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Formation and development of the world colonial system. The beginning of the formation of the colonial system

In parallel with the discovery of new lands, they were studied, described and conquered. In the new lands, the interests of different countries collided, controversial situations and conflicts, often armed, arose.

Portugal and Spain took the path of colonial conquest before others. They also made the first attempt to delimit their spheres of interest. To prevent the possibility of clashes, both states entered into a special agreement in 1494, according to which everything again open lands those to the west of the 30th meridian were to belong to the Spaniards, and to the east to the Portuguese. However, the demarcation line passed only along Atlantic Ocean, and this later led to controversy when the Spaniards, approaching from the east, and the Portuguese from the west, met in the Moluccas.

The invaders, the conquistadors, conquered vast territories, turning them into colonies, appropriated and ruthlessly exploited their wealth, converted pagan natives to Christianity, and wiped out entire civilizations from the face of the earth. TO mid-17th century V. the largest overseas territories belonged to Spain, Portugal, Holland, France and England.

Conclusion

Until the XV-XVII centuries. The West was a relatively closed region, and at the stage of the decomposition of feudalism, the borders of the Western world expanded, the process of forming a pan-European and world market began, and the horizons of Europeans expanded.

Such shifts were caused by the Great Geographical Discoveries that spanned precisely these two and a half centuries. Great geographical discoveries became possible thanks to the organization by Europeans of expeditions across the oceans to find new routes to India, a country of untold riches. The previous routes to this distant fairyland through the Mediterranean Sea and Western Asia were blocked by Arab, Turkish, and Mongol-Tatar conquerors. And Europe during this period experienced significant significant drawback in gold and silver as a medium of circulation.

The great geographical discoveries had very important economic consequences, although different for different countries.

First of all, the development of the world productive forces has advanced; The territory known by that time increased only during the 16th century. six times, there were fewer and fewer white spots on it.

Trade routes from the North, Baltic and Mediterranean seas moved to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Thanks to this, trade routes connected the continents. Navigation made it possible to establish stable economic ties between individual parts of the world and determined the formation of world trade.

Great geographical discoveries contributed to the disintegration of feudalism and the development of capitalist relations, laying the foundations of the world market.

However, there is also negative consequences, which was expressed in education colonial system nascent capitalism.

Question No. 16.

Formation of the colonial system and the world capitalist economy.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. borders European civilization constantly expanded: we are, of course, not talking about geographical expansion, but about the dissemination of ideas, value systems, socio-economic structures, etc. The single reconnaissance expeditions of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries were replaced by the development of new rich territories, during which the Europeans laid foundations of the future colonial system. Traditional societies, as a rule, could not do anything to oppose this expansion and became easy prey for stronger opponents.

On initial stage colonization, Europeans usually did not interfere in the social political life conquered societies. What was important for the conquerors was, above all, the economic subjugation of the colonies. That is why many elements, for example, of ancient Indian civilization have survived to this day.

Colonial expansion European countries led to their constant clashes in the struggle for the most profitable and rich lands. Naturally, in this competition, victory usually went to the most advanced, modernized countries. And since in this sense absolute leadership at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. was for England, it also became the main colonial power, displacing first Holland and then France in this competition. In Latin America, Spain and Portugal still retained their gigantic possessions, but the weakness of these metropolises made the imminent death of their colonial empires inevitable.

Almost the entire area remained a huge undeveloped space. African continent, where Europeans occupied only narrow coastal strips. These were a kind of bridgeheads that were used for a long time for the capture and export of black slaves to America, as well as for the extraction of minerals and other raw materials.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. Russia's expansion (and, accordingly, its authority in international politics). But unlike the Western powers, Russia did not occupy distant overseas lands, but annexed territories located near the core of the state. The most ambitious was the advance to the east, to the Pacific Ocean, then, already in the 18th-19th centuries, the borders of the empire expanded in the south (Caucasus, Crimea, Central Asia). Russian settlements appeared even in Alaska and in the area of ​​the current American state of California, but in the 19th century. they were abandoned. In the west the composition Russian Empire included Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, a significant part of ethnic Poland.

