Era of Industry and Empire

Posted on Apr 28, 2025 in Geography

Second Industrial Revolution

S.I.R.: Characterized by rapid industrialization due mainly to the increase in the importance of the financial sector.
Cartels: Agreement to share the market and avoid competition.
Trusts: Vertical associations formed by various companies working in different industries to control the market and avoid competition. Controlled by one person or bank.
Holding Companies: Stock companies that earned profits by buying and holding shares.

Electricity: Hydroelectric generators produced electricity in factories. This led to the construction of large hydroelectric power plants and the installation of electric cables to houses. Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb.
Oil: New fuels were produced from oil. The first oil refinery was built in Cleveland by Rockefeller. The importance of petrol grew with the development of the petrol-powered car.

Assembly Line: Invented by Taylor. Each worker specialized in a specific task because it was faster and better. Henry Ford was the first to use the assembly line in his car manufacturing company.
He used the instalment plan to help workers buy cars (First car: Ford T).

Rise of finance capitalism.
Increase in production forced industrialized countries to look for new markets outside Europe to find new raw materials and cheap sources of energy.
Colonies were a symbol of prestige, and their specific location gained security and mobility for military conflicts.
Growth of the population in Europe led to unemployment; people emigrated to the colonies.
Scientific progress required geographic expeditions to Africa.
People believed in the supremacy of white people.

Exploitation Colonies: Economic value. The colonizing country exploited the area.
Settler Colonies: The majority of the population were emigrants. These were considered overseas provinces and enjoyed governmental authority (e.g., Australia).
Protectorates: Strategic interests. The indigenous population maintained its government and administration under the supervision of the colonizing countries.

Political: Colonies became the scene of political rivalry between colonizing countries for dominion of the territory, a major cause of WWI.
Economic: Colonists displaced indigenous populations from their land to establish single crops and used indigenous people as laborers. This left indigenous populations without resources or means of survival. Indigenous crafts disappeared. The world economy was organized unequally, and many countries became poor.
Demographic: Population in the colonies increased due to improvements in health and hygiene. However, resources were insufficient, causing starvation and poverty.
Social and Cultural: Colonizing countries imposed Western cultures, leading to social and racial segregation.

European powers divided Africa.

The British wanted the area of the Cape in South Africa. They declared war and defeated the Boers (who had settled there previously).