Europeans and Americans Conquer the World… Well Almost
The countries that industrialize became rich and powerful, while those that didn’t became poor and oppressed. Armed with steam ships, railroads, and now even the maxim gun (an early version of what we now call the machine gun), the technologically superior Europeans and Americans began to conquer most of the world. In fact, by 1914, Europeans and Americans controlled nearly 95% of the world’s population. It started with guys seeking either a profit or a convert. Asia, Africa, and Latin America had the raw materials and the climate that Europeans needed for business. Individual profiteers went there first, followed by traders that had government support, like the British East India Company. The lands with the most valuable goods got snatched-up by European and American governments. Mother countries profited from cheap raw materials grown and harvested by colonial subjects. Europe conquered Africa and much of Asia while the U.S. expanded from east coast to west coast and claimed islands in the Caribbean and Pacific as their own.
While Europeans conquered African and Asian societies, what about the powerful Chinese and Islamic Empires? What about the Russians and Japanese? None of these societies had industrialized and they all looked on in horror as the Europeans and Americans conquered all of their neighbors. These traditional societies knew they had to do something, because if they didn’t, Europe would probably conquer them too! So the Chinese, Japanese, Ottoman, and Russians all had a choice to make: to industrialize or not to industrialize. Seems like a no brainer, right? The problem is that these land-based empires have strong cultural traditions that they wanted to protect, and they knew that adopting European technologies meant also adopting other European influences. As they stalled and tried to figure out what to do, European manufactured goods began to take over markets around the world. Industrially produced goods from Europe were cheaper than local handicrafts. So everyone began buying European goods and not Chinese, Russian, Ottoman, or Japanese stuff. Traditional societies became divided over what to do: some conservatives wanted to oppose all European technologies and ideas, others recognized a need to adopt European ways in order to survive. In the Ottoman Empire and China, the conservatives won and tried to keep Europeans out. But the Europeans kept coming = China ☹ Ottoman ☹. In Russia and Japan, the governments tried to copy the West with varying success. Russia became somewhat industrialized, but they did not do as good a job as Japan. Under the “Meiji Restoration,” the Japanese government successfully westernized and eventually became an industrial power. Japan expanded their empire into northern China and throughout the Pacific... Better late than never, right?
The countries that industrialize became rich and powerful, while those that didn’t became poor and oppressed. Armed with steam ships, railroads, and now even the maxim gun (an early version of what we now call the machine gun), the technologically superior Europeans and Americans began to conquer most of the world. In fact, by 1914, Europeans and Americans controlled nearly 95% of the world’s population. It started with guys seeking either a profit or a convert. Asia, Africa, and Latin America had the raw materials and the climate that Europeans needed for business. Individual profiteers went there first, followed by traders that had government support, like the British East India Company. The lands with the most valuable goods got snatched-up by European and American governments. Mother countries profited from cheap raw materials grown and harvested by colonial subjects. Europe conquered Africa and much of Asia while the U.S. expanded from east coast to west coast and claimed islands in the Caribbean and Pacific as their own.
While Europeans conquered African and Asian societies, what about the powerful Chinese and Islamic Empires? What about the Russians and Japanese? None of these societies had industrialized and they all looked on in horror as the Europeans and Americans conquered all of their neighbors. These traditional societies knew they had to do something, because if they didn’t, Europe would probably conquer them too! So the Chinese, Japanese, Ottoman, and Russians all had a choice to make: to industrialize or not to industrialize. Seems like a no brainer, right? The problem is that these land-based empires have strong cultural traditions that they wanted to protect, and they knew that adopting European technologies meant also adopting other European influences. As they stalled and tried to figure out what to do, European manufactured goods began to take over markets around the world. Industrially produced goods from Europe were cheaper than local handicrafts. So everyone began buying European goods and not Chinese, Russian, Ottoman, or Japanese stuff. Traditional societies became divided over what to do: some conservatives wanted to oppose all European technologies and ideas, others recognized a need to adopt European ways in order to survive. In the Ottoman Empire and China, the conservatives won and tried to keep Europeans out. But the Europeans kept coming = China ☹ Ottoman ☹. In Russia and Japan, the governments tried to copy the West with varying success. Russia became somewhat industrialized, but they did not do as good a job as Japan. Under the “Meiji Restoration,” the Japanese government successfully westernized and eventually became an industrial power. Japan expanded their empire into northern China and throughout the Pacific... Better late than never, right?