The Imperialist Diffusion of Science and Technology

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Western Science

Phase 1: Geographical Exploration

þ  European observers survey, classify, and appraise the organic and inorganic environment.

þ  Phase 1 science is not limited to the uncivilized country where European settlement is the object.  It is also to be found in regions already occupied by ancient civilizations, some with indigenous scientific traditions like India and China.

Phase 2: Colonial Science

þ  The first colonial scientists join in the survey of the organic and inorganic environment conducted by the European observers.

þ  This training will direct the colonial scientist’s interests to the scientific fields and problems delineated by European scientists.

þ  Benjamin Franklin and Mikhail V. Lomonosov – Heroes of Colonial Science

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imperialism:Case of India --

Imperialism

þ  Imperialism represented a vent for surplus, a source of strategic raw materials and foodstuffs, a market for the cotton manufactures of Europe.

þ  “Informal Imperialism” (where an industrial nation brought its political power to bear upon nominally independent states)

þ  Imperialism may include more than colonialism, with all the result of administration to the home economy entailed in the latter term.

þ  An “imperialist” is any force acting upon a relatively underdeveloped nation of the 19^th century which did not directly arise from the workings of the international economy.

The Case of India

E.N. Komarov published (in 1962) the negative effects of British colonialism to the economy of India.  The following are the Komarov’s claims:

1.       Even before the British came to India, its economy had already started to become industrialized.  Towns were centers of the handicraft industry during India’s pre-colonial period.

2.       The British East India Company monopolized the Indian economy.  This caused the decrease of native merchant capitalists in India.

3.       Reforms on tenure brought about the exploitation of peasantry by giving landlords more authority over the property of the peasant and the peasant itself.

4.       There was unequal trade relationship between Britain and India during the industrial revolution of Britain, thus preventing the development of the Indian economy and its transition from feudalism to capitalism.

5.       The industrial workers were exploited as the production of raw materials was forced to be increased, further preventing the rise of capitalism in India.

6.       Agricultural technology was not developed as the labor became cheaper and as the employment became scarce.  These were due to additional tenure and revenue system reforms of Britain.

7.       The industry in India was not modeled after the British industries.  The Indian industry was saddled by the excessive colonial imports coming in and payments on taxes and other responsibilities which weren’t translated to reproduction but administrative purposes.

In Irfan Habib’s work, he describes the economy of India during the Mughal period.  Habib stated that the adaptation of new technologies, especially in agriculture, weren’t hindered by the existing differentiation of peasantry and other value systems but by insufficient capital and skills needed from the people in such technologies.  He also said that prior to British colonialism, the caste system was already disintegrating and capitalism and industrialism was rising.

“Drain” and “de-industrialization” are the usual topics of debate in the analysis of the Indian economy.

                “Drain” pertains to the consumption and eventual drain of the resources of economy from its revenue as they were used mainly for administrative purposes instead of being used in the continuation of the production.  The interests paid in debts, military charges and civil charges were some of the administrative responsibilities were the bulk of the gains were used.

                “De-industrialization” in India was due to the clinging of the economy to agriculture rather than manufacturing or other industries.  Although their exports increased, technological diffusion and industrial revolution was prevented in India because of this.

The Case of China

China, “the victim of imperialism without annexation”, became a prey of the western predatory imperialist nations after the two opium wars.

The first opium war (1840-42) came about when the Chinese authorities destroyed the opium which were illegally brought and sold in China by the British traders.  This war was won by Britain and China was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking (1842).  The provisions of the treaty were:

1.       Opening of five ports (Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo, and Shanghai) to British trade.

2.       Renouncing the island of Hong Kong to Great Britain,

3.       Payment of war indemnity ($21,000,000), and

4.       Enabling all British traders to do business directly with the people.

The second opium war (1856-60) came about when a French missionary was killed by a Chinese.  China lost to the alliance of France and Britain and the Treaties of Tientsin (1858) and the Peking Convention (1860) were signed with the following provisions:

1.       Cession of the Kowloon peninsula to Great Britain,

2.       Foreign diplomats were allowed to reside in Peking,

3.       Ten more ports in China were opened to international trade,

4.       Foreigners were allowed to wander to any part of China,

5.       Christian missionaries were given protection, and

6.       The Opium trade was legalized.

China became a vulnerable country and this weakness was taken advantage by the imperialist powers—Britain, France, Prussia, Denmark, Holland, Spain, Belgium, Italy and Austria-Hungary.  They divided the vast land of China into pieces of territories called the Spheres of Influence over which the imperialist power has the exclusive right to exploit the natural resources found in its piece.