The forms of exploitation in the colonies were different. In Latin America, the Spaniards and Portuguese made extensive use of slave labor. The slave plantation became the main form economic activity. However, on the islands of the West Indies (and in a number of other areas), slavery was also resurrected by “advanced” England, Holland and France. And, for example, in Indonesia, the Dutch used a serfdom system of coercion, forcing local peasants to grow coffee, spices, and cane sugar - extremely valuable goods in European markets. In an effort to extract maximum profits from the colonies, trading companies also brutally exploited European colonists (for example, in South Africa, to a lesser extent in Canada). And only in the North American colonies of England, as already mentioned, development immediately followed the capitalist path, and after independence was won, a new civilizational center began to take shape here, successfully competing with the European one.

The formation of the United States was the first serious blow to the colonial system. An even more powerful blow was dealt to it already in early XIX V. former Latin American colonies. But the huge African continent was developed by the colonialists only to a small extent, so it was too early to talk about the crisis of the colonial system. Quite the opposite: in late XIX c., when all of Africa was captured and divided, this system was in for a kind of heyday.

Stages of formation and development of the world economy.

In its formation and development world economy has come a long and difficult way. Some researchers date its origin back to the time of the Roman Empire. Others keep a record of the functioning of the world economy since the great geographical discoveries of the 15th-16th centuries, which led to accelerated development international trade jewelry, spices, precious metals, slaves. But the world economy of this period was limited, remaining the sphere of application only of merchant capital.

The modern world economy arose after the industrial revolution, during the development of capitalism into monopoly capitalism.

Main stages of development of the world economy

The international division of labor and its international cooperation laid the foundations for the emergence of a world market, which developed on the basis of internal markets, gradually extending beyond national borders.

Domestic market- a form of economic communication in which everything intended for sale is sold by the manufacturer himself within the country.

National market- the domestic market, part of which is oriented towards foreign buyers.

International market- part of national markets that is directly related to foreign markets.

World market- the sphere of stable commodity-money relations between countries, based on MRI and other factors of production.

Basic characteristic features world market:

• is a category of commodity production that has gone beyond the national framework in search of sales of its products;
• manifests itself in the interstate movement of goods under the influence of internal and external demand and supply;
• optimizes the use of production factors, directing the manufacturer to industries and regions where they can be used most effectively;
• eliminates from international exchange goods and producers that do not provide international standard quality at competitive prices.

The emergence of the world economy.

By the end of the 19th century. the development of the world market for goods has led to the intensification of international economic relations and their expansion beyond the framework of international trade in goods. The growth of financial capital and the development of productive forces led to the emergence of a world economy, which is a higher stage of development of a market economy than the world market and includes, in addition to traditional international trade, the international movement of factors of production and international enterprises arising on this basis.

The world economy is regulated through measures of both national and interstate economic policy. The economies of individual countries are becoming more open and IEO-oriented.

World economy is the totality of the national economies of the countries of the world, related honey are mobile factors of production.

Characteristic features of the modern world economy:

• development of international movement of production factors (capital, labor, technology);
• growth of international forms of production in enterprises located in different countries(transnational companies, joint ventures…);
• economic policies of states that provide support for the international movement of goods and factors of production on a bilateral and multilateral basis;
• emergence of the economy open type within many states and interstate associations.

