Role of Colonialism in the Development of Industrial Capitalism in Europe

ROLE OF COLONIALISM IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM IN EUROPE
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Role of Colonialism in the Development of Industrial Capitalism in Europe
1 Introduction
The world witnessed colonialism within the inception phase of development. Many European countries, including Britain, Spain, France, and the Netherlands, established colonies in Africa and Asia. The European countries occupied and began to exhaust the colonized countries’ natural and human resources (Bernstein, 2021). The peonage of one person for another person is referred to as colonialism. The European countries started subjugating people from other countries who had enrichment of resources but were internally scattered morally, politically, and socially (Blakemore, 2021). These extractions of Europe from its colonies included precious metals like gold, diamond, spices, cloths, and other natural resources. The European countries developed their economies and societies with extensive extractions from their colonies. Undoubtedly, colonization played a significant role in the rapid industrialization of Europe. The enrichment of looted booty, valuable metals, natural resources, and precious spices worked like catalysts in instigating the industrial developments of the European countries. These imperial countries also imposed heavy taxes on their colonies’ residents for using their products. The miserable colonies of Asia and Africa had to bear the heavy import duties their colonial masters used to export from their home countries.
Colonization did not start by chance but was planned by apprehending the debilitating social conditions of the people living in those countries. More than 120 countries were colonized by different European and non-European countries. However, a few countries were never colonized but faced certain internal political and social debacles. Japan, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, and Bhutan are those countries that were never occupied. The natural resources in non-colonized countries were much lower than those in Asia and Africa, colonized by Europe (Peterson, 2022). The shortage of natural and human resources can be a possible reason behind the non-colonization of the countries like Japan and Bhutan.
2 A Brief Overview of Colonialism and Industrial Capitalism
The practice of subjugation, which involves the domination of a person, class, or country in a broader way on another person, class, or land, is called colonialism. Colonialism came into discussion in the 15th century when many European countries started bringing several countries from Asia, Europe, and Australia, into servitude. Colonization by Europe was initiated in different countries simultaneously as a part of the global expansionist policy. The European countries colonized many of the nations around the world.
It is worth mentioning that America, one of the greatest global powers today, was also occupied by Britain during the 16th century. Soon after the discovery of America, people from different countries began to settle in America. The Spanish and Portuguese were among the earliest settlers in America (Axtell, 2019). At the start of the 16th century, apprehending America’s geographical and natural importance, it got colonized by Britain.
The European countries’ devastating social, economic, and financial policies ruined the flourishing economies of countries in Asia, Africa, and Australia. With the undue extraction of valuables from their colonies, the colonial countries from Europe rapidly developed their economies (Morgan, 2017). These rapid developments led to the progress of industrialism in Europe.
Similarly, many countries in Africa and Asia also began to be colonized by European countries during the 17th and 18th centuries. The imperial nations apprehended the economic and social strength of countries in Asia and Africa, are started colonizing them. There were a lot of social, economic, and financial reasons behind the European colonization of different countries (Earth, 2018). The extraction of natural resources, predominantly human resources, led to the devastation of the colonized countries and the development of the European countries.
Industrial capitalism is a mass production of goods or services owned and controlled by a few private owners. Industrialization was initiated during the 17th and 18th centuries, with its first massive wave in Great Britain. Britain instigated industrialization by removing every valuable jewel, natural resource, and skilled labor from its colonies. Indeed, with the occupation of almost 90 countries, Britain had numerous opportunities to control and direct industrialization in the world by extracting everything from colonized states (Covey, 2020). With the extraction of every valuable from the occupied countries and control of every industrial activity, Britain became the only industrial capitalist country in the world.
Colonization by Europe led to industrial development in different European countries. Extracting valuable and costly materials, including skilled labor, led to Europe’s progress and the colonial countries’ destruction. The colonization of other countries takes place mainly in Asia and Africa. The major countries of Asia and Africa, like India and Ghana, were enriched with natural resources. Precious metals like gold and diamond were also abundant in the colonized nations (Licata et al., 2018). Rapid industrialization destroyed the social, economic, and financial fabric of Asian and African countries. On the other hand, the imperial countries, including Britain, Spain, and Portugal, were developed at a quick pace by exhausting the valuables from their colonies.
1 The Relationship between Colonialism and Industrial Capitalism
Colonization began in the 15th century and spanned until around the 19th century. During the period of colonization, most of the countries from Europe colonized several countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. The imperial countries exhausted most of the resources from the occupied lands, which helped them in uplifting industrial capitalism in their countries. Even rigid religious, social, and economic mechanisms were imposed on the colonized countries by their colonial masters.
The 17th and 18th centuries witnessed the development of several industrial innovations. Among the significant industrial effects during the period of colonization include the following inventions:
* The invention of the locomotive and steam engine for running industries
* Production and reformation of different steel and iron-made products
* Fueling by coal, gas, and petroleum for running industries and factories
The labor force from the colonized countries was used to operate heavy machinery at the start of the industrial revolution. The local communities of the colonized states were trained to run the machinery and were paid minimal wages for extensive man work (Jain, 2016). For the development and rapidly progressing industrialization process in Europe, the fuel of natural and human resources was provided by the colonized states of Asia, Africa, and Australia.
Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC 1: Industrial Revolution in the Colonized Countries
Colonized Country

Industrial Revolution and Development Period

America colonized during the 15th and 18th centuries

The industrial revolution came to America during the 19th century

South Africa colonized during the 17th century

The industrial revolution came to South Africa during the late 19th century

India colonized during the 18th and 19th centuries

The industrial revolution entered India during the late 19th century

(Álvarez et al., 2022)
It is interesting to state that colonization of the world began during the 15th century and sustained until the 19th and 20th centuries. The industrial revolution began during the 18th century when almost half of the world was colonized and under Europe’s control. Though many European countries colonized other countries, the industrial revolution began in Great Britain. The industrial revolution was made possible by Britain’s exploitation of coal and iron in the colonized states, specifically in India. Though America was also one of the colonies of Britain before the industrial revolution, the country became the home to the second industrial revolution after Britain. Colonization led to the exploitation of natural and human resources by the colonized countries.
The colonized countries provided fuel, workforce, and natural resources on the compulsion of their colonial master, which proved a catalyst in the development of the industrialization of Europe (Ferry, 2019). The skilled labor force from Asia and abundant raw material supply led to the development of several critical industrial products, including aeroplanes, steamships, and automobiles. Colonization proved fruitful for the European countries in many ways, which added value to the development of industrialization (Cohn, 2016). The colonized states lost not only their natural resources but also many of the families lost their family members.
The period of colonization also witnessed two Great World Wars. The process of decolonization started soon after the Second World War when some principal European Powers lost their men and resources (Porr & Matthews, 2020). Though colonization did not work well for the colonized states, it worked well in developing the colonial states. The period of colonization and industrial development can be linked together in several ways:
* The period of colonization witnessed the rapid development of industrial development;
* Also, industrial development provided employment opportunities to thousands of people;
* Similarly, with the development of industries in Europe, the social and economic context of the European countries also began to develop.
During the 18th century, almost half of the world was under the control of European countries. The colonial countries began exploiting their colonies’ natural resources and other valuable ornaments. The natural resources which were in abundance in the colonized states include gold, diamond, natural gas, oil, petroleum, and above all, skilled human resources (Lee & Paine, 2019). All the precious resources were exhausted by the colonized states and played a vital role in the rapid industrial development of Europe.
The European countries were more interested in draining all the valuable resources, including human resources, from their colonies to develop their home countries. This is true that colonization by Europe led to the rapid industrial development of the European countries at the cost of the countries in Asia and Africa (Roediger & Blatt, 2018). Everything which was needed for the development of industries in Europe, ranging from raw materials to human resources, was extracted by the colonized states.
3 The Contribution of Colonialism to Instigating European Industrial Capitalism
Colonialism led to the development of industrial capitalism owned by the European countries. Industrialization resulted from the European colonization of several countries in Asia, Africa, and Australia. Industrial developments led to the social and economic ...