Industrial Revolution brought social and economic changes that transformed the agricultural society to a modern industrial society. The industrialised nations needed raw materials for their industries as well as markets for their finished good.
This resulted in colonization of under developed countries. This transformed the industrial nations into imperialists and led to rivalry amongst them for supremacy. This imperialism and rivalry led to World Wars.
Industrial Revolution
Historically, it refers to the period in British History from 1750 to 1850. Dramatic changes in the social and the economic structure took place as inventions and new technology created the factory system of large-scale machine production and greater economic specialisation. The population which was employed in agriculture now gathered in urban factories.
Steam Engine
The Industrial Revolution started in Britain with the use of steam power. This was made possible with the invention of the Steam Engine by James Watt in 1769.
Textile Industry
In 1733 John Kay’s invented the Flying Shuttle which simplified the process of weaving cloth and which increased the output four times. James Hargreaves invented a hand powered spinning wheel, the Spinning Jenny, to create multiple spools of thread at once. After the invention of the Spinning Jenny, cotton textiles became the key industry of this period.
Textile Industry was the first one with mass production.
Coal and Iron
The presence of large quantities of coal and iron proved a decisive factor in Britain’s rapid industrial development. The steam engine, coal and iron laid the foundations for modern Industry.
Transportation and Communication
In 1700 bridges and roads were constructed. Soon steam engine and railways were transporting goods over tracks throughout England & supporting canal transportation. The invention of telegraph and telephone made it possible to communicate in the world.
Transportation and Communication
In 1700 bridges and roads were constructed. Soon steam engine & railways were transporting goods over tracks throughout England & supporting canal transportation. The invention of telegraph and telephone made it possible to communicate in the world.
Industrialisation Globally
By 1850, the Revolution had been accomplished with industries becoming a dominant factor in British life. The effect of the Industrial Revolution was felt worldwide. France after 1830, Germany after 1850 and U.S. after the Civil War soon started industrialisation.
Impact of Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution also encouraged the movement of the masses towards cities which gave birth to an urban society. The workers now lived close to the workshops or the factories where they were provided employment opportunities. But the working conditions in the factories were miserable along with poor housing, hygiene and health conditions.
Gradually the workers began to realise their strength. The pressure came from trade unions. A movement began to save the workers from the injustices of the factory system. Many laws were made to reform the working and living conditions.
Rise of Imperialism and Colonialism
The discovery of trade routes encouraged competition amongst colonial and imperialist powers for expanding their empires to fulfill the need of raw materials, new markets and cheap labour. It started a race for colonies among the European countries, rivalry particularly between England and France. Later on Italy, Germany and other countries also joined the race. These imperialist expansions led to struggle for supremacy and the two world wars. They exploited the colonies and destroyed their traditional social, economic and political systems. These colonies in turn started opposing the foreign rules and fighting for their independence.
Industrialised countries chose Asia and Africa to extend their dominance. These countries were rich in resources but were politically and militarily weak and industrially backward.
The main feature of Imperialism was that it drained out the wealth resources from the colonies and transferred them to the imperialist countries.
Imperialism in Africa
Till 1875, European possessions in Africa were limited to some forts and trading posts along the coast and a few small colonies. But between 1880 and 1910, the whole of Africa was divided up amongst the Europeans.
France acquired a huge empire in North and West Africa. Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Dahomey, Mali and other areas in West Africa came under the French rule. Britain ruled Gambia, Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Nigeria, South Africa, Rhodesia, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, parts of Somaliland and Libya. Germany ruled over Southwest Africa, Tanganyika, Togoland and Cameroon until German was defeated in World War I. By the time the war started in 1914, only two independent countries were left in Africa - Liberia and Ethiopia. But Ethiopia was taken over by Italy in 1935.
Slave Trade in Africa
The Europeans started importing slaves from Africa to work on the plantations in their colonies in America.
Imperialism in Asia
India
The British and the French did not like the prosperous trade carried on by Portugal and Holland, whom they ultimately threw out from India. Soon the English and the French Companies made settlements. In 1763, the British ended the French influence in India and established their own control.
China
Chinese goods were in great demand in European countries but there was no demand for European goods in China. This one-sided trade was not profitable for European merchants so they started smuggling opium to China to demoralise the Chinese youth and exchange Chinese goods. This led to the First Opium War between China and Britain in which China was easily defeated and Britain gained many concessions for herself.
Japan
The Meiji Restoration began in 1868 which transformed Japan from a closed feudal society to the first industrialised nation.
In 1871, a group of Japanese politicians toured Europe and US. Japan framed a state led industrialisation policy. In 1877, the Bank of Japan was founded. Many steel and textile factories were set up, education was popularised and Japanese students were sent to study in the West. By the year 1905, under the slogan of ‘Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Military’, Japan rose as a formidable industrial and military nation. She was successful in conquering Formosa, Southern Sakhalin, Korea, Manchuria, Indo-China, Burma, Malaya, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.
South and South-East Asia
South and South-East Asia includes Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malaya, Indonesia, Indo-China, Thailand, Indo-Philippines.
Sri Lanka was occupied by the Portuguese, then by the Dutch and later by the British. Other countries of South East Asia also suffered under Imperialism. French troops attacked Vietnam claiming that they were protecting the Christians of Indo-China. Gradually Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were added to the French Colonial Empire. The British added Burma and the port of Singapore to gain control over the Malaya states.
Impact Of Imperialism
It drained both Asia and Africa of their wealth, raw materials and the exploited their markets by selling their industrial goods, imperialist countries thereby destroying the economy of these colonies. The indigenous industries were ruined and the natural resources were exploited.
Some of the positive effects of Imperialism on the colonies were the introduction of transportation and communication like railway lines, canals, telegraphs and telephones. It also led to the growth of political consciousness and the feeling of nationalism in the colonies. It led to development in modern education and science which helped the nations to develop after they gained their independence.