INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM_TOPIC 4_HISTORY FORM 2
INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM
The Meaning of Industrial
Capitalism
Capitalism is
the social, political and economic system based on private ownership of the
major means of production. It first developed in Europe during the 15th
century when feudalism collapsed.
Under
the capitalism system companies and individuals own and direct most of the
resources used in production of goods and services. Capitalism underwent
different stages before reaching its maturity. These stages included:
1.
Commercial or mercantile capitalism
2.
Industrial capitalism
3.
Monopoly capitalism
1. Commercial or mercantile
capitalism: Was the first stage of capitalism where by
its economic system was based on trade and commerce. It took place between the
year 1500 and 1750. The merchants obtained wealth through trade activities. A
lot of wealth was accumulated during this period and therefore increased new
demands that resulted into development of another stage of capitalism known as
industrial capitalism.
2. Industrial capitalism: This
was the period when machines begun to be used for production in industries. The
transition to industrial capitalism was the period when mercantile capitalism
was giving way to industrial capitalism. This stage of industrial capitalism
took place between the 1750s and 1870s.
The transition was
manifested by five major events namely:
(i)
Political revolution
(ii) Agrarian revolution
(iii) Demographic revolution
(iv)
Commercial revolution
(v)
Transport revolution
THE DEMANDS OF INDUSTRIAL
CAPITALISM
(i) Needs for raw
materials, the increasing production due to expansion
of industries needed large quantities of raw materials supply. These materials
included cotton, coffee, tea, iron ore, palm oil, sisal, sugar cane, tobacco
and rubber. The available raw materials could not meet the demand needed by
industries. This resulted into the search and control of the sources of raw
materials.
(ii) Need for Market,
due to the investment of capital in production, industrial goods flooded the
European markets. Overproduction and under consumption became a critical
problem among the industrial capitalists hence they were forced to look for
markets outside Europe.
(iii) Need Areas for
investment; due to unreliable markets and high
concentration of capital in Europe, profit marginalization occurred. As a
solution new areas for investment were needed among other areas, Africa
provided the best areas for investment of such capital. In Africa the tropical
crops could do better compared to other countries it was also a good source for
non-agricultural raw materials such as minerals and forest products.
(iv) Need areas for Cheap
labors, due to labor consciousness caused by working class in
Europe and Britain in particular, the need to search for cheap labor become
important. This was a measure taken to compete in production for profit
maximization.
(v) Need area for
settlement; also they demanded the area for surplus
unemployed personal population in their countries.
REASONS FOR THE INCREASING
DEMAND OF INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT IN 19TH CENTURY
(i) Competition in
industrial production, European capitalist nations increased
the demand for industrial development as a result of competition in industrial
production.
(ii) American independence, resulted in
the development of the industrial sector. By the beginning of the 1870s, Europe
could not easily enter U.S.A since it had introduced protective tariffs to keep
out foreign manufactured goods and protect its industries. By the 1860s,
markets for manufactured goods and sources of raw materials in Europe had
greatly declined.
(iii) Accumulation of
wealth, in order to ensure this, they decided to invest the
wealth that was being obtained in industries into other areas outside Europe.
(iv) Overpopulation and
unemployment, the problem of overpopulation and
unemployment was also rising in European countries. Therefore, the solution to
those problems was sought outside Europe.
(v) Demands for raw
materials, the highly demanded raw materials were cotton, oil,
sugar cane, ivory, rubber and iron ore. Most of these raw materials could not
be found in Europe in large quantities. In fact, those tropical crops could not
grow in Europe. Following this Europe decided to produce such raw materials in
Africa, India, New Zealand, Australia and China. In those areas raw materials
were produced in large quantity than in Britain and other nations in Europe.
AGENTS OF INDUSTRIAL
CAPITALISM
There
were about four groups of agents of industrial capitalism in Africa namely:
1.
Explorers 2. Missionaries 3. Traders
1. EXPLORERS
During
the nineteenth century, the major aim of European powers was the exploration of
Africa. In east Africa, exploration was done by the prominent explores such as
Speke, Burton, Grant, Samuel Baker, Henry M. Stanley and Dr. Livingstone, while
in central Africa and parts of Congo the prominent explorers were Dr.
