Trade flourished and markets expanded in the late 19th century but there was a darker side to the process.” Explain.
In many parts of the world, the expansion of trade and a closer relationship with the world economy led to a loss of freedoms and livelihoods. Colonised societies suffered in many ways as mentioned below : European conquests produced many painful economic, social and ecological changes through which the colonised societies were brought into the world economy. For example, the African continent was divided by the European powers at a Berlin conference in 1885 without caring for the local inhabitants. Britain and France made vast additions to their overseas territories. Belgium and Germany became colonial powers. The US also became colonial power in the late 1890s by taking over some colonies earlier held by Spain. The explorations by Sir Henry Morton Stanley and other explorers helped the conquest of Africa. These explorations were not driven by an innocent search for scientific [ information. They were directly linked to imperial projects. A fast-spreading disease of cattle plague or rinderpest affected the people’s livelihood and local economy in Africa. It killed 90 per cent of the cattle between Atlantic coast and the Cape (Africa’s Southernmost tip). Africans rarely worked for a wage but the Europeans imposed heavy taxes in order to compel them to work for wages on plantations and mines. Peasants were displaced from land to work in labour market. Control over scarce resources of cattle enabled European colonisers to conquer and subdue Africa. It shows how in the era of conquest even a disease affecting cattle reshaped the lives and fortunes of thousands of people and their relations with the rest of the world.