The Renaissance, which originated in the second half of the 14th century. and which fully came into its own from the middle of the 15th century, was the greatest progressive revolution, breaking the framework of the old orbis terrarum, laying the foundations for later world trade, for the transition of craft into manufacture, an unprecedented rise in productive forces; and laid the foundation for the process of development of modern European nations on the basis of bourgeois societies.
By the end of the 15th century. Europe, ahead of the East both in the sphere of material and spiritual culture, is becoming the bearer of progressive trends world history. The great geographical discoveries of the 15th - 16th centuries contributed to the significant expansion of European politics.
Already from the middle of the 15th century. Portuguese sailors began moving south along the western coast of Africa, and in 1488 Bartolomeu Dias rounded its southern tip. In 1498, Vasco da Gama's ships entered the Indian port of Calicut. As a result of their successful struggle against the Arabs and Egyptians, the Portuguese soon became the undisputed masters of the western Indian Ocean. They then came into contact with China and in 1557 founded the first European colony on Chinese territory in Macau. In 1500 they discovered and from 1530 actively colonized Brazil. Thus, a small country, thanks to its military and naval superiority, created a huge colonial empire.
At the same time, Spain is taking vigorous action to find new routes to rich India. During this process, Columbus discovers America (1492). The colonization of new lands began with the West Indies, where the first Spanish plantations and gold mines appeared. It was soon discovered that the local Indians were a physically weak labor force; they could not withstand the harsh conditions, died or went on the run. Because of this, in 1518, the supply of hardy black slaves from Africa to the West Indies began.
In 1519 - 1521, using the help of Indian tribes, Cortez's detachment conquered the rich Aztec empire. In 1532 - 1533 another conquistador, Pissaro, took possession of the rich Inca Empire. Here, on Peruvian soil, the richest mines were found, and Peruvian silver poured into Europe.
The Spanish colonial empire became the basis of Spain's political hegemony in Europe in the 16th century.
Great geographical discoveries gradually led to the relocation of trade routes and to a change in the balance of power in Europe. The Mediterranean Sea lost its importance as a center of maritime trade, giving way to the Atlantic Ocean, which contributed to the growth of the world trade authority of Antwerp and the Netherlands as a whole. In the second half of the 16th century, the strengthened Dutch bourgeoisie was able to successfully fight for the country's independence from Spanish rule.
In the 16th century Spain's colonial expansion also headed to the northern shores of Africa, but there it did not achieve much success.
So, Antwerp becomes, as it were, the geographical center of a new emerging world market. His crafts and manufactories worked mainly for the foreign market, while the manufactories of England and France sold their goods mainly on the domestic market. In 1531, the stock exchange opened in Antwerp, which became the rate-setting institution of the emerging world financial market. However, the role of the world center of credit and financial operations was later transferred to the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and the Amsterdam Bank. In addition, Amsterdam has become a world center for the redistribution of goods, price and exchange rate formation.
In 1609, the long struggle of the Netherlands against Spanish rule ended, and the recognized Republic of the United Provinces appeared on the European political arena. Since that time, the Amsterdam Bank began to play a decisive role in the credit and financial system of the world market. The stock exchange worked intensively, bills became the main form of credit and payment, the industrial development, growth of productive forces. Trade in weapons and military equipment has become a highly profitable industry. Relying on a developed maritime fleet, a strong Amsterdam market, and a low credit interest rate from an Amsterdam bank, Dutch merchants everywhere suppressed the aspirations of their competitors.
In 1602, the Dutch merchants created a monopoly East India Company for trade and development of colonies. In 1621, the West India Company was created, which served as a cover for conducting military-piracy and smuggling operations on the oceans, as well as the slave trade. The plunder of the colonies and predatory extermination began natural resources and productive forces, enslavement and actual destruction of entire peoples.
England also took an increasing part in this process. English merchants were actively looking for new, increasingly distant markets for their goods, opening routes to unknown lands. “Regulated” and “mutual” companies are emerging. The first, which were merchant corporations of a national scale, received special patents from the royal court for monopoly trade in any area. Participants in such companies did not pool their capital, each trading at their own peril and risk. Individualism generated competition and fostered the development of initiative and business acumen, so necessary in the courageous entrepreneurship of that adventurous era. “Regulated” companies traded mainly in nearby European markets - France and Holland.