Livingstone and later Henry M. Stanley. And in West Africa the prominent
explorers included Richard Lander, Dr. Barth Mungo Park, Clapperton, Dr.
Baikie, Gaspard Mollien and Cailie.
The
journey of exploration was financed and supported by European capitalists. The
main aim was to gather information about Africa because they needed a wider
knowledge of the continent. They also wanted to know about the raw materials
which African had to sell and the location of the main centers of population.
Moreover, they were interested in the knowledge of transport potentialities of
African great river systems. For example, the British explorer, Mungo Park in
1780s, followed by Clapperton and Richard Lander explored the Niger and
gathered important information about the economy and politics of West Africa.
THE ROLE PLAYED BY
EXPLORERS IN THE COLONISATION OF AFRICA
(i) They reported back
about the potentialities of the African resources, Clapperton
reported about the river Niger to the British government while Speke reported
about the potentiality of Lake Victoria and named it Victoria to honor Queen
Victoria of the United Kingdom.
(ii) They provided
important information about the nature of African societies, they
reported about the hostility, calmness and hospitality of the African people.
This information played a central role for the European colonialists during the
decision making process regarding the colonization of Africa.
(iii) They explored
important mountains and researched the geology, climatic
conditions, topography, lakes and animal species in Africa. This knowledge
later attracted European powers to colonize Africa.
(iv) They provided messages
to their government about the evils of slave trade,
and the areas where slave trade was still conducted. Dr. Livingstone's third
journey through Tanganyika and Lake Regions of central Africa was targeted for
that as a result he informed the English that the Yao's land was still
characterized by slave raids and the effects of slave trade such as sufferings,
insecurity.
2. MISSIONARIES
By
the 19th century, missionary activities had started in Africa. The
pioneers were the protestant churches of Europe and America. It was only later
that Roman arrived especially from France. The domination of missionaries were
the London missionary society, the church missionary society, Roman Catholic
missionary society and the universities mission to central Africa (UMCA).
Few
Christian missionaries were directly active agents of imperialism. They were
essential ingredients of the increasingly assertive European access to Africa.
However, in most cases European Christian played an important role in promoting
and shaping the advent of European capitalism.
THE ROLE PLAYED BY
MISSIONARIES IN THE COLONISATION OF AFRICA
(i) They acted as
interpreters and propagandists at the time of treaty making, Moffat
stayed among the Ndebele for about 30 years serving the British South African
company (BSAC) for treaty making between the companies (BSAC) and King Lobengula.
(ii) They acted as advisors
to African chiefs, the British missionaries of the church
missionary society convinced Kabaka to accept protectorate.
(iii) They introduced
Western civilization to the interior through education,
this aimed to prepare people of low ranks to serving colonial masters at the
time of colonization.
(iv) They softened the
minds and the hearts of Africans, their activities were
influenced by European imperialists' interests by preaching and emphasizing the
spiritual beliefs such as “give to God what which belongs to God," and
"give to Ceaser what belongs to Ceaser”. In the long run this preaching
weakened African opposition and shaped the regions for future colonial
administration.
(v) They converted Africans
to the new faith, they were easily employed as puppets to
extend colonial rule. Typical examples are the converts of Sierra Leone,
Nigeria and Ghana who were able to protect the British economic interests and
paved the way for future colonization by the British.
(vi) They reduced
resistance among African societies; this was done by
converting some societies and preaching obedience to administrators.
(vii) They Introduced new
crops, Horner grew coffee at Bagamoyo around 1870 the church
missionaries society grew cotton in Uganda. This prepared people to acquire the
skills, which were important for future cash crop production during the
colonial era.
(viii) They helped in the
abolition of slave trade; they planned for successful
Christianization of the freed slaves as they preached the word of God. They
wanted to create the conducive and peaceful environment for the development of
legitimate trade which was exploitative in nature and was after capitalists’
interests.
(ix) They had closer links
with rulers and interfered even in political matters, they
allied European imperialism while they were working in the interior of Africa.
This situation provoked the hostility from African rulers. In this case,
missionaries appealed strongly for the protection from their home governments,
which later led to effective colonization.