The imperialist powers in China until 1895 were Europeans and Americans.  After the loss of China in the Sino-Japanese war (1894-95), the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed with the provisions that China would give up its claim in Korea, paid a war indemnity ($158,000,000), and cession of Formosa, Arthur Port, and Liaotung Peninsula to Japan.  The war also opened China to new imperialist powers such as Russia.  Under the Russian imperialism, the Trans-Siberian railway was constructed for the following purposes:

1.       To promote the economic development of China and other colonies of Russia,

2.       To provide easier transportation of Russian troops to its colonies, and

3.       To connect Moscow and Vladivostok (“Dominion of the East”).

As a conclusion, the Chinese economy died during the first part of imperialism (under Americans and Europeans) for only the foreigners controlled and gained in the trades.  Technological transfer and industrialization could have been effective if China controlled its economy.  Under the Russian imperialism, aside from Suez Canal, the Trans-Siberian railroad aided to the diffusion of technology in China.

Narrative/ Things I learned:

In this topics I learned those effects of imperialism in the progression of science and technology. Imperialism is when a mother country takes over a smaller nation or colony for political, social, and/or economic reasons.  Imperialism has been a major force in shaping the modern world.  The effects of Imperialism have been interpreted from a variety of viewpoints.  This major Imperialism occurred during the late 19th Century and early 20th century.  A positive effect is seen in document one called "Modern Progressive Nations," it shows how the larger nations gave to the smaller colonies.  The nations built them roads, canals, and railways.  Showed them the telegraph, newspaper, established schools for them, gave them the blessing of their civilization, and overall made them economized.  They were part of modern culture after this occurred.  Another positive effect is seen in document three called "Colonial Governments and Missionaries. " It shows how the colonial governments introduced improved medical care, and better methods of sanitation.  There were new crops; tools and farming methods, which helped, increase food production.  These changes meant less death to smaller colonies, and overall improve the state of living.  They now could live longer and have better sanitation compared to the earlier imperialism.

Sources: Books of Imperialism of :
George Basalla,

By Ian Inkster

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Science,Technology, and the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century

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Large-scale industrialization in the US was based largely on the European model. By the end of the 19th century, the United States had surpassed the UK in the production of iron and steel. The abundance of raw materials, a rapidly growing population, and the adoption of innovations such as the telegraph, the telephone, the electric light, and the refrigerator, along with petroleum products, provided the basis for a boom in manufacturing. Industry spread from its original centre in the northeast of the country towards the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley creating a powerful and prosperous manufacturing belt stretching from the East Coast to the Midwest.

The main contribution to world manufacturing made by the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the increase in the scale of production. Beginning in 1913, Henry Ford pioneered mass-production methods in his vehicle plants. The analysis of production into its component tasks, which were then performed in order on a production line, allowed higher wages to be paid while reducing operating costs. From this time until the 1960s, the US excelled in the techniques of mass production and led the world in productivity. In recent years, however, the "Fordist" approach has become discredited for its lack of flexibility and for diminishing the skills of the labour force. It has been replaced by more flexible and responsive systems of production, especially within Japanese companies.

Since the end of World War II, the relative significance of manufacturing in the economies of Europe and the US has declined, and its importance in the economies of East Asia has risen. Japanese manufacturing, in particular, had a worldwide impact in a very short time, and other Asian economies have followed Japan's lead. The renewal of its industrial plants after World War II gave Japan the advantage of modern production facilities. Since the mid-1950s, Japanese industrial output has grown at an annual rate of at least 6 per cent, and the country is now a world leader in shipbuilding as well as one of the principal producers of electronic components and appliances, scientific equipment, motor vehicles, steel, chemicals, and synthetic fibres.

Japan's manufactured goods are noted for their high quality, which is due to the use of advanced technology in the production process. Increasingly, Japanese-designed products are being made at different locations around the world. In the UK, the number of Japanese-owned factories rose from just one in 1972 to approximately 220 by 1991. Japanese car manufacturers have increased their production capacity in the UK and the US and have succeeded in their attempt to gain a greater market share while avoiding import limits and penalties. This strategy depends on building modern manufacturing plants and agreeing to use local raw materials and labour.

