Topic 6.4 Global Economic Development from 1750 to 1900
Humans and the Environments (ENV)
The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and change, these populations in turn shape their environments.
Learning Objective
Explain how various environmental factors contributed to the development of the global economy from 1750 to 1900.
Historical Developments
The need for raw materials for factories and increased food supplies for the growing population in urban centers led to the growth of export economies around the world that specialized in commercial extraction of natural resources and the production of food and industrial crops. The profits from these raw materials were used to purchase finished goods.
Resource export economies:
- Cotton production in Egypt
- Rubber extraction in the Amazon and the Congo basin
- The palm oil trade in West Africa
- The guano industries in Peru and Chile
- Meat from Argentina and Uruguay
- Diamonds from Africa