Chinese and British Economic History - Essay Example

Asia Economic Author’s Name Grade course Institution Tutor Date Abstract Industrialization in Western Europe was characterized by the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution was characterized by changes in the way people produced goods. Before the industrial revolution, people produced goods and performed services without machines. The advent of machine use changed how things were done starting with Great Britain and then spreading to Western Europe. It is worth noting that the industrial revolution did not start in Asia despite the continent having had the requisite technology earlier than Western Europe. Introduction Many people have posed the question whey Britain was the first country to industrialize. Researchers have sought to find out the economic, geographical, political, or ecological qualities that Britain possessed and other countries lacked. Researchers can understand why Britain was first to industrialize by examining what those countries did and others did not. Many countries in Western Europe followed in the footsteps of Britain and industrialized. It is peculiar that some Asian countries failed to industrialize despite the fact that those countries had the necessary technology to attain the feat that Britain and the rest of Western Europe had achieved. Discussion There were two stages of economic growth in Britain from 1700 to 1870. Britain experienced a rapid growth in population. Many innovations were made during the eighteenth century. Despite the growth in population as well as innovations in technology, the economy did not change much. The income of the nation did not improve greatly and the workforce did not change much in its structure (Deng 2000, p.28). Despite improvements in the economy, the areas that experienced growth were the traditional areas. The second phase of the industrial revolution in Britain took place as from 1800 to 1825. During the second phase, Britain saw increased use coal to run their industries. As a result of using fossil fuels, the population rose rapidly while at the same time, urban areas expanded also (Deng 2000, p.23). The per capita income rose and the workforce was restructured to reflect the realities of the day. Many writings about Europe’s industrialization fail to recognize that fossil fuels played a critical role in the industrial revolution. Other European countries copied the model that was adopted in Europe and Western Europe industrialized due to imitation. Western European countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland were backward in comparison to Britain. In order to try and play catch up with Britain, these nations turned to the banking sector to finance its industrialization process. Governments played a critical role in the industrialization processes of the countries that were not as developed as Britain. Experts have come to the realization that the different countries in Europe adopted different routes to attain industrialization (Frank 1998, p.54). Belgium is a small European country found in north-western part of Europe. Belgium's industrial development was similar to that of Britain. Belgium had similarities with Britain in that both countries had large deposits of coal. However, Belgium had an added advantage in that it had iron-ore and rich lead deposits. Belgium's industrial development was similar to that of Britain. In the eastern region of Belgium, production of lead, mining coal and iron fed the industries produced armaments and nails (Frank 1998, p.74). The industries dealing with linen and wool also grew by leaps and bounds. With the advent of 1800, the economy of Belgium grew very rapidly resulting in the country becoming the most industrialized country in continental Europe (Gerritsen 2004, p.65). The iron manufacturing industry prospered and this was followed by enterprises dealing with production in iron and making of glass. The iron and glass making industries were energy intensive and they could only flourish where there were sufficient coal reserves which were also accessible. Mons-Charleroi became a major industrial centre and it was supply coal, steam engines as well as wrought iron to Germany and France. In Liege, the wool industry which was in existence adopted use of machines thus resulting in huge growth. Low wages and the high cost of machinery discouraged many employers from purchasing the machinery despite the fact that the machines reduced the number of employees required (Hicks 2009, p. 23). Industrialization in Germany had greater similarities with the industrialization process in Britain. The process of industrialization in Germany did not begin until the second half of the 19th century. In the second half of the 19th century, per capital income increased to more than twice the previous levels. Industrialization resulted in the economy showing very good results. The economy of Germany grew so rapidly that by the time World War One broke out, Germany ranked among the greatest industrial powers in the world (Hicks 2009, p.19). Germany exploited these resources resulting in the unprecedented growth in its economy. The areas that had coal attracted energy intensive industries such as steel and iron production. Germany relied on iron ore imports from Lorraine and Sweden. Germany's population increased rapidly during the period of industrial revolution (Jones 2003, p. 64). There are similarities between Europe and Asia with respect to industrialization. The economy of Europe and Asian regions such as the Kanto plain in Japan, Gujarat and Bengal in India as well as Yangtze delta in China. These Asian regions underwent great changes in the economy in the period from 17th to 19th century (Jones 2003, p.67). These areas had economies similar to those of Europe in that there were huge industries, free markets, commercialisation in agriculture as well as high standards of living. Some industrial historians argue that certain regions in Asia did in fact post higher production figures than those in Britain. Asia therefore acted as the centre of the world's economy for quite some time. The Asian countries dominated the world trade since it produced huge quantities of goods, the goods were competitive as well as engaging in trade (Landes 55). China came very close to becoming an industrial power in the fourteenth century. However, the country stagnated economically. Between sixteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, the economy of China saw growth. The industries that supported China were silk, cotton, paper and pottery. The Chinese also commercialized agriculture selling indigo, tobacco as well as rice. Life standard did improve in China despite huge growth in population (Landes 1998, p.59). Some researchers argue that regions of China that were very advanced had similar standards of living to those of Britain. After the beginning of 19th century, Britain's economy took a totally different path. India was also an urbanized country which also engaged in trade. India did export textiles to Britain as well as other European countries. Domestic producers in Britain at some point sought protection through legislation to wade off competition from Indian products. It is apparent that imperialism led to stagnation and decline of Asian countries as economic powerhouses. India for example would have undergone an industrial revolution had Britain not spread its rule to the country. It is evident that colonialism by European countries cut off markets for Asian countries while creating markets and sources of raw material for European countries. Countries in European therefore turned a country such as India into a market for its manufactured goods while drawing resources from the country. This led to the decline of India as an economic giant (Landes 1998, p.42). Both India and China had coal deposits as Britain had. People could advance the reason that the coal deposits were located in areas that were far from the industrial centres but the challenge could be overcome. China for example had low wages with plenty of labour. With little disposable income, the Chinese could not offer a suitable market for an industrial nation. With cheap labour and lack of disposable income meant that there was no motivation for the Chinese to industrialise. The presence of cheap labour meant that business owner could not find reason to find new ways of conducting their businesses (Perdue 1999, p.11). Manufacturers who wanted to expand their production simply employed more people. It is therefore evident that the Chinese industry would not be restructured to allow coal to replace wood as had happened in India (Levathess 2006, p.62). In India, though agricultural production was high, this resulted from the large number of people available to work. Indian workers had lower levels of pay when compared to their counterparts in Britain. Britain, having high costs of labour, found means of advancing its technology to reduce the cost of doing business. India on the other hand, had highly skilled worker who were paid very low wages and they continued using equipment that was cheap and simple. This presented very few reasons for innovation (Pomeranz 2000, p.81). When Indian manufacturers sought to increase their productivity they simply employed a greater number of workers rather than invest in expensive technology. Britain had developed in terms of urbanisation and organic agriculture. Britain therefore sought ways to change the way that things were being done in the country and this motivated the advent of the first industrial revolution (Perdue 1999, p.12). Conclusion Britain followed by other Western European countries were the trail blazers with respect to industrialization. However, it is surprising why Asian countries failed to industrialize despite having the requisite technology and resources present in Britain and other European countries. It is evident that there factors within the Asian countries which made its manufacturers not to seek more innovative ways. There was cheap labour force, the population had low purchasing power meaning that there was no motivating factors for the Asian people to seek more innovative ways of carrying out their activities. References Deng, K.G., 2000, ‘A Critical Survey of Recent Research in Chinese Economic History’ Economic History Review, 53. pp 1–28 Frank, A. G, 1998, ReOrient: Global Economy in the Asian Age, Berkeley Gerritsen, A, 2004, ‘Dragon’s Ascent: Lecture 5: Why Did the Ming Fall?’ Dragon’s Ascent Lecture 27 October 2004 Hicks, J.R, 2009, A Theory of Economic History Oxford University Press: Oxford. Jones, E.L., 2003, The European Miracle: Environments, Economies and Geopolitics in the History of Europe and Asia. Cambridge. Landes, D. S., 1998, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why some are so rich and others are so poor. London. Levathes, L, 2006, When China Ruled the Seas: the Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne. Oxford University Press: Oxford. Perdue, P. C., 1999, ‘China in the Early Modern World: Shortcuts, Myths and Realities’ Education About Asia, 4.1. Pp.1–15 Pomeranz, K., 2000, The Great Divergence: Europe, China and the Making of the Modern World Economy. Princeton, N.J. Read More