Introduction
Globalisation means the integration of markets in the global economy, leading to increased interconnectedness of national economies. It is a market where globalisation is particularly significant to include financial markets such as capital market, money and credit market, commodity market (include oil, coffee gold etc) and insurance market.
1. The Pre-Modern World:
The movement of people, goods and services across nations has been termed as globalization. From ancient times, people have moved or migrated from one nation to another.
a. As travellers to discover new routes
or countries
b. As priests and pilgrims
c. As traders
d. To escape persecution
e. To spread religion
f.
To
obtain knowledge
g. For better employment opportunities
2. Silk Routes Link the World:
The silk routes are known to have
existed since before the Christian Era and thrived almost till the 15th
Century.
3. Importance of the Silk Routes:
i.
The
silk routes are good examples of vibrant pre-moderns trade and cultural links
between distant parts of the world.
ii.
These
routes were used by traders to trade goods from one country to another.
iii.
These
routes were used by Chinese traders to export silk to other countries.
iv.
Trade
and cultural exchange always went hand in hand.
v.
Buddhism
emerged from Eastern India and several directions spread in through
intersecting points in the silk routes.
4. Food Travels: Spaghetti and Potato
i.
Until
five centuries ago, many of our common foods such as potatoes, soya,
groundnuts, maize and tomatoes were not known to our ancestors.
ii.
These
food items reached our country through travellers.
iii.
It
is believed that noodles travelled West from China to become spaghetti.
iv.
The
Arab traders took pasta to 5th century Sicily, an island in Italy.
v.
Many
of our common foods came from America's original inhabitants as that continent
was discovered by Columbus who came from spain.
5. Conquest, Disease and Trade
i.
The
Indian ocean was known for its bustling trade with goods, people, knowledge,
customs, etc crisscrossing its waters.
ii.
The
traders and travellers started transferring the rich resources of America
everywhere.
iii.
Precious
metals, particularly silver, from mines located in present day Peru enhanced
Europe's wealth and financed its trade with Asia.
iv.
Many
expeditions set off in search of EI Dorado, the fabled city of gold.
6. Migration of Europeans to America
i.
European
powers started controlling parts of America in the mid-sixteenth century.
ii.
Portugal
and Spain were the dominating countries.
iii.
These
countries had a strong firepower and army.
iv.
But
along with these they also used germs and viruses for conquering parts of
America.
v.
As
America was isolated, the original inhabitants had no immunity against these
germs and viruses.
vi.
Smallpox
proved a deadly killer.
vii.
These
germs were more dangerous as compared to guns and firearms because guns could
bought or captured but there was no escape from these germs.
viii.
Poverty
and hunger were common in Europe until the 19th century.
ix.
Cities
were crowded and deadly diseases were widespread.
x.
Religious
conflicts were common, and religious dissenters were persecuted.
xi.
Until
well into the eighteenth century, China and India were among the world's
richest countries.
7. The 19th Century (1815-1914)
i.
The
world changed profoundly in the 19th century as economic, political, social,
cultural and technological factors, interacted in complex ways to transform societies
and reshape external relations.
ii.
Economists
of the 19th century identify three types of movements or 'flows' within
international economic exchanges.
The Flow of Trade: The flow of trade refers to large trade in goods, e.g., England
started exporting machine made cotton pieces to Asian countries, especially to
India.
The Flow of Labour: Migration of workers in search of employment refers to the flow of labour. This flow also included the indentured labourers who were employed in plantations, mines and in road or railway construction projects.
The Flow of Capital: This includes movement of capital for short term or long term
investments over long distances.. All three flows were closely inter-connected
and affected people's lives more deeply now than ever before.
8. A World Economy Takes Shape
i.
Population
growth had increased the demand for food grains in Britain.
ii.
As
urban centres expanded and industry grew, the demand for agricultural products
went up, pushing up agricultural prices.
iii.
The
laws allowing the government to restrict the import of corn were popularly
known as the 'Corn Laws’.
9. Scrapping of the Corn Laws
i.
There
was a very poor harvest in 1816. This caused food prices to increase rapidly,
ii.
Industrial
workers started demanding higher wages due to higher food prices.
iii.
There
were food riots all over Britain.
10. Impact of Scrapping the Corn Laws
i.
After
the abolition of the corn laws, food could be imported into Britain more
cheaply than it could be produced within the country. British agriculturists
were unable to compete with imports.
ii.
Vast
areas of land were now thousands of men and left uncultivated and women were
thrown out of work. They flocked to the cities or migrated overseas.
iii.