Revolution Spreads to the United States

Until 1815 France was busy with the Napoleonic wars. It had little opportunity to introduce machinery. When peace came France began to follow England. It followed slowly, however, and has never devoted itself as exclusively to manufacturing as England has. Belgium was ahead of France in adopting the new methods. The other European countries made little progress until the second half of the 19th century.
The United States too was slow in adopting machine methods of manufacture. Farming and trading were its chief interests until the Civil War. The new nation had little capital with which to buy the machinery and put up the buildings required. Such capital as existed was largely invested in shipping and commerce. Labor was scarce because men continued to push westward, clearing the forests and establishing themselves on the land.
A start in manufacturing, however, was made in New England in 1790 by Samuel Slater. An employee of Arkwright's spinning mills, Slater came to the United States in 1789. He was hired by Moses Brown of Providence, R. I., to build a mill on the Pawtucket, or Seekonk, River. English laws forbade export of either the new machinery or plans for making it. Slater designed the machine from memory and built a mill which started operation in 1790. When the Napoleonic wars and the War of 1812 upset commerce and made English products difficult to obtain, more American investors began to build factories.

Second Industrial Revolution

The machines of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and early 19th centuries were simple, mechanical devices compared with the industrial technology that followed. Many new products were devised, and important advances were made in the system of mass production. Changes in industry were so great that the period after 1860 has been called the Second Industrial Revolution. New scientific knowledge was applied to industry as scientists and engineers unlocked the secrets of physics and chemistry. Great new industries were founded on this scientific advance: steel, chemicals, and petroleum benefited from new understandings of chemistry; breakthroughs in the study of electricity and magnetism provided the basis for a large electrical industry. These new industries were larger and more productive than any industries existing before. Germany and the United States became the leaders, and by the end of the 19th century they were challenging Great Britain in the world market for industrial goods.
By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, only a small number of industries in the most industrialized nations of the world had adopted advanced production methods and organization. Much of the world had not yet begun a first industrial revolution. Russia, Canada, Italy, and Japan were just beginning to industrialize.
Only Great Britain, the United States, Germany, France, and some parts of the Scandinavian countries had successfully completed an industrial revolution. Most of the world's population still worked in primitive agricultural economies. China, India, and Spain did not begin to industrialize until well into the 20th century.
Narrative and Things I learned: 
In the 19th century, three areas of the world has been affected by the Industrial revolution. I learned that there are changes in their machines and tools, from simple to complex. These machines became beneficial in terms of energy sources by that time. I am glad that some of these machines were still in used by the modern people. It is an amazing fact to know that these machines was developed into more complex way that suits the need of people nowadays.


Source:
http://www.pacificislandtravel.com/nature_gallery/indistrualisation.html

Author:   Lewis Hackett  Date: 1992

Science,Technology, and the Industrial Revolution

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Industrialization is the process in which a society or country (or world) transforms itself from a primarily agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods and services. Individual manual labor is often replaced by mechanized mass production and craftsmen are replaced by assembly lines. Characteristics of industrialization include the use of technological innovation to solve problems as opposed to superstition or dependency upon conditions outside human control such as the weather, as well as more efficient division of labor and economic growth.

The Continuing Industrial Revolution The experience of some of the world's oldest and largest industrial economies demonstrates the stages of industrialization. In the pre-industrial economies of the United Kingdom and the countries of Northern Europe, most activity was directed towards commerce, concentrating on trading with countries in their empires. Some people still lived at a subsistence level, concentrating on the production of food. Technology was comparatively primitive, and any crafting of wood and metal goods was generally done to support farming, trade, or to provide hardware for everyday use. Long-distance transportation of goods was rare. Market towns acted as trading centres for the exchange of foodstuffs and other local products. Natural events, such as crop failures induced by weather or disease, could easily upset the pattern of economic activity. The opportunity to accumulate capital to fund economic growth and generate more wealth was limited.

By the middle of the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution was under way. This began in the United Kingdom, but followed soon after in other countries of northern Europe and, from the 1790s, in the United States. The process of industrialization gathered pace with every decade that passed. Although a significant amount of manufacturing took place in rural areas, many industries located in the emerging cities. People were attracted to these centres by the lure of work, and the processes of urbanization and industrialization became intimately linked. In 1800, only 25 per cent of Britain's population lived in cities or towns; by 1881 it was 80 per cent. The production of cotton goods destined for markets in India and South America led the way in the UK. This was followed on a larger scale by coal and iron and steel at the end of the century. One industry supported another. Coal was needed to make iron and steel to build ships and railways, which in turn required coal as fuel. As heavy industry thrived and manufacturing and transport technologies improved, industrial regions developed in the north of England; the Ruhr Valley in Germany, northeast France, and the Meuse Valley of Belgium.

