GLOBAL WORLD IN MAKING CLASS 10 NOTES

GLOBALISATION

It is grenerally related with free flow of capital, goods, technology, ideas and people across the globe.
Globalisation in broader sense also includes cultural exchanges between different countries of world.

ANCIENT TIMES

Travellers, traders , priests and pilgrims travelled vast distances for knowledge, opportunity and spiritual fulfilment, or to escape persecutuion.
They carried goods, money, values, skills, ideas, inventions and germs and diseases.
Around 3000BCE an active coastal trade linked the Indus valley civilisation with present day west asia.
Silk route linked china with west.
Food travelled to Europe and Asia from America.
Noodles travelled from China to Italy and became Spaghetti.

SILK ROUTE / SILK ROADS

Silk route stretched from Asia to Mediterranean, transversing china, India, Persia, Arabia, Greece and Italy.
It was named as Silk route because the highly demanded silk was traded through this route.
It came into existence around 2nd BC and continued till 14th century AD.

FOOD TRAVELS : SPAGHETTI AND POTATO

Spaghetti – Noodles from china travelled to west and became Spaghetti OR It is believed that Arab travellers took pasta to sicily (presntly Italy) in 5th century .
Many common foods such as Potatoes, groundnuts, soya, sweet potatoes, maize, tomatoes, chillies etc. were not known to our ancestors till 5 centuries ago.
Europeans poor who were earlier dependent on meat, started consuming potatoes , after its introduction, which were cheaper.
Ireland’s poorest peasants became so dependent on potatoes that when the crop got destroyed in mid 1840s, hundreds of thousands died of starvation.

CONQUEST, DISEASE AND TRADE

I. America’s discover and Precious Metals:

Europeans sailed through ocean and found America.
Before this , world was not aware with American mainland.
Two countries, Peru and Mexico which lies on American continent were used by Europeans to extract Gold and Silver, which helped them in further trading with Asia.

II. SMALL POX GERMS USED BY CONQUERORS FOR VICTORY

Portugal and Spain went to conquer America by mid 16th century as they were attracted with its vast land and natural resources.
Spain used Germs as weapon as they thought , guns could be captured and reused against them.
They carried small pox ( with which Europeans were immune). Americans had no immunity against small pox and it became fatal to Americans.

III. PROBLEMS IN EUROPE

Till 19th century, Poverty and hunger were common in Europe.
Cities were crowded.
Deadly diseases were widespread.

IV. INDIA AND CHINA TILL 18th CENTURY

In 18th century, China and India were among world’s richest countries.
Both were restricted to Asian trade only.
From 15th century, China had stopped overseas trading.
Because Chia reduced its role, importance of west had increased.
Europe now emerged as the centre of world trade.

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY ( 1815 – 1914)

I. THE 19th CENTURY

Economists identified 3 types of movement or flows within international trade –

The flow of Trade : Trade in goods
The flow of Labour : Migration of people to new areas in search of work.
The movement of Capital : Investment for long term and short term.

II. A WORLD ECONOMY TAKES SHAPE :

Britains’s population rose in late 18th century and hence demand for food also rose.
So, started importing food crops.
But, there was pressure on government from people who were having large lands ( the landed groups) , the government had to restrict import of CORN.
So, to restrict import of corn, government made laws and were termed as CORN LAWS.
Britain felt the need for RAILWAYS to link agricultural regions with ports.
All the above factors, gave rise to the need of Capital (Money) and Labour. Capital was arranged from London Financial Centres.
America and Australia were various places, where shortage of labour was felt , and hence, European labourers migrated to these areas.
So, by 1890, Global agricultural economy had taken shape.

III. ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY

The Railways, steamships and the Telegraph were few imortant inventions which transformed the 19th century world.
As colonialisation was going on in 19th century, new investments , new inventions and new improvements can also be observed.
Till 1870s, animals were shipped to Europe from America and in Europe they were slaughtered. But these animals used to capture lots of space in ships. So, transportation cost and meat cost both were high.
Ultimately, refrigerated ships were invented which reduced transportation cost and meat cost both.
Due to this better living conditions were achieved in Europe, Peace was established which later supported Imperialism and Europe became able to capture more new lands and more new colonies.

IV. LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY COLONIALISM

Britain and France captured more territories.
Germany and Belgium emerged as new global powers.
Later, US also became global power.

V. RINDERPEST PLAGUE

Rinderpest is a fast spreading cattle plague which hit Africa in late 1880s.
In 1880s, a fast spreading disease of cattle Plague / Rinderpest was imported to Africa from British Asia.
The Rinderpest spread like forest fire and destroyed many african cattles.

VI. INDENTURED LABOUR MIGTRATION FROM INDIA

Indentured labour is a bonded labour who has signed a contract to work for an employer for a specific period of time and has promised to work in a new country .
In 19th century many Indian and chinese indentured labourers went to different parts of the world to work in plantations, mines, for constructing roads and railways .
In India most of indentured labourers were from UP, Bihar, Central India and Tamil Nadu.
The 19th century indenture has been described as NEW SYSTEM OF SLAVERY.
Indentured labour was abolished in India in 1921.

NEW SLAVERY SYSTEM :

Agents misguided labourers by providing false information.
Labourers were sometimes kidnapped by agents.
Living and working condition of new place was very hard.
wages were very low.
No legal rights for labourers.

INDIAN ENTREPRENEURS ABROAD

Shikaripuri shrott and Nattukottai chettiyars were amongst the many groups of bankers and traders who financed export agriculture in central and south-east asia.
Indian traders and moneylenders also followed European colonisers into Africa. From 1860s they established flourishing emporia at busy ports worldwide, selling local and imported curios to tourists whose numbers were beginning to swell, thanks to development of safe and comfortable passenger vessels.

INDIAN TRADE, COLONIALISM AND THE GLOBAL SYSTEM

Due to industrialisation, British cotton manufactured goods began to expand in terms of market.
Accordingly, British industrialists class began to pressurise the government to restrict cotton imports and protect local industries.
Tariffs were imposed on imports in Britain. Hence, Sales of Indian cotton clothes declined.
Britain had Trade Surplus w.r.t India.
This surplus was used by Britain to balance its deficit with other countries.

THE INTER WAR ECONOMY

The First world war (1914-18) was mainly fought in Europe but its impact was around the world due to widespread economic and political instability.
The first World war was fought between 2 power blocks. One was ALLIED POWERS ( Britain, France, Russia, US) and other was CENTRAL POWERS ( Germany, Austria – Hungary, Ottoman Turkey).
This was first industrial war. Machine guns, Tanks, aircrafts, Chemical weapons etc were used on a massive scale.
War deaths reduced population of working age in Europe.
Britain borrowed large funds from US Banks which transformed US from INTERNATIONAL DEBTOR to INTERNATIONAL CREDITOR.

IMPACT OF FIRST WORLD WAR

Difficult for Britain to maintain top position in Indian market. After war, Britain also had to compete with JAPAN.
America also took debt during war.
Demand of goods fell due to fall in production and increase in unemployment.
Heavy taxes were imposed by government to fulfill the losses of war which caused great fall in employment.

POST WAR RECOVERY

After war, Britain found it difficult to recapture its earlier dominance in Indian market and had to compete with Japan.
The recovery led to an economic boom and large scale increase in demand, production and employment.
Before war, Eastern Europe was a major supplier of wheat in the world. During war its supply disrupted and wheat production in Canada, America and Australia expanded immensely.
After war Eastern Europe’s production again increased and it led to fall in prices of Wheat and rural income declined and farmers fell into deeper debt.

RISE OF MASS PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION

One important feature of the US economy of the 1920s was Mass Production. A well-known pioneer of mass production was Car manufacturing, Henry Ford.
The T-Model Ford was the world’s First mass-produced car.
Mass production lowered costs and prices of engineered goods and there was an increase in purchase of refrigerators, washing machines, radios, gramophone players, all through a system of HIRE PURCHASE.
Large housing and household goods created a cycle of higher employment and incomes.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

In 1929 world saw THE GREAT DEPRESSION.
Production , Employment , Income and Trade declined all over the world.
Depression happened due to several facts of agricultural overproduction.
Many countries financed through loans from US. The withdrawal of US loans affected rest of the world.
US banks also slashed domestic lending and called back loans.

CAUSES OF GREAT DEPRESSION

Post-world war, economy of the world was fragile. Agricultural overproduction was a problem. As prices went very low, farmers produce rotted.
US overseas borrowers panicked during financial crisis and many banks became bankrupt and were forced to close down .
American capitalists stopped all loans.

INDIA AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Colonial India had became an exporter of agricultural goods and importer of manufactured goods. The depression immediately affected Indian trade.
Peasants and farmers suffered a lot .
Colonial government reduced to reduce revenue demands.
The famous economists JM Keynes thought Indian gold exports promoted economic recovery.