It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.
- Frederick Douglass |
Economical gain of Imperialism
In Aspiration & Dissonance by Jeffrey Lamonica, author James Esposito explored the British’ use of imperialism for economic gain in the chapter “The British Second Empire 1830-1914”. European presence grew throughout colonies during this era and the dangers of imperialism and colonization were shown while composing the empires of trade. Economics was the primary cause of British Imperialism in Zexu’s day in 1840 and Kipling’s era in 1899. Esposito offered support in this chapter containing economical and political forces such as trade, goods, housing, policies, treaties, war and more. The first example mentioned in this chapter distincts how the British Empire derives from Naval power using tax money. “The valuable commodities like sugar and tea made money for the state through taxes…(p134)”. This was done by the collection of taxes used to build stronger and more powerful ships to help fight and protect the trade it was transporting. Which fueled wars, transported trade, and built Britain into the strongest navy simultaneously. Esposito also mentioned how tea became essential for consumption amongst other commodities such as porcelain and other goods. Therefore, the British had to begin trading their silver for them. But shortly after, they ran out of silver to trade and “faced huge trade deficits” (p135). Europeans demand for commercial interests were hindered by this with few goods to trade with China and trade restrictions amongst them. This led them to utilize Opium as a source of trade from the sub-continent India. The drug became very popular and detrimentally affected China’s population. According to Esposito, “The opium trade, taxed and paid to the British Government, helped pay for imperial expansion” (p135). He argued they could not have paid for any of it without the Opium-trade. This mutilated China’s economy, state revenue, their population’s health and was used to justify trade. Later on, Lin Zexu illustrated the detrimental effects of Opium and enacted anti-Opium policies towards the British. This led to the Opium War and the British military defeated Chinese forces, leading to The Treaty of Nanjing where coastal cities were used as trading ports. Esposito also mentioned how Kipling’s poem illustrated European’s differing ideas from natives and Chinese. “It was thought Europeans, again, were endowed with the most desirable attributes. Asians and Native Americans less so” (p137). Which gave Europeans the motive and initiative to intervene in colonies to achieve modernity. This was done without permission of the colonies and attracted injuries and death. Kiplings statement “To veil the threat of terror” sheds light on the lethality used to gain or seek profit. In conclusion, “Economic development became one of the major justifications for the imperial project”(p138). Economics was the primary cause of British Imperialism for various reasons. To begin, the British used their power to extend into India to achieve Opium and create the opportunity for profit. This is economic because the tax money produced from Opium went towards building stronger naval boats; which caused trade to increase. While the trade increased, China’s population was falling to addiction and illness. Which drove the Emperor to force Lin Zexu to implement anti-opium policies to eradicate the Opium trade. This was intended to weaken its business development by their government and resulted in war. Eventually, treaties were put in place and the perception of Asians and other races besides European began to deteriorate. Imperialism became prominent in the 1800’s and empowered the Europeans with a variety of trade, commerce, new technology and superiority.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMy name is Alexandra Ross and I will be posting all of my assignments on this page. Please feel free to comment and ask questions! Archives
February 2022
Categories
All
|