Large-scale industrialization in the US was based largely on the European model. By the end of the 19th century, the United States had surpassed the UK in the production of iron and steel. The abundance of raw materials, a rapidly growing population, and the adoption of innovations such as the telegraph, the telephone, the electric light, and the refrigerator, along with petroleum products, provided the basis for a boom in manufacturing. Industry spread from its original centre in the northeast of the country towards the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley creating a powerful and prosperous manufacturing belt stretching from the East Coast to the Midwest.

The main contribution to world manufacturing made by the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the increase in the scale of production. Beginning in 1913, Henry Ford pioneered mass-production methods in his vehicle plants. The analysis of production into its component tasks, which were then performed in order on a production line, allowed higher wages to be paid while reducing operating costs. From this time until the 1960s, the US excelled in the techniques of mass production and led the world in productivity. In recent years, however, the "Fordist" approach has become discredited for its lack of flexibility and for diminishing the skills of the labour force. It has been replaced by more flexible and responsive systems of production, especially within Japanese companies.

Changes That Led to the Revolution

The most important of the changes that brought about the Industrial Revolution were (1) the invention of machines to do the work of hand tools; (2) the use of steam, and later of other kinds of power, in place of the muscles of human beings and of animals; and (3) the adoption of the factory system.
It is almost impossible to imagine what the world would be like if the effects of the Industrial Revolution were swept away. Electric lights would go out. Automobiles and airplanes would vanish. Telephones, radios, and television would disappear Most of the abundant stocks on the shelves of department stores would be gone. The children of the poor would have little or no schooling and would work from dawn to dark on the farm or in the home. Before machines were invented, work by children as well as by adults was needed in order to provide enough food, clothing, and shelter for all.
The Industrial Revolution came gradually. It happened in a short span of time, however, when measured against the centuries people had worked entirely by hand. Until John Kay invented the flying shuttle in 1733 and James Hargreaves the spinning jenny 31 years later, the making of yarn and the weaving of cloth had been much the same for thousands of years. By 1800 a host of new and faster processes were in use in both manufacture and transportation.
This relatively sudden change in the way people live deserves to be called a revolution. It differs from a political revolution in its greater effects on the lives of people and in not coming to an end, as, for example, did the French Revolution.
Instead, the Industrial Revolution grew more powerful each year as new inventions and manufacturing processes added to the efficiency of machines and increased productivity. Indeed, since World War I the mechanization of industry has increased so enormously that another revolution in production is taking place.
Causes of the British Industrial Revolution:

• expansion of trade, mercantile economic policy (see previous lecture)
• decline of:
• feudalism--farmers were no longer bound to the land
• guild system--the guild for a particular trade could no longer control who set up a new business
• the system of customary prices--the market is more free, instead of the old system where changing the price because of a shortage was seen as profiteering
• agricultural changes
• enclosure =the abolishment of the old system of communal farming and its replacement with family farms.  Supposedly everyone had the same share of land as before, but the smallest farmers didn't have enough to survive as an independent farm and they went out of business and went looking for work.  Took place 16th century to about 1820.
• four field crop rotation--wheat, turnips, barley, clover or alfalfa (turnips and hay crops make it possible to keep more livestock)
• new scientific approaches to farming (one of the pioneer scientific investigators of agriculture was an Englishman named Jethro Tull )
• average agricultural surplus per worker doubled from about 25% to about 50%
• workers no longer needed in agriculture were available for industrial jobs

 Narrative/ Things I learned


The group presented their report with their motivational activities such as games. They used words that has a connection to their report.They also let us categorize those important information and tools to it's specific are or century in the industrial revolution.
History of Industrialization touches the development of our industry nowadays. The advancement of our industry is the effect of the proper usage of machines in the past era or ages. These machines widely affect the progression of our industry in this era.

Source:Nature Gallery (Global Trends [Population Growth])

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

SEE ALSO, Europe Transformed

Author:   Lewis Hackett  Date: 1992

Industrialization: The First Phase