The Making Of A Global World

Silk

In the 8th century, silk was among the first goods to be transported from China in Asia to Europe and South Africa. Hence, the name 'Silk Route'. This eventually became a very important link to connect many countries in the pre-trade era. Soon, textiles and spices also began to be traded from India and South Asia. Also, precious metals such as gold and silver were imported from Europe to Asia. This route helped not only for the trade of goods but also for the exchange of cultural ideas and knowledge. Many Christian and Muslim scholars travelled through this route. Later, Buddhism also spread in the same manner.

Potato

Potato was imported from America to Europe. In the mid-1840s, it became the staple food of many people in Europe and formed a major portion of their daily diet. At one time in Ireland, the potato crop had failed. This led to starvation among the people and eventually death.

City of Gold

El Dorado was a fabled city of gold. It is said to be in South America, in the 17th century. Many expeditions were carried out in search of it but resulted into a fruitless trek.

Portugal and Spain

The two European countries of Portugal and Spain had conquered a vast portion of America in the mid 16 century. This conquest was possible due to the superior quality of military equipment, Apart from this, another unconventional reason for conquest was the germs of smallpox, carried by Europeans to America. Since the people living in America lived in isolation and did not have any immunization against it, it led to the spread of smallpox among them. Eventually, many people died in America, which further strengthen their conquest.

From East Africa

Rinderpest was a fatal disease. It had entered through British Asia. East Africa had imported cattle from British Asia to feed the Italian soldiers fighting in their country. The cattle were infected, and thus, this disease had spread among the people. This led to the migration of many people from Africa to other parts of the world.

Caribbean Islands, Fuji, and Mauritius

The main destination of Indian indentured migrants was Caribbean Islands ( mainly Trinidad and Tobago ), Fuji and Mauritius. Indentured worker means a worker who has agreed to work for an employer for a specific period of years. They were brought here as a replacement of the African slaves.

An annual Muharram procession.

Hosay was an annual carnival in the remembrance of Muharram which took place in Trinidad. People from different cultures were a part of this carnival. A procession took place on the street full of colourful mausoleums.

Ford

Henry Ford had first developed the assembly line method of manufacturing cars in the USA in the 1920s. He had adopted it from the assembly line system in a slaughterhouse. He had noticed that the slaughtered animals were collected through a conveyer belt by the butchers. He then adapted this line into the production of cars. This led to an increase in the work speed of the worker and the absence of delay of any kind of work. This led to the production of cars only at a three-minute interval.

USA

Britain had borrowed large sums of money from US banks and US public during the First World War. This was to fund the country in terms of military weapons, food supplies etc. This made the US an international creditor.

Due to depression

The Great Depression in 1929 had a major effect on prices, income, and production of goods in many countries. India also faced many such negative effects in the rural segments. One such effect was the decline in the wheat prices. It fell to almost 50% during 1928-1934. This, in turn, worsened the plight of the farmers. There was a large amount of unused crop and nobody to purchase it.

In March 1930

Explanation: Civil Disobedience meant refusal by the general public of the country to accept a particular law or rule imposed by the government. This movement was started by Mahatma Gandhi in March 1930 in India, in response to the Salt law imposed by the British government. This law stated that the price of salt would be increased to a thousand times. Gandhiji thought that salt is a basic necessity of life which is required by everyone. This was a nonviolent form of protest centred around Salt.

G-77

Explanation: G-77 was set up on 15 June 1964, by 77 countries. These were developing countries that demanded NIEO i,e, New International Economic Order. They did so as they had not gained any benefit from the fast growth as experienced by the Western countries.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.

Explanation: IMF and World Bank were set up after the Second World War to assist the countries in financial matters. These 2 institutions are together called the Bretton Wood twins or Bretton Woods Institutions. IMF overlooked the economic conditions of the member countries and offered financial advice. World Banks offered loans to such countries for the development of its economic and social infrastructures.

In 1602

Explanation: The first MNC is considered to be the Dutch East India Company, which was set up on 20 March 1602. It had set up its headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherland. It traded in India, Asia-Pacific region and South Africa. It traded spices, porcelain, silk, meat, rice, sugarcane etc.

Due to the falling cost of overseas involvement

Explanation: The US dollar could not maintain its value in term of gold. This led to an end of the fixed exchange rate system and the introduction of a floating exchange rate system.

Hosay was a procession in the remembrance of Muharram, celebrated every year in Trinidad. People belonging to different religions and races actively participated in this carnival. There was a parade of different colored mausoleums and Mosque tombs.

Chutney Music was popular in Trinidad and Guayana. It was a mix of music from different parts of the world which gave it a unique form. It was originally created by the Indo Carribean of the West Indies. It integrated different cultures and was formerly performed by women only. It also uses many folk instruments such as harmonium, drums, and dholak.

The Great Depression started in the 1930s in the USA and rapidly spread to other parts of the world. This led to a fall in the production, employment and income level of many countries. It had a much greater effect in the US and Europe and a little mild in other countries. The rural segments faced serious repercussions. The Dustbowl created in Midwest and overproduction led to the loss of previously fertile land. The US dollar's value in terms of gold fell which led to a demand for a new exchange system. The country then shifted from a fixed exchange rate system to a floating exchange rate system. The US also became an international creditor to many countries such as British Asia. It had a severe and long-lasting effect on the world.

The crossing of the Wilge River was a quick method to transport to the gold field of Transvaal. This river is basically a tributary in the Vaal river in South Africa. This became a very important way of transport over the years.

The G-77 was formed by 77 developing countries that demanded a New International Economic Order ( NIEO) because they felt that they had not benefited from the fast growth as experienced by the Western countries between 1950 and 1960. These were the developing countries who wanted to have a proper control over their natural resources, fair authority in the decision of its prices and a better opportunity to trade their goods in the market of the Western countries. They were also against apartheid and favored global disarmament. Currently, there are 134 countries. The chairmanship is held by Egypt. In 2019, Palestine will occupy this position.

The export of fine Indian textile to England had declined in the 19th century due to the spread of the Industrial Revolution in the latter. This has led to an increase in the production of machine-made textile by the British industries. They, in turn, forced their government to restrict trade with other countries.

The countries of Eastern Europe were said to be a major supplier of wheat.

During the Great Depression, there was a continuous decline in agricultural prices. The peasants were forced to sell their jewelry to meet their daily expense. This gold was then exported to Britain. Moreover, only the rural India had to face the issues, not urban India. Thus, it is said that India had undergone a lesser impact of it.

The urban class of India had undergone a lesser impact of the Great Depression. They were given their salaries and could buy things at a cheaper price. It was the rural segment which had a major impact due to the Great Depression.

The protest religion made popular by Bob Marley is Rastafarian. It was a religious and political movement in the West Indies. It had s different dress code of deadlocks and smoking of cannabis.

With the great changes in technology, there was rapid urbanization and industrialization in Britain along with the population growth in the 18th century. This led to an increase in the demand for agricultural products. This implied that food grains could now be imported at a cheaper price. With the increase in industrialization, people started to receive a higher income which leads to an increase in the consumption of the food. This, in turn, leads to an increase in the exports of food production in Eastern Europe, Russia, and the USA.

The G-77 was formed by 77 developing countries that demanded a New International Economic Order ( NIEO) because they felt that they had not benefited from the fast growth as experienced by the Western countries between 1950 and 1960. These were the developing countries who wanted to have a proper control over their natural resources, fair authority in the decision of its prices and a better opportunity to trade their goods in the market of the Western countries. They were also against apartheid and favored global disarmament. Currently, there are 134 countries. The chairmanship is held by Egypt. In 2019, Palestine will occupy this position.

Rinderpest is a fatal cattle disease.

It was brought into Africa through the cattle that were imported from British Asia.

It had entered Africa through the Eastern part of the country and had soon spread to the Southern part as well. It had killed almost 80% to 90% of the cattle. It had greatly affected the transport system of the country. Since there was no source of meat and milk, the Africans suffered a lot due to starvation and lost their livelihood. The Europeans saw this as an opportunity to conquer and control the scarce resources of Africa.

The European employers had taken the following steps to retain the African laborers :

i) The European government imposed a heavy taxation system which could be paid by the African laborers only by working for the Europeans.

ii) They were kept in closed circuit areas and were not allowed to move freely.

iii) A new inheritance law was issued stating that only one family member will inherit the land and the rest will move into the labor market.

The First World War had begun in 1914 and continued for the next 4 years up to 1918. It led to a great economic and political instability in many countries of the world. It was a war among all the leading industrial nations. Since it was the first industrial war many heavy types of equipment were used. Many soldiers were recruited and most of them were either injured or dead. Since the industries were pushed to produce war related goods and men were sent on the battlefield, the women began to work in the industries. It had also ended the economic links between different countries. Hence it is said that there was no war like the First World War.

The period between 1928 to 1934 is called as the Great Depression. India had also faced severe effects of this. Bengal was a major state producing jute. Jute was used to make gunny bags. With the depression period, the demand for gunny bags fell. This, in turn, led to a fall in the price of jute by almost 60 percent.

A major development that took place in the 1920s in the US economy was the introduction of mass production. It was an important and notable feature of the industrial production of the country. Henry Ford had speeded up the production of cars using the assembly line system.

1. Henry Ford had adapted this idea from the assembly line system of the slaughter houses in Chicago. He had noticed that the slaughtered animals were collected through a conveyer belt by the butchers.

2. He then adapted this line into the production of cars. The idea behind this was that by the presence of a conveyor belt, the worker would work mechanically at an increased speed by doing the same work again and again.

3. This would also lead to the absence of any delay of work as the product would be in front of them at a conveyor belt.

4. This led to the production of cars only at a three-minute interval.

5. However, this also had a big disadvantage. With the increase in the work and necessary speed required to do so, many workers started to quit.

6. To retain the workers, Henry increased the wage to $5 in 1914. He also banned any form of train union.

This method of Ford soon spread to other parts. Since the cost had declined due to mass production, there was an increase in demand for cars by the workers earning higher incomes. The production of cars had increased from 2 million to 5 million within a span of ten years from 1929 to 1939.

The first world war had started in 1914 and ended in 1918. It was fought between Britain,Russia, France and USA on one side and Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Ottoman Turkey on the other side.

1. CHANGE IN POWER: Before the war, Britain was leading in the world economy. During the war, many developing countries had developed their industries. After the end of the war, Britain was unable to compete internationally with these industries. It had also taken a large amount of loan and had a huge external debt.

2. FALL OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY: The World War had led to an increased in the production of war-related goods which led to an increase in employment. Post war, both these areas suffered. Many countries also faced a serious crisis in the agricultural sector,

3. GREAT DEPRESSION: The period from 1929 to mid-1930 is known as the period of the Great Depression. It was due to many factors which led to a fall in production and employment levels.

4. RURAL SEGMENT: The rural segment faced serious repercussions as there was overproduction accompanied with a fall in prices. The farmers were unable to meet their expenses. The crops rotted as there was no one to buy them.

5. WITHDRAWAL OF LOANS: US was a major financer to many countries in Europe. But when the situation worsened, the investors started taking their loans back. Many Europeans banks had failed and faced an acute financial crisis.

The First World War that was assumed to be a localized war that would end soon, lasted for a long time. Many countries were affected with it in one or the other, i.e. changes in the level of production, employment, income, and trade.

Before the 16th century, America was developing in isolation. With the discovery of sea routes to America, its rich sources could be utilized in other parts of the world as well.

The 3 main changes that took place are as follows :

i) Peru and Mexico had many silver mines. These were then traded with the European countries. Many even began their expedition to El Dolarado, a fabled city of gold in South America.

ii) Portuguese and Spaniards had conquered a major part of America using firearms and germs of smallpox. Since, the people of America were living in isolation and had no immunity for it, most of the natives died. This led to an easier conquest.

iii) Religious conflicts began among different sections of society. The Europeans brought slaves from Africa to work in the large plantations set up by them in America.

With the discovery of sea route to America, goods and labour began moving westward.

Since ancient times, human travelled a lot to different places for different reasons.

1. They travelled when the agricultural capacity of the and got exhausted in search of newer fields or sometimes in search of some resources.

2. This travelling and settling down resulted in sharing of ideas, knowledge, habits, etc.

3. They carried with them different food items, culture, plants, etc. Along with these, there was exchange of skills which enhanced the creative aspect of humans.

4. Travels also resulted in migrating of germs and diseases to different places thus resulting in spread of diseases to longer distances.