The Tools Of Empire Daniel Headrick Summary

The British were able to obtain diverse raw materials for goods because of their central location. Great Britain had good access to the atlantic ocean which gave it good ports.Britain often exported opium to China. Often luxury items such as tea and silk was exported. In 1875 they also imported 125 pounds of cotton that was used in the British textile industry. Great Britain was successful for its industrialization giving that they were holding lands in places

Throughout history, many powerful nations interfered with nations that were weaker than they were. This form of sabotaging a nation is economic, political or cultural life is called as imperialism. Imperialism is often separated into two sects. The first one is old imperialism, which was the period from the 1500s to the 1800s, where European nation started to colonize many areas such as the Americas, and parts of Southeast Asia. On the other hand, the new imperialism was the period between the years “1870-1914”, where Europe became more focused on expanding their land into Asia and Africa. Imperialism had many pros and cons. In addition, it also had many causes led by the feeling of nationalism.

During 2002, an essay was published titled “Political Economy and Ecology on the Eve of Industrialization: Europe, China, and the Global Conjuncture”. This was the works of Kenneth Pomeranz who provoked a distinctive question about China in relation to Great Britain around the 1800s. In his published book The Great Divergence, Pomeranz states that China and Great Britain were on similar trails leading towards the Industrial Revolution until a “Great Divergence” arose during the 1800s that sent these two emerging nations towards diverse routes. In his essay Pomeranz efficiently states how China and Great Britain developed differently due to the coal and colonies. Pomeranz argues how these two aspects assisted Great Britain in dodging

The question about why did British have a head start of the Industrial Revolution is addressed by a very different view, by the author. The author views this by analyzing the two most advanced cultures; China and England. The reader sees that colonial resources and overcoming the biological old regime played in the favor of England. The Britons used their colonial resources against the Asians; which is from India, China, and even Japan, inclining the global economic standard, power balance towards the Britons.

The Chinese had what is called the Chinese Four Great Inventions to offer the West. These are paper making, printing, gunpowder and the compass. It is easy to see how significant these were in history and the world’s development. Many of these items were first discovered in China but revolutionized in the West. Let’s first discuss paper. Paper was originally made from fishnet, bark and cloth. A paper factory was setup by the Arabs who captured some paper makers in a war between the Tang

Since Africa had many diseases such as malaria, Europeans were able to create drugs to protect themselves from such diseases. Africa was vast, and there was an abundance of different languages and cultures. This made

However the biggest advantage Britain had that spurred their modern thinking into industrial factories was its geography. England had fast flowing rivers that were effective to power water mills for machinery, and provided transportation routes for industrial goods. The weak point about rivers was that in winter they froze, stopping the water powered machinery and blocking routes (Little, n.d.). This leads to the true geographical advantage of Britain, one that wasn’t stop by the effects of seasons: high deposits of coal and iron ore. Coal was able to power the newly invented steam engine, which was a breakthrough leading to large scale industries (Little, n.d.).

Compare and contrast the influence and consequence of European Imperialism on Africa and China during the 19th century.

Imperialism was bad for China. The British had to create silver; because that was the only thing China wanted to trade with. Because, the British were trading opium with China, it threatened China’s trade balance. China also saw how bad opium affecting people so they decided to take a lot of the opium and throw it into the ocean. The British demanded access to Chinese territory to trade. China did not agree to let them in, the British sent gunships to take over Canton by force. China was defeated and signed the treaty of Nanjing. Signing it meant that China

Over the period of 1792 to 1990, England and China's relationship drastically changed because of the trading of opium. China didn’t want to trade opium, but it would mess up England's economy if they were no longer trading opium. China also started to feel the need to westernize, unlike before. China’s need for westernization released tension between the two powers, causing a change in their relationship. China and England's relationship was continous from trade. Even though it was unbalanced in the beginning, it was never cut off. During this time period, in other parts of the world, industrialization was starting to take place. England was one of the leading countries in this age of Industrialization. England used their advanced technology

The years of 1200-1750 were times of massive change in Western Europe and much of the world. However, one of the most important turning points of the time period occurred when advances in seafaring technology led the Americas to be discovered and trans-regional trade to intensify and expand across the globe. This intensification of trade led to the beginnings of the African slave trade and the destruction of the indigenous peoples of South and Central America, which changed the course of history. Despite all of this change, however, trade still remained a profound source of cultural diffusion, and the influence and power of China on world trade and politics did not waver. This essay will be outlining the specific ways in which the world changed and stayed the same during the age of exploration, with

This led to many new things being developed during this time period which led England to transition a lot easier. “The stream of scientific thought was one of the main tributaries of the industrial revolution...discoveries in different fields of activity were linked together (Document 5).” This explains how inventors being able to think of new ways to do things led to the start of the industrial revolution. In addition, this then led to even more discoveries that were linked together. While people began to discover new ways to produce products, they needed more people to work for

Furthermore, this experience led to the discovery that the key to success is control over regions that produced valuable goods, since control over trade routes ultimately leads to their change.1 China with its warfare and seafaring technology never claimed to take control over the sea even after Zheng He’s voyages, since they had enough, if not more resources than everyone else, unlike Europe. The conclusive thought is that Europeans were poor, and in order for them to succeed in an otherwise rich world, force was the only option. The bias is therefore in the fact that Europeans had no

In the early 1880’s, the powers of Europe started to take control of regions in Africa and set up colonies there. In the beginning, colonization caused the Africans little harm, but before long, the Europeans started to take complete control of wherever they went. The Europeans used their advanced knowledge and technology to easily maneuver through the vast African landscape and used advanced weapons to take control of the African people and their land. The countries that claimed the most land and had the most significant effect on Africa were France, England, Belgium, and Germany. There were many reasons for the European countries to be competing against each other to gain colonies in Africa. One of the main reasons was that the

that made the colonizing of Africa likely was quinine. Quinine is a drug sold by the pharmaceutical, which is made out of bark from trees found in South America. The second technological advance that played a role in the colonizing of Africa was the Maxim gun, which is also known as the machine gun. The Maxim gun was a British invention that helped small armies conquer larger armies in battle against each other. Not only did this weapon help Europeans control Africa but many other parts of the world as well. According to the Lecture by Dr. Hill, "Scientific Racism divided humans into groups called races" (Lecture, 2017). The physical differences between the races were meant to explain the mental and moral differences in which it created a hierarchy