Between the 16th and 17th centuries, European economic interests were essentially directed towards America, in search of markets that supplied tropical products and precious metals.
Portugal and Spain took the lead in colonialism, guided by the mercantilist economic policy and supported by the monopoly of the colonial pact. However, European industrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries forced the metropolises to seek new consumer markets, in the face of large-scale production, replacing commercial exclusivism with liberal economic policy.
The Diffusion of Industry
At the beginning of the 19th century, the industrialization that had started in England began to expand to other regions.
Belgium began its industrialization early thanks to British investments and the abundance of coal and iron in the region.
In France, the structure of the Ancien Régime made industrial development difficult. With the revolution of 1789, the capitalist bourgeoisie took power, but it was from 1830, in the government of Luís Felipe, that the French industrial revolution took shape, effectively developing with Napoleon III during the Second Empire. However, the absence of coal and the loss of rich deposits of iron from Alsace-Lorraine to Germany hampered the process.
Germany and Italy found favorable conditions for the development of their industrial park only after political unification, which took place in 1870.
Outside Europe, the United States was the only country in America that found conditions to industrialize, thanks to the discovery of gold in California, the Civil War and the investment of British capital. By the end of the 19th century, American industrial production had already surpassed England and Germany. In addition, the expansionism of the United States reached Japan, whose modernization caused by the Meiji Revolution (Age of Enlightenment), in 1868, assimilated American technology, starting from there for a systematic program of industrialization.
Monopolies and Technological Inventions
English industrialization, in the 18th century, led to the formation of large companies that began to monopolize production, replacing competitive capitalism. From 1860, a second stage of the Industrial Revolution began. In this new phase, steel replaced iron as the basic industrial material, steam gave way to electricity, and oil began to be used as a driving force in place of coal. Also noteworthy was the introduction of automatic machinery, the growth of production, the extreme division of labor and a real revolution in the means of transport and communication.
At that time, industrial capitalism was overtaken by financial capitalism, giving rise to the concentration of companies and huge industrial complexes. As a result, large economic conglomerates emerged, such as trusts, cartels and holding companies.
The unbridled growth of industry generated a large surplus of production, which came into conflict with unemployment caused by the widespread use of machines in the industrial process. The great powers, in order to maintain the pace of development, needed markets. Thus, an imperialist expansion arose that reached mainly Africa and Asia, which became the stage of disputes and rivalries in the division of the world market.
The Colonial Race
The basic reason for colonization was economic. Europe had several countries going through the Industrial Revolution, which needed essential raw materials for industrialization, such as coal, iron and oil; food products, normally lacking in Europe; consumer markets for industrial surpluses; and places for the investment of capital available in Europe, mainly in the construction of railways and mining operations. In social terms, colonization was an outlet for demographic pressure. On the political level, the essential reason was the concern of European states to increase their military contingents.
The Colonial Partition Process
In 1830, France took the first step in the conquest of Africa. His armies began the conquest of Algeria, a process that was only completed in 1857. Leopold II, from Belgium, gave new impetus to colonialism in 1876, meeting in Brussels for a congress of presidents with the objective, according to him, of spreading the western civilization.
European countries quickly embarked on the African adventure. France conquered Algeria, Tunisia, Equatorial Africa, Somali Coast, Madagascar; the British annexed Rhodesia, the South African Union, Nigeria, the Gold Coast, and Sierra Leone; Germany, which entered the colonial race late, acquired only Camerum, South West Africa and East Africa; Italy annexed the coasts of Libya, Eritrea and Somalia.
The former colonizing countries of Europe, Portugal and Spain, were left with reduced portions:Spain, with Spanish Morocco, Rio do Ouro and Spanish Guinea; Portugal, with Mozambique, Angola and Portuguese Guinea.
The Berlin Conference, convened by Bismarck, Prime Minister of Germany, was the most important milestone in the colonialist race. Its primary purpose was to legalize the personal property of King Leopold II of Belgium over the Congo Free State and to establish the rules for the partition of Africa between the main imperialist powers.
The African colonial race produced numerous frictions between the colonialist countries, constituting one of the basic factors of the European imbalance, responsible for the outbreak of the First World War.
European Penetration into Asia
Asia had remained isolated until the 19th century. Only a few ports were open to Western traders who received Eastern products for commercialization in the West, thus remaining almost immune to Western influences.
This situation changed radically in the course of the 19th century. Western countries have moved from simple port trade to a policy of zones of influence, promoting true sharing. Russia was the country most interested in the territorial expansion of Asia, due to its proximity to its territory.
The English had taken India from the French in 1763, leaving an English company in charge of exploration. In 1858, with the revolt of the sepoys (natives who served in the colonial armies) promptly repressed, India became part of the British Empire.
In China, the Opium War, motivated by the destruction of opium shipments belonging to English subjects, by the Chinese, allowed the conquest of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nanjing. The reaction against the invasion of China came from a secret society known as boxers, who promoted attacks against foreigners residing in China. The European nations organized a joint expedition to punish society and the Chinese government that supported it, hence the Boxer War, which completed the domination of China by the European powers.
On the other hand, the Japanese occupied Korea, and the Germans, the Chantung peninsula, while France dominated Indochina.
The Colonial Administration
In the area of French domination, there were two basic types of colonization:colonies and protectorates (a state placed under the authority of another). The colonies were under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Colonies, being governed locally by a governor general, responsible for local activity. The protectorates, in turn, maintained a high degree of autonomy. Practically all decisions were taken by indigenous elements, under the supervision of a representative of the metropolis.
Among the English colonies, the variety was very great:the colonies of the Crown, which depended directly on the metropolis; colonies with a certain degree of autonomy, with a locally elected parliament; and the domains, which were practically independent.
The form of administrative organization in the other colonies, belonging to other European countries, did not vary much in relation to the two types presented, that is, colonies themselves and semi-autonomous dependencies.
The Colonial Exploration
In general, the colonialist countries of Europe proceeded in an empirical way (without a scientific character, based on experience) in the organization of the colonial exploitation system.
The British were an exception, because they had an immense colonial empire that allowed them an extraordinary variety of material and human resources. The free trade policy, adopted in England after 1850, was extended to the colonies, standardizing economic relations.
France, in turn, adopted a variant tariff policy. It depended on the colony and the types of products it produced and consumed.
The economic exploitation of land was granted to private individuals, since only the large capitalist companies were able to undertake the exploitation, which required a large sum of capital.
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