3. TRADERS
Traders
were among the first Europeans to visit the interior and coastal areas of
Africa. They came under the influence of capitalists who also supported
missionaries and explorers.
Their
main aim was to exploit the new sources of raw materials, markets and new areas
in which industrial capitalists had to invest their capital. Examples of
traders are William Mackinnon, James
Stevenson, Harry Johnston and Carl Peters.
THE ROLE PLAYED BY TRADERS
IN THE COLONISATION OF AFRICA
(i) They opened a new an
exploitative system, therefore, Africa became the target for
European interests. This resulted in stiff rivalries and competition among
European industrial nations.
(ii) They introduced
legitimate trade; this involved the importation of European
manufactured goods. Thus, the chain of dependence was created and the African
local industries and the arts were destroyed.
(iii) They exposed Africa
to the world capitalist system of economy, the use of currency,
banking and credit facilities began to be witnessed by Africans. This resulted
into exploitation of African resources. The fair and quick turns obtained by
traders attracted European colonialists to come into Africa.
(iv) They opened
communication systems, this laid the foundation for future
colonial infrastructure. For example, the road from Lake Nyasa to Tanganyika
known as Livingstone road was opened by traders and was used during the
colonial administration.
COMPANIES AND ASSOCIATIONS
Companies and association
were
among the most important agents of colonization of Africa. Agents organized
themselves into companies and associations. They received finance from their
home government so as to operate effectively and differently in those areas,
where the governing powers had their economic interests. They aimed at
financing the exploration that showed the interest of coming to Africa.
Examples
of the association included the Royal British Geographical society, financed by
John Speke to explore the river
Nile. Another was the African Association of British, which in 1788 financed
Mungo Park. Its major aim was to explore and identify the areas suitable for
agriculture, which could produce enough materials for export. Another concern
of that association was to identify the navigable rivers, mineral deposits and
assessing the market available for industrial goods.
In
the abolition of slave trade, merchant companies became increasingly involved
in the interior of Africa. The major aim of these companies was to establish
the so-called “legitimate trade”. This was trade in commodities and other
resources that industrial capitalist required as raw materials or as food for
the urban working classes. The legitimate trade did not involve the selling and
buying human
Several
companies in Africa were established at strategic points for the purpose of
collecting important commodities for export and supplying manufactured goods
from Europe.
In
East Africa examples of these companies were the
Imperial British East African Company (I.B.E.A.C) founded in 1886 by William Macknnon. It was also
known as the British East Africa Association.
Germany East African Company (G.E.A.C) founded
in 1884 by Carl Peters.
In West
Africa examples of companies formed included the Royal Niger Company (R.N.C) which was formed by George Turban Goldie in 1884.
The
association was concerned with commercial activities. King Leopald expected that the company could improve the lives of
native as well as civilizing them, exploiting natural resources and abolishing
slave trade and slavery in the region.
In
central Africa the company prevailed was the Livingstone central Africa Company (L.C.A.C). it was formed by Scottish capitalists James Steven in 1878.
In
south Africa there was the British south
Africa company (B.S.A.C) formed by Cecil
Rhodes as a private company and operated in south and central Africa by the
year 1889, the company was given a
royal charter that included the full powers to administer the company.
THE ROLE PLAYED BY
COMPANIES IN THE COLONISATION OF AFRICA.
(i) They exploited African
resources, these resources were highly needed by the European
capitalists in their industries. In all parts of Africa Company played a
crucial role of collecting raw materials and carried out trade activities.
(ii) They eliminated local
middlemen, this was carried out by the companies which attracted
the imperialists powers to control Africa.
(iii) They encouraged their
home government to colonise Africa, for example, the Royal
Niger Company encouraged the British to colonize Nigeria after gaining the
control of the different trading areas in the region.
(iv) They Signed treaties, the
company played an important role of signing different treaties with African
local chiefs. These treaties helped imperial powers to claim and justify the
colonization of particular territories, especially during the Berlin
Conference. One example was a treaty signed between Harry Johnston and chief
Mandara of Uchaga in 1884 to control thirteen square kilometers of land in
Kilimanjaro.
In addition, Dr. Carl Peters of the society for German
colonization signed treaties with a number of chief between Pangani and Rufiji.
These treaties were later used by the German government to control Tanganyika.
(v) They created
infrastructures; these included commercial centers,
administrative headquarters, roads, railways and waterways. They were allocated
in those areas where they operated where by later on were used by the imperial
powers to transport administrators to colonize and impose laws on the land.
(vi) They paved the way for
colonization of Africa; they suppressed African resistance
through a police force used to maintain peace, order and stability within the
region. For example, in East Africa, the German East African Company recruited
Swahili, Sudanese and Buganda soldier to counter the coastal Arab resistance of
1888-1889.
(vii) They provided
important information about economic potentiality of African areas; Africa
was exposed to the imperial powers which aimed to colonize the continent.
(viii) They provided
rudimentary administration in areas of their operation,
some company leaders such as Sir. George Turban Goldie of the Royal Niger
Company, Harry Johnston, the representative of Cecil Rhodes of the British
South Africa Company, attended the Berlin Conference of 1884-188 5. They also
notified the conference about areas where they operate on behalf of their
mother countries.
(ix) They played an
important role of marking of the administrative boundaries, which
were later identified as boundaries of the European spheres of influence. They
prevented any other rival European imperial power from taking their
territories. This was evidenced in East Africa where the German East Africa
Company marked the area of the German in the Anglo-German rivalry and achieved
the 1886 agreement. While in South Africa the British South Africa Company
managed to map the claims of Britain, thus preventing the Portuguese from
interfering in the British sphere of influence.
ABOLITION OF SLAVE TRADE
Refers
to the state of ending slave trade. Or was the act of freeing slaves and
stopping the use of human being as commodities. Britain was the first nation to
Establish abolition of slave trade campaign. In 1833, Britain abolished
slavery, in 1865 U.S.A also abolished and the total abolition of slave trade in
East Africa took place during the colonial period.
REASONS FOR THE ABOLITION
OF SLAVE TRADE
ECONOMIC REASONS
(i) Capitalist production,
this involves two classes of societies, which are the capitalists who control
the major means of production and the workers who are employed by the capitalists.
For the workers to be effectively employed, they must be free and not slaves.
(ii) Need for markets, due
to the industrial revolution, there was increased production of industrial
products in Europe that lacked enough demand; this forced the British to
abolish slave trade so that markets can be created in Africa for their
manufactured goods.
(iii) Need for raw
materials, due to the industrial revolution, there was
increased demand for raw materials in Britain. The existing raw materials were
limited to supply due to the mushrooming of industries. This situation
necessitated the abolition of the slave trade so that Africans can produce the
needed raw materials.
(iv) The use of machines, the
industrial revolution was characterized by the use of machines in the
production process, these machines replaced human labor. The owners of the
machines campaigned for the abolition of the slave trade because slave labor
had become redundant.
(v) French and British
competition over sugar production, for so long period, the
British had a monopoly on sugar in the European market. The sugar was produced
by slave labor in the British West Indies. The British was selling their sugar
at very high prices thus making huge profits. However, by the end of the 18thC,
the French West Indies and re union islands were producing sugar in large
quantities and selling at a cheaper price thus making more profits than the
British. This situation made slave labor in British West Indies useless thus
forcing the British to abolish the slave trade.
(vi) The rise of men with
new ideas, Prof. Adam Smith (challenged the economic arguments
that were the basis of slave trade when he argued convincingly that hired labor
is cheaper and more productive than slave labor, Rousseau spread the idea of
personal liberty and equality of all men.
(vii) The ship owners
stopped transporting slaves from Africa, and began raw
materials directly from Africa and America to Europe, which led to a decline in
slave trade.
SOCIAL REASONS
(i) Religious reasons, the
religious bodies contributed to the abolition of the slave trade in Africa.
They argued that slave trade was against the will of God because he had created
all people equal but slave trade was treating Africans as an inferior class.
The Christians denounced slave trade in the name of God and argued that it must
be abolished.
(ii) French revolution of
1789, the French revolution of 1789 had a role to play in the
abolition of the slave trade. The slogan of the revolution was fraternity,
liberty and equality. Philosophers such as Rousseau campaigned for the
abolition of slave trade. These philosophers claimed that slave trade was
against the ideals of the French revolution thus it had to be stopped.
