Unit 3: Capitalism, Agriculture, Industry, and Trade
Capitalism, an economic system based on the private ownership of productive power, made the Industrial Revolution possible by creating demands for goods and incentives for entrepreneurs to invest in production. Capitalism had its origins in merchant activity, but by the 17th and 18th centuries, it began to penetrate traditional agricultural and industrial sectors. New crops from the Americas and new ideas about agricultural production led to an Agricultural Revolution in Europe, resulting in growing populations and the creation of new wealth among landowners. Capitalism matured as an economic system in the Atlantic World. Investors used capital to buy land in the Americas and captive labor from Africa to produce consumer goods like tobacco, sugar, and cotton for growing world markets. Throughout the period, capitalist merchants tapped existing handicraft producers of manufactured goods, using saved capital to finance industrial production on a growing scale.
In this unit, we analyze the effect of the Agricultural Revolution on Europe and see how it encouraged the growth of capitalism in Europe, across the Atlantic, and around the world.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 6 hour.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- assess the effects of the Agricultural Revolution on European societies;
- discuss the development of manufacturing in Europe;
- explain European manufacturing's effects on Asian industries;
- describe how slave labor from Africa and natural resources from the Americas assisted industrial development in England;
- discuss the impact of the Macartney Expedition on the emerging global economy; and
- explain the effects of Western Imperialism on Asia's industrialization.
3.1: The Agricultural Revolution in Europe
Several factors prompted the Industrial Revolution in England and Europe. As we discussed in Unit 1, in England, the ready availability of waterpower, sources of iron ore, an abundant coal supply, and raw materials from colonies such as India created a foundation for an industrial revolution.
An agricultural revolution of sorts had preceded these changes: new farming tools and mechanization methods made it easier for farmers to produce more food with less labor.
For example, in 1701, Jethro Tull invented the seed drill to plant seeds efficiently in neat rows and later developed a horse-drawn hoe. In 1730, Joseph Foljambe produced the first commercially-successful iron plow to replace its wooden predecessor. In 1786, Andrew Meikle developed a threshing machine to remove the outer husks from wheat grains. In the mid-1800s, John Fowler produced a steam-driven engine that could plow farmland and dig drainage ditches more quickly and economically than the horse-drawn plow.
Watch this video about the role of agriculture in establishing the first cities and states. "Fueled by surplus crops, agriculture led to the formation of the world's first large-scale civilizations".
Read this article about the important agricultural inventions of the 18th century. Just as agriculture drove the formation of cities and states, these inventions drove agriculture.
3.2: Cottage Industry and Handicraft Production
New technology was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, coupled with access to natural resources such as coal, iron ore, and water power. However, while technology dramatically improved the production of goods such as cotton fabric, it did not fully replace the domestic system or artisan handcrafting overnight. For some time, they coexisted and complemented each other.
The industrialization of textile manufacturing supplanted artisanal production, a process characterized by minimal automation, little division of labor, and a small number of highly-skilled artisans, particularly in the textile industry. These processes coexisted and complemented one another until full-scale industrialization rendered domestic weavers and cottage industry obsolete. In addition to laws that restricted the importation of Indian cotton, English textile manufacturing helped impede the Indian textile industry. Indian weavers, textile production, and industrialization suffered and forced the country to rely on its agricultural economy until recently.
Traditional cottage industries, which had endured for centuries in England, France, and India, were soon replaced by the mass production of cheap and affordable cotton fabric. Industrialization fueled a revolution that changed social and economic patterns in all three countries.
Read this article about the spaces in which manufacturing was performed over several centuries. It has some interesting things to say about understanding these spaces in their social and technological contexts.
Watch this video about the industrial revolution and the gradual transition from handcrafts to factory products. Of particular interest are the social and economic disruptions caused by the shift.
3.3: The Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange provided a new basis for new agricultural production, as new crops from the New World came to supplement the European diet, such as potatoes, corn, tobacco, beans, squash, peppers, and cacao. For example, potatoes became vital sustenance for the lower classes across Europe. We will consider the social impact of the wealth from industry and global trade in Unit 5.
Watch this video about the Columbian Exchange. With the instability at the time of the Silk Road, European traders needed to find another way to trade with the far east.
Read this introduction and watch the lecture. The Columbian Exchange included not just the trade of plants, animals, and goods but also ideas and attitudes that shaped the development of the new world.
Watch this video about the Columbian Exchange. In particular, it covers some of the more complex and subtle points of this turning point in global history.
3.4: The Atlantic Slave Trade: "Free" Labor from Africa
While England's industrial revolution was based on agricultural consolidation, mechanization, an ample supply of coal and iron ore, and water power, we cannot ignore that enslaved people from Africa provided the back-breaking labor that harvested the necessary natural resources and raw materials in its colonies.
For example, the sugar industry, which required intensive labor, which enslaved people provided, reaped huge profits for its owners and investors back in England. This capital provided the basis for the money needed to invest in factories and industrial production for the newly-developing mass consumer market.
Watch this video about the transatlantic slave trade. It summarizes the peak and decline of the slave trade, brought on by the shortage of labor needed to exploit the resources of the new world.
Watch this video about the Atlantic slave trade. It considers the damage done to the enslaved people and how the practice damaged the communities where people were taken from.
3.5: Proto-Industrialization and Trade in Qing China
The Qing dynasty represented a time of significant economic growth, trade, and agricultural reform, among other things. At the time, China was the most desirable trade destination of the global economy and arguably the most important. It was also a time of great self-sufficiency, hastening the monetization of trade, as the Qing emperor was primarily interested in trading for silver.
Watch this video about the Macartney Expedition. Lord Macartney met with the Qing emperor, seeking greater trade between England and China. "His failure highlighted several facts about the shifting global economy".
Read this article to learn how trade was conducted between China and western European countries – and how individual merchants from the United States found their way into the system over British corporate objections.
3.6: The Opium Wars and Western Imperialism
The so-called period of New Imperialism during the late 1800s and early 1900s represented a second wave of European expansion and colonialism, joined by the United States and the newly industrialized country of Japan. This period began with the Berlin Conference of 1884-85, where the European powers defined their spheres of influence by carving up Africa and parts of Asia. It reflected a new rivalry among the European powers who sought new supplies of natural resources, commercial markets, and military outposts. It also reflected a belief in the "civilizing ethos" which Rudyard Kipling expressed in his poem, "The White Man's Burden".
Read this article about the two Opium Wars. It offers an overview of both Opium Wars, their causes, and their outcomes.
Read these excellent details about the events and players involved. Feel free to peruse the other tabs as well.
Unit 3 Assessment
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