Economic History Ch8

Context for British expansion in India

• 16th c Muslim Moghul empire in India (doesn’t control coasts)

• Portuguese don’t have colonies on coasts— they have fortified ports and bases. They take over Goa 

• 17th c: English and dutch replace the Portuguese and have better trade relations. Demand for textiles

• 18thc Mughal empire fractures and great religious, economic and political crises ensue

British Expansion in India

• PTC East India Company transitioned from portuguese base model to an interventionalist and expansionist model.

• EIC vs. French EIC— EIC comes out on top

• EIC takes over territories by promising protection or by intervening in local conflicts. Come to own about 60% of India. The rest is indirectly under British influence

• Following periods of rebellion under EIC, British establishes unified rule in 1858. 

• “jewel in the crown”—rich in valuable resources like silk, textiles, sugar, soldiers

Pomeranz’s cons of British rule in India

• ruralisation— regressed back towards the primary sector as British limited the exporting power of secondary sector producers. 

• urbanisation rates fell

• captive market for English imports limiting local production

• conditions unsuitable for industrialization

• By early 20th century, India was too densely populated, industry too underdeveloped, and internal market too small

The Raj Paradox

• British imposed and maintained peace

• Implemented civil and legal framework that protected a market economy

• famines ended

• facilitated integration with global market

• built infrastructure including canals and railways

still, poverty persisted and these benefitted few. Caste system and lack of education persisted

China 18thc

China fell behind Europe in 18thc industrial revolution

saw some GDP growth and peace, but:

• too much population growth from agricultural expansion

• unsustainable ecological damage and labor intensive agriculture economy

19th century China; “Century of Humiliation”

• West strongly demanded Chinese goods, but China was only interested in silver

• EIC began smuggling opium into China for silver, creating silver outflows and a health crisis

• China saw a bad defeat in the First Opium War

  • cession of Hong Kong

  • 5 “unequal treaty ports”— forced to accept opium

• followed by rebellions (Taiping) and the Second opium War. Civil unrest and impoverishment

Tongzhi Restoration 19thc China

• policies aimed at restoring order and creating conditions for economic recovery

• self-strengthening movement: military modernization and westernization. shipbuilding and firearms

Benefits of forced trade opening

• imports and exports dramatically rose

• western tech spread

what limited the tech opportunities of China’s open ports?

• low government investment to create infrastructure for real advancement

• resistance from merchant guilds and artisans

1895 Sino-japanese War

over korea

• saw japan as a pupil, was embarrassingly defeated

• Foreigners gained rights to establish factories in treaty ports

1900 Boxer Rebellion

anti-Western anti-modernization movement, squashed by Western powers

Chinese Republic

Born in 1912. Indstitutional and economic modernization

• industrial output grew 10% annually

• textiles and food

• growth in japanese fdi

• increase in foreign trade

interrupted by:

• Great Depression export demand falls

• Japanese invasions

• Civil War, won by Mao and nationalists retreat to Taiwan. Birth of People’s Republic of China

Japan Pre-Tokugawa Period

• japan was quite economically advanced

• portuguese arrived during the sengoku civil war period

• japan was very receptive to imports, including firearms. Traded silver in exchange, of which they were only behind spain in production

17th Tokugawa Shogunate Period

“centralized feudalism”

• eliminated threats; christianity, firearms

• isolationism, except for some dutch

• emperor religious role

• alternating presence system

alternating presence system

during tokugawa shogunate, daimyo families kept in Edo, and they alternated between their land and edo by year. prevented rebellion by essentially holding their families hostage.

led to industrious revolution— increased transport and edo as a hub led to increased infrastructure, housing and markets

18thc who ends Japanese isolationism

18thc American Commodore Perry forces Japan’s ports open.

19thc Meiji Restoration 1868

• strong modernization agenda, aggressive growth, and on eve of WWI self-sufficient in steel, engineering, chemicals, etc

• top-down modernization

  • social

    • abolished caste system and feudal practices

  • economic

    • created and encouraged companies

    • zaibatsu like german cartel

    • imported western tech and expertise

    • modern infrastructure and services(post and telegraph)

  • cultural

    • embraced westernization in education and customs

• population responsive to top-down efforts.