(iii) Humanitarian
movements, the humanitarians such as Granville sharp and Thomas
Clarkson played a certain role in the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave
trade. These people argued that slave trade had caused a lot of suffering to
the people thus it had to be abolished. These efforts were followed by British
declarations of 1807 and 1833 which abolished slave trade and slavery.
TACTICS USED TO ABOLISH
SLAVE TRADE
Abolitionist
and humanitarians used several methods to pressure nations to abolish slave
trade in the world. These tactics include the following;
(i) They used campaign
meetings, sometimes they asked freed slaves to address the
realities and how they were mistreated in slavery.
(ii) Anti-Slavery trade
patrol ships from Britain; they patrolled the seas to prevent
ships from sailing from Africa with slaves.
(iii) Intellectuals and
writers used books, newspapers and magazines to condemn slavery
and slave trade.
(iv) Treaties to stop slave
trade were signed between nations. Some of the treaties
signed between the Sultan of Zanzibar and the British in East Africa were;
·
In 1807, British parliament outlawed slave
trade for British subjects.
·
In 1817 British negotiated the “the
reciprocal search treaties” with Spain and Portugal.
·
Equipment treaties signed with Spain 1835,
Portugal 1842 and America 1862. In east Africa in 1822 Mores by treaty was
signed between captain Moresby and sultan Seyyid Said it forbade the shipping
of slaves outside the sultan's territories. British sips were authorized to
stop and search suspected Arabs slave carrying dhows.
·
In 1845, Hamerton treaty was signed between
Colonel Hamerton and sultan Seyyid Said. It forbade the shipping of slaves
outside the sultan's East Africa territories i.e. beyond to the North.
·
In 1871, the British set up the
parliamentary commission of inquiry to investigate and report on slave trade in
East Africa.
·
In 1872, sir. Bartle Frere persuaded sultan
Barghash to stop slave trade but not much was achieved.
·
On 5th march 1873, the sultan
passed a decree prohibiting the export of slaves from mainland and closed of
slave market at Zanzibar. Zanzibar slave market was to be closed within 24
hours
·
In 1876, sultan decreed that no slaves were
to be transported overland.
·
In 1897, decree left slaves to claim their
freedom themselves
·
In 1907, slavery was abolished entirely in
Zanzibar and Pemba.
·
In 1927, slavery ended in Tanganyika when
British took over from Germany after the Second World War.
EFFECTS OF THE ABOLITION OF
THE TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
(i) Foundation of sierra
Leone and Liberia, these areas were established by the
Europeans powers as settlements for the freed slaves. They received freed
slaves from America. It should be noted that the Trans-Atlantic slave trade
uprooted millions of Africans who were supposed to offer labor in America.
(ii) Introduction of
legitimate trade, there was introduction of legitimate trade
that involved the buying and selling of natural resources, Example palm oil and
cocoa. The colonial powers introduced legitimate trade so that it can
facilitate the acquisition of raw materials and markets which were crucial in
Europe after the industrial revolution.
(iii) Exploitation of
hinterland, before the abolition of the slave trade, the
colonial powers operated along the coast of West Africa searching for slaves,
but after the abolition of slave trade they penetrated the interior searching
for raw materials and market where they can sell their manufactured goods.
(iv) Increased spread of
Christianity, the European powers increased the spread of
Christianity after the abolition of slave trade. Christianity was a way of
compensating for the ills committed by slave trade. This religion was also
spread to counter the spread of Islam in West Africa.
(v) Increased provision of
social services, the colonial powers increased the provision
of social services especially education. The main aim of colonial education was
to train Africans to become better producers of raw materials that were needed
in Europe. Colonial education was also supposed to change the mentality of
Africans to prefer European goods thus created a ready market for them.
(vi) Improvement of the
agricultural sector, the colonial powers improved the
agricultural sector by introducing better methods of farming to increase the
production of raw materials. It should be noted that the colonialists
discouraged the production of food crops in Africa.
(vii) Linguistic studies, the
colonial powers studied native languages so that they can be able to translate
the Bible into local languages. This move was to convert many Africans to
Christianity. The languages that were studied by the imperialist were Hausa and
Fulani.
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