Mutual companies began searching for new markets. The latter included the Russian Company, which arose in 1554 as a result of R. Chancellor’s visit to the Moscow state. In 1588, the Guinea Company was founded, monopolizing the slave trade, which soon became one of the most important sources of enrichment for the nation. In 1600, Queen Elizabeth signed a charter creating the East India Company, marking the beginning of the “legalized” entry of the British into India.
The struggle for markets led to a clash of English and Spanish interests. For a long time this struggle took place in the vast expanses of the Atlantic. In England, special merchant companies arose to equip pirate expeditions. In the last quarter of the 16th century. they, in fact, waged an undeclared war against the Spaniards, plundering Spanish colonies and ships carrying precious cargo from the New World. The British authorities were very lenient towards the predatory activities of pirates, which were beneficial to the state.
In 1578, one of these pirates, Francis Drake, passing through the Strait of Magellan, robbed the Spanish settlements in Chile and Peru, crossed the Pacific Ocean and, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, returned to England, making his second circumnavigation after Magellan (1520). The queen welcomed the successful adventurer, granting him the title of nobleman. Under Elizabeth, the English navy was significantly updated. Instead of bulky ships with a high surface, low, elongated ships were built, fast and maneuverable. Along with changes in tactics sea ​​battle this allowed England to win an important victory over the Spanish Invincible Armada in 1588.
In 1589 - 1590 New British expeditions are being prepared to the West Indies and the Pacific Ocean with the aim of ousting Holland from the “spice islands” and the Portuguese from Indian waters. Piracy becomes one of the methods for creating the foundations of the British colonial empire. The Anglo-Spanish War lasted until 1604. It clearly dragged on, became very burdensome, and its end was greeted with relief in England.
The Anglo-Spanish naval war led to a disruption of England's regular trade with Europe and to the closure of part of the English markets on the continent. The losses associated with this began to exceed the profits from piracy and robbery of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. From the beginning of the 17th century. The organization of the English colonies proper and the state-sanctioned seizure of colonial sources of raw materials and markets acquired particular importance.
France also actively participated in the struggle to seize the colonies. Moreover, the French sought to establish their colonies in the very center of the American possessions of Portugal and Spain. But in 1560 the Portuguese destroyed the French settlement that had existed since 1555 near Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), in 1565 the Spaniards defeated the newly founded French Protestant colony in Florida, and in 1583 the joint Spanish-Portuguese forces The French colony in Paramba (Brazil) was liquidated. It was obvious that at that time France lacked the strength to confront powerful rivals. In addition, she had to solve complex political problems in Europe. St. Bartholomew's Night (1572) again plunged France into the abyss of religious wars.
So, we can rightfully say that the Renaissance became not only the most important progressive revolution, but also the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, the era of the initial accumulation of capital, which prepared the conditions for the first bourgeois revolutions in Europe. The first of them, the Netherlands, leads to the emergence of the bourgeois Republic of the United Provinces, which, in itself, became the most important result of the 16th century. 1609 was the year of birth of the first state of the victorious bourgeoisie. The Dutch revolution was of exceptionally great international significance.
Already in the first decade of the 17th century. Holland achieved such economic growth that surprised all European countries. The Netherlands soon became a great maritime and colonial power, with more ships than any other country in Europe. Amsterdam became the center of the international payment system, the largest banker of the new world market.
Equally impressive and significant was the entry of Holland into the arena of world politics. Possessing a powerful fleet, the United Provinces were strong enough to set a course for decisively ousting the old masters and creating their own colonial empire in their former possessions. This was already the beginning of real wars for the redistribution of colonies, the beginning of the era of trade wars of European nations, the beginning of the birth of a new world colonial system, the arena of which became the entire globe.

