🌍 Consequences of Industrialization (c. 1750–1900)

🔑 BIG IDEA

Industrialization reshaped the world by:

• Expanding imperialism

• Creating export-dependent economies

• Increasing global migration

• Transforming social & gender roles

🌎 GLOBAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Export Economies

Industrialized nations needed:

• Raw materials (cotton, rubber, palm oil)

• New markets

Non-industrial regions became:

• Monocrop export economies

• Dependent on global markets

🏭 RATIONALES FOR IMPERIALISM

Industrial powers justified expansion with:

• Social Darwinism (“survival of the fittest”)

• Nationalism (empire = power/prestige)

• Civilizing Mission

• Religious conversion efforts

Imperialism was framed as “beneficial,” but primarily served the industrial economies.

🗺 STATE EXPANSION

Industrial states used:

• Military conquest

• Settler colonialism

• Direct rule

Transition from company rule to state rule

💰 ECONOMIC IMPERIALISM

Control without full political takeover.

Methods:

• Unequal treaties

• Foreign investment

• Trade domination

✊ INDIGENOUS RESPONSES

Resistance included:

• Armed resistance (Samori Touré)

• Nationalist rebellions (Túpac Amaru II)

• Religious movements

Some delayed imperial control, but most were eventually suppressed.

🚢 CAUSES OF MIGRATION

Push:

• Famine

• Economic hardship

• Political instability

Pull:

• Factory jobs

• Plantation labor

• Industrial cities

Technology (steamships & railroads) made migration faster and cheaper.

👩‍🌾 EFFECTS OF MIGRATION

In Receiving Countries:

• Ethnic enclaves

• Industrial labor growth

• Xenophobia & immigration restrictions

In Sending Countries:

• Male-dominated migration

• Women gained economic responsibilities

• Some shifts in gender roles

🎯 MUST-KNOW EXAMPLES

• Opium Wars – Britain fought China to force open trade and continue the opium trade. Why it matters: Classic example of economic imperialism and the use of military power to gain economic advantages.

• Treaty of Nanjing (1842) – Unequal treaty that gave Britain Hong Kong and special trade privileges in China. Why it matters: Demonstrates how industrial powers imposed unequal treaties to dominate weaker states.

• Congo Free State – King Leopold II controlled the Congo and exploited forced labor for rubber. Why it matters: Key example of direct imperial rule and extreme colonial abuse.

• Berlin Conference (1884–85) – European nations divided Africa without African representation. Why it matters: Shows how imperial competition led to the rapid partition of Africa.

• British Raj (India) – Britain took direct control of India after 1857. Why it matters: Illustrates the shift from company rule to formal state imperialism.

• Sepoy Rebellion (1857) – Indian soldiers rebelled against British authority. Why it matters: Example of indigenous resistance that resulted in stronger imperial control.

• Samori Touré – West African leader who resisted French expansion using military tactics. Why it matters:Demonstrates armed resistance to European imperialism.

• Túpac Amaru II – Indigenous Peruvian leader who led a rebellion against Spanish rule. Why it matters: Early example of nationalist and anti-colonial resistance.

• Egypt and Cotton – Egypt became dependent on cotton exports to Europe. Why it matters: Shows how export economies created economic dependency.

• Meiji Restoration (Japan) – Japan industrialized rapidly and modernized its military and economy. Why it matters:Example of successful non-Western industrialization and imperial expansion.

• Japanese Annexation of Korea (1910) – Japan formally colonized Korea. Why it matters: Demonstrates that imperialism was not limited to European powers.

• U.S. Acquisition of the Philippines (1898) – The United States gained the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. Why it matters: Shows American imperial expansion in the Pacific.

• Annexation of Hawaii – The United States annexed Hawaii for economic and strategic reasons. Why it matters:Example of imperialism driven by trade and military positioning.

• Social Darwinism – Ideology applying “survival of the fittest” to nations and races. Why it matters: Major ideological justification for imperial expansion.

• Civilizing Mission – Belief that Europeans had a duty to “uplift” colonized peoples. Why it matters: Common ideological argument that appears in DBQs on imperialism.

• Indentured Servitude – Contract labor system that replaced slavery in many regions. Why it matters: Shows new global labor systems after abolition.

• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) – U.S. law restricting Chinese immigration. Why it matters: Example of nativism and anti-immigrant backlash in receiving societies.

• Irish Migration (Potato Famine) – Mass migration from Ireland due to famine. Why it matters: Clear example of push factors in 19th-century migration.

• Steamships and Railroads – New transportation technologies that accelerated migration and trade. Why it matters:Demonstrates how industrial technology increased global interconnectedness.

• Unequal Treaties – Agreements forcing weaker nations to grant economic privileges to stronger powers. Why it matters: Core concept in understanding economic imperialism and dependency.