Due
to a fall in prices, consumption of foodgrains in Britain rose.
iv.
Many
countries of the world like Russia, America and Australia and some Eastern
European countries started exporting foodgrains to Britain.
11. Impact of Trade on England
i.
New
harbours were built and the old ones expanded to ship the new cargoes.
ii.
Capital
flowed from financial centres such as London.
iii.
Nearly
50 million people left Europe for America and Australia in the nineteenth
century.
iv.
By
1890, a global agricultural economy had taken shape.
v.
The
food and other products were being transported by railways, built for that very
purpose, and by ships.
vi.
The
British Indian Government built a network of irrigation canals to transform
semi-desert wastes into fertile agricultural lands.
vii.
The
canal colonies, as the areas irrigated by the new canals were called, were
settled by peasants from other parts of Punjab.
viii.
Nearly
60% of the trade comprised of 'primary products' i.e., agricultural products
and minerals.
12. Role of Technology
i.
Railway,
steamengine, ships, telegraph were important inventions.
ii.
Colonisation
stimulated new investments and improvements in transport.
The
invention of the refrigerated ship had the following advantages:
·
This
reduced shipping costs and lowered meat prices in Europe.
·
The
poor in Europe could now consume A more varied diet.
·
To
the monotony of bread and potatoes, now many, though not all, could add meat,
butter and eggs to their diet.
·
Better
living conditions promoted social peace.
13. Late-nineteenth Century Colonialism:
The
process of globalisation was responsible for colonialism.
Impact of Colonialism
i.
Most
of the colonies lost their political freedom.
ii.
The
continent of Africa was divided on paper in conference halls in Europe.
iii.
It
brought about many painful economic, social and ecological changes.
iv.
Belgium
and Germany become new colonial powers.
14. Rinderpest or the Cattle Plague
In Africa, in the 1890's Rinderpest, a fast
spreading disease of cattle plague, transformed the people's life. When Europeans
arrived in Africa they found that people were not ready to work as labourers
because
a. Africa had abundant land and a
relatively small population.
b. In late 19th century Africa, there
were few consumer goods that wages could buy.
Foreigners used the following methods
to recruit and retain labour:
·
Heavy
taxes were imposed which could be paid only by working for wages on plantations
and mines.
·
Inheritance
laws were changed so that peasants were displaced from land.
·
Mine
workers were enclosed in compounds and not allowed to move about freely.
15. Spreading of Rinderpest and its Impact
i.
Rinderpest
arrived in Africa in the late 1880s.
ii.
This
disease killed 90% of the cattle which were the main wealth of the African
people.
iii.
Planters,
mine owners and colonial governments now successfully monopolised control over
scarce resource of cattle. This enabled European colonisers to conquer and
subdue Africa.
16. Indentured Labour Migration from India
i. The
example of indentured labour migration from India also illustrates the
two-sided nature of the 19th century world.
ii.
Hundreds
of thousands of Indian and Chinese labourers went to work on plantations, in
mines and in roads and railway construction.
iii.
Most
of the indentured workers came from the present day regions of Eastern Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Central India and the dry districts of Tamil Nadu.
iv.
In
the mid-19th century due to the arrival of Britishers these regions experienced
many changes which forced the people to migrate in search of work.
a. Due to industrialization the cottage
industries had declined.
b. Due to commercialization of agriculture,
land rents rose.
c. There was shortage of land as lands
were cleared for mines and pantations.
v.
Most
of the indentured workers migrated in the hope of a bright future but they were
exploited by the recruiting agents and by the employers.
a. They had to pay a commission to the
recruiting agent.
b. The agents used to provide false
information.
c. Sometimes agents even forcibly
abducted less willing migrants.
vi.
In the 19th century, indenture had been
described as a 'new system of slavery' because of the following reasons:
a. Living and working conditions were
harsh.
b. Workers had no legal rights.
c. They were paid less wages.
d. They were treated as slaves.
vii.
Workers
discovered their own ways for surviving:
a. Many of indentured labourers escaped
into the jungles.
b. They started celebrating festivals
like 'Hosay' (for Iman Hussain).
c. Many of the migrants joined or became
part of the Rastafarianism.
d. They started creating their own way
of enjoyment like chutney music.
e. They developed a new culture which
was a blend of the local culture with their native culture.
17. Indian Entrepreneurs Abroad
-
The
small entrepreneurs looked for local finances.
-
. The
Shi Karipuri Shroffs and Nattukottai Chetians were amongst the many groups of
such entrepreneurs.
){kind=link}