1. Formation of the colonial system in the world.

The countries of Europe, having carried out modernization, received enormous advantages compared to the rest of the world, which was based on the principles of traditionalism. This advantage also affected the military potential. Therefore, following the era of great geographical discoveries, associated mainly with reconnaissance expeditions, already in the 17th-18th centuries. colonial expansion to the East of the most developed countries of Europe began. Traditional civilizations, due to the backwardness of their development, were not able to resist this expansion and turned into easy prey for their stronger opponents. The prerequisites for colonialism arose in the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, namely in the 15th century, when Vasco da Gama discovered the route to India and Columbus reached the shores of America. When encountering peoples of other cultures, Europeans demonstrated their technological superiority (oceanic sailing ships and firearms). The first colonies were founded in the New World by the Spaniards. The robbery of American Indian states contributed to the development of the European banking system, the growth of financial investments in science and stimulated the development of industry, which, in turn, demanded new raw materials.

The colonial policy of the period of primitive accumulation of capital was characterized by: the desire to establish a monopoly in trade with conquered territories, the seizure and plunder of entire countries, the use or imposition of predatory feudal and slave forms of exploitation of the local population. This policy played a huge role in the process of primitive accumulation. It led to the concentration of large capital in European countries based on the robbery of colonies and the slave trade, which especially developed from the 2nd half of the 17th century and served as one of the levers for turning England into the most developed country of that time.

In enslaved countries, colonial policies caused the destruction of productive forces, delayed the economic and political development of these countries, and led to the plunder of vast areas and the extermination of entire peoples. Military confiscation methods played a major role in the exploitation of the colonies during that period. A striking example of the use of such methods is the policy of the British East India Company in Bengal, which it conquered in 1757. The consequence of this policy was the famine of 1769-1773, which killed 10 million Bengalis. In Ireland, during the 16th-17th centuries, the British government confiscated and transferred to English colonists almost all the lands that belonged to the native Irish.

At the first stage of colonization of traditional societies, Spain and Portugal were in the lead. They managed to conquer most of South America.

Colonialism in Modern Times. With the transition from manufacture to large-scale factory industry, significant changes occurred in colonial policy. The colonies are economically more closely connected with the metropolises, turning into their agrarian and raw materials appendages with a monocultural direction of agricultural development, into markets for industrial products and sources of raw materials for the growing capitalist industry of the metropolises. For example, the export of English cotton fabrics to India increased 65 times from 1814 to 1835.

The spread of new methods of exploitation, the need to create special bodies of colonial administration that could consolidate dominance over local peoples, as well as the rivalry of various layers of the bourgeoisie in the metropolises led to the liquidation of monopoly colonial trading companies and the transition of captured countries and territories under the state administration of the metropolises.

The change in the forms and methods of exploitation of the colonies was not accompanied by a decrease in its intensity. Enormous wealth was exported from the colonies. Their use led to the acceleration of socio-economic development in Europe and North America. Although the colonialists were interested in increasing the marketability of peasant farming in the colonies, they often supported and consolidated feudal and pre-feudal relations, considering the feudal and tribal nobility in the colonized countries as their social support.

With the beginning of the industrial era, Great Britain became the largest colonial power. Having defeated France during a long struggle in the 18th and 19th centuries, she increased her possessions at her expense, as well as at the expense of the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal. Great Britain conquered India. In 1840-42 and together with France in 1856-60, she waged the so-called Opium Wars against China, as a result of which China imposed beneficial treaties on itself. It took control of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), tried to subjugate Afghanistan, and captured strongholds in the Persian Gulf and Aden. The colonial monopoly, together with the industrial monopoly, ensured Great Britain's position as the most powerful power throughout almost the entire 19th century. Colonial expansion was also carried out by other powers. France subjugated Algeria (1830-48), Vietnam (50-80s of the 19th century), established its protectorate over Cambodia (1863), Laos (1893). In 1885, the Congo became the possession of the Belgian King Leopold II, and a system of forced labor was established in the country.

In the middle of the 18th century. Spain and Portugal began to lag behind in economic development and were relegated to the background as maritime powers. Leadership in colonial conquests passed to England. Beginning in 1757, the English East India trading company captured almost the entire Hindustan for almost a hundred years. In 1706, active colonization of North America by the British began. At the same time, the development of Australia was underway, to whose territory the British sent criminals sentenced to hard labor. The Dutch East India Company took over Indonesia. France established colonial rule in the West Indies as well as in the New World (Canada).

African continent in the XVII-XVIII centuries. Europeans developed only on the coast and were used mainly as a source of slaves. In the 19th century Europeans advanced far into the continent and by the middle of the 19th century. Africa was almost completely colonized. The exceptions were two countries: Christian Ethiopia, which showed staunch resistance to Italy, and Liberia, created by former slaves immigrants from the United States.

IN Southeast Asia the French captured most of territory of Indochina. Only Siam (Thailand) retained relative independence, but a large territory was also taken away from it.

By the middle of the 19th century. The Ottoman Empire was subjected to strong pressure from the developed countries of Europe. The countries of the Levant (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine), which were officially considered part of the Ottoman Empire during this period, became an area of ​​active penetration by Western powers - France, England, Germany. During the same period, Iran lost not only economic, but also political independence. At the end of the 19th century. its territory was divided into spheres of influence between England and Russia. Thus, in the 19th century. Almost all countries of the East fell into one form or another of dependence on the most powerful capitalist countries, turning into colonies or semi-colonies. For Western countries, colonies were a source of raw materials, financial resources, labor, as well as sales markets. The exploitation of the colonies by the Western metropolises was of a cruel and predatory nature. At the cost of merciless exploitation and robbery, the wealth of the Western metropolises was created and the relatively high standard of living of their population was maintained.

2.Types of colonies

According to the type of management, settlement and economic development in the history of colonialism, three main types of colonies were distinguished:

Migrant colonies.

Raw material colonies (or exploited colonies).

Mixed (resettlement and raw materials colonies).

Settler colonialism is a type of colonization management, main goal which was the expansion of the living space (the so-called Lebensraum) of the titular ethnic group of the metropolis to the detriment of the autochthonous peoples. There is a massive influx of immigrants from the metropolis into resettlement colonies, who usually form a new political and economic elite. The local population is suppressed, displaced, and often physically destroyed (i.e., genocide is carried out). The metropolis often encourages resettlement to a new place as a means of regulating the size of its own population, as well as using new lands to exile undesirable elements (criminals, prostitutes, rebellious national minorities - Irish, Basques and others), etc. An example of a modern settler colony is Israel.

The key points when creating resettlement colonies are two conditions: low density of the autochthonous population with a relative abundance of land and other natural resources. Naturally, settler colonialism leads to a deep structural restructuring of the life and ecology of the region in comparison with resource (raw materials) colonialism, which, as a rule, sooner or later ends in decolonization. There are examples in the world of mixed migrant and raw materials colonies.

The first examples of a resettlement colony mixed type became colonies of Spain (Mexico, Peru) and Portugal (Brazil). But it was the British Empire, and after it the USA, the Netherlands and Germany, that began to pursue a policy of complete genocide of the autochthonous population in the newly conquered lands in order to create homogeneously white, English-speaking, Protestant settler colonies, which later turned into dominions. Having once made a mistake regarding the 13 North American colonies, England softened its attitude towards the new settler colonies. From the very beginning they were granted administrative and then political autonomy. These were the settler colonies in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. But the attitude towards the autochthonous population remained extremely cruel. The Trail of Tears in the USA and the White Australia policy in Australia gained worldwide fame. No less bloody were the reprisals of the British against their European competitors: the “Great Trouble” in French Acadia and the conquest of Quebec, the French settler colonies of the New World. At the same time, British India with its rapidly growing population of 300 million, Hong Kong, and Malaysia turned out to be unsuitable for British colonization due to their dense population and the presence of aggressive Muslim minorities. In South Africa, the local and newcomer (Boer) populations were already quite large, but institutional segregation helped the British carve out certain economic niches and land for a small group of privileged British colonists. Often, to marginalize the local population, white settlers also attracted third groups: black slaves from Africa in the USA and Brazil; Jewish refugees from Europe in Canada, farm laborers from the countries of South and Eastern Europe who did not have their own colonies; Indians, Vietnamese and Javanese coolies in Guiana, South Africa, USA, etc. The conquest of Siberia and America by Russia, as well as their further settlement by Russian and Russian-speaking settlers, also had much in common with settler colonialism. In addition to the Russians, Ukrainians, Germans and other peoples took part in this process.

As time passed, the settler colonies transformed into new nations. This is how the Argentines, Peruvians, Mexicans, Canