the Rinderpest, affected the local economy and livelihoods of people Widespread European imperial power drastically impacted colonised societies
Africa had abundant land and a relatively small population. Land and livestock sustained African livelihoods.
For Africans, there was no reason to work for wages because there were not many consumer goods available and land and livestock fulfilled all requirements.
Europeans were attracted to Africa due to its vast resources of land and minerals in the late 19th century.
The idea was to establish plantations and mines to produce crops and minerals for export to Europe However, Africans were not willing to work for wages. They were forced through these methods:
(1) Employers had to impose heavy taxes which they could pay only by working for wages on plantations and mines.
(2) Inheritance laws were changed Only one person in the family was allowed to inherit and the rest were pushed to the labour market
(3) Mineworkers were also confined in compounds and not allowed to move about freely
Indentured Labour Migration from India
The nineteenth-century world was a world of economic growth, great misery, higher incomes for some and poverty for others.
There technological advances and new forms of faster were coercion i in various areas.
In the nineteenth century, many Indian and Chinese labourers were working on plantations in mines, and road and railway construction projects around the world.
In India, the indentured labourers were hired with promises to return to travel to India after they had worked five years on their employer's plantation.
Most Indian indentured workers came from the present-day regions of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India and the dry districts of Tamil Nadu.
The mid-nineteenth century decline of cottage industriesrise of land rents and clearing of land for mining purposes affected the lives of the poor; they were forced to migrate in search of work due to these conditions.
Indian indentured migrants were mainly stationed in tea plantations in Assam, Caribbean islands (usually in Trinidad, Guyana and Surinam) Mauritius and Fiji.
Tamil migrants went to Ceylon and Malaya to work in tea and rubber plantations. Recruitment was done by agents who were paid a small commission.
Migrants were forced to take up the work by providing false information about final destinations, modes of travel, the nature of the work, and living and working conditions.
Migrants took up these jobs to escape poverty and oppression. Sometimes, migrants were even abducted.
Indian Entrepreneurs Abroad
The growing food and agricultural crops were always in need of capital.
They had a sophisticated system to transfer money over large distances, and indigenous forms of corporate organisation helped transfer the capital.
By 1860s, Indian traders and moneylenders also followed European colonists into Africa. Hyderabadi etc..
Topic-3
Inter war economy
Although the First World War (1914-18) was fought in Europe, its impact was felt around the world. It plunged in the first half of the twentieth century and recovery took a long time.
This led to widespread economic and political instability and another catastrophic war.
Important
The First World war was fought between Britain, France and Russia (later joined by the US) called the Allies and the other side by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Turkey called the Central Powers.
During the First World War, the countries used their modern industries to inflict destruction upon other countries, making it the first modern industrial war ever fought.
The war saw the usage of machine guns, tanks, aircraft, chemical weapons, etc. on a massive scale.
There was massive destruction and huge scale recruitment of soldiers. Millions of people were killed and most of them were young able-bodied men reducing the workforce in Europe drastically.
Societies had to be rearranged because men were away at the war and women had to step in to play their roles too. Industries were also restructured to produce war- related goods.
World's largest economic powers fought against each other and used most of their funds for the same.
Every country was borrowing money from the US. The US was transformed from an international debtor to an international creditor.
The US possessed more assets after the war than before it.
Post war economy
Post-war economic recovery took decades. Britain which was otherwise the world's leading economy, faced a prolonged crisis.
It could not capture its position and compete with the Indian and Japanese industries again.
Due to excessive borrowing, by the end of the war, Britain was burdened with huge external debts.
The war had caused an economic boom which led to a large increase in demand, production and employment.
With the end of the war, the boom also ended, production contracted and unemployment increased.
Peacetime has also led the governments to reduce bloated war expenditures. Jobs were lost People were anxious and uncertain.
Agricultural economies were in crisis. Grain prices fell, rural incomes declined, and farmers fell deeper into debt.
Rise of Mass Production and Consumption
After the war, the US economy recovered the fastest. Mass Production was a feature of the US economy in the 1920s during its recovery.
It was pioneered by car manufacturer Henry Ford who adapted the assembly line of a Chicago slaughterhouse to his new car plant in Detroit.
The assembly line method which enabled faster production of vehicles, forced workers to repeat a single task mechanically and continuously at a pace dictated by the conveyor belt.
The T Model Ford was the world's first mass-produced car.
Many workers were unable to cope with this system of work on the conveyor belt. So, they left jobs in large numbers.
To earn their loyalties, Ford increased their wages and recovered these high wages by repeatedly speeding up the production line and forcing workers to work even harder.
Mass production lowered the costs and prices of engineered goods ,Higher wages led to an in demand of luxury goods. .
Large investments in housing and household goods created a cycle of higher employment and incomes. rising consumption demand, more investment, employment and incomes in the US.
Rise Mass Production and of Consumption
After the war, the US economy recovered the fastest. Mass Production was a feature of the US economy in the 1920s during its recovery.
It was pioneered by car manufacturer Henry Ford who adapted the assembly line of a Chicago slaughterhouse to his new car plant in Detroit.
The assembly line method which enabled faster production of vehicles, forced workers to repeat a single task mechanically and continuously at a pace dictated by the conveyor belt.
The T Model Ford was the world's first mass-produced car.
Large investments in housing and household goods created a cycle of higher employment and incomes, rising consumption demand, more investment, employment and incomes in the US
Topic-4
The Great Depression
During the Great Depression, the world experienced major decline in production, employment, incomes and trade.
Every country experienced the depression differently. The agricultural regions and communities were the worst affected due to greater fall in prices of agricultural goods.
The depression was caused by a combination of several factors.
(1) Economy was fragile after the world war. Agricultural prices fell and overproduction was a problem. Farmers produced lend to earn the bare minimum, which led to extra supply. Prices fell Further.
(2) Most countries financed their investments through loans from the US. US overseas loans lenders were hesitant to lend money which further destroyed the economy of these countries. It caused failure of banks, slumping of agricultural prices etc.
(3) The US attempted to save its own economy and hence doubled import duties. This made it even worse for other economies.
(4) The industry of the US was also severely affected. Farmers of the US could not sell their harvests, households were ruined, and businesses collapsed because its banks called back loans.
(5) People had to sell their property to repay their loans. Unemployment soared and the US banking system collapsed.
(6) The Great Depression had wider negative implications on society, politics and international relations.
(7) Countries could only recover slightly by 1935
Topic-5
Rebuilding a world economy-
The post war era
Post-War Settlement and The Bretton Woods Institutions
Economists and politicians learnt that an industrial society based on mass production required mass consumption to sustain and flourish.
(1) High consumption could only come from stable jobs and regular incomes which required steady. full employment. Governments had to intervene to support the falling economics. Markets alone could not provide the stability among fluctuations of price, output and employment.
(2) It was also learnt that to achieve a full employment, it was necessary for the government to control flows of goods, capital and labour to preserve economic stability and full employment in the industrial world was the main purpose of the post-war Industrial system.
(3) Charged by this ambition, at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference held in July 1944 at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire, USA, twin institutions, also called as the Bretton Woods Twins was formed; the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the World Bank were founded.
(4) International economic system post-war is described as the Bretton Woods System due to this monumental development Independence With the end of the Second World war, many European colonies in Asia and Africa emerged as free.
Decolonisation and independent nations.
Their handicapped and overburdened economies needed monetary support and aid. They could not be aided by the IMF and the World Bank because they were designed to look after the requirements of the industrial countries.
Europe and Japan rapidly rebuilt their economies and required less attention from the Bretton Woods twins. Then these institutions shifted their attention more towards developing countries.
Ruling colonial powers still controlled their resources indirectly. They exploited this opportunity by using these resources very cheaply. To preserve their interests, developing countries, by forming a group of 77 nations, demanded a new international economic order.
With the new international economic order (NIEO) they expected better control over their natural resource, fairer price for their raw materials, and better access to their manufactured goods in foreign markets.
Important
Countries which had been parts of powerful Western countries had to receive aid from institutions which were run by their colonial rulers.
Most developing countries could not cash in on any benefits from the unprecedented growth experienced by Western economies. Grieved, they organised themselves as the group of 77 (or G-77) - to demand a new international economic order (NIEO). doff
End of Bretton Woods Woods and and the Beginning of 'Globalisation'
(1) Finances and competitive strength of the USA was weakened by the rising costs of its overseas employment. Havoc once again wrecked the stable growth period.
(2) The US dollar became weaker and lost confidence in the market.
(3) The Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates collapsed and a system of floating exchange rates was introduced in the world economy. Now that the international financial system collapsed, developing countries had to borrow from Western commercial banks and private lending institutions. This led to more poverty in Africa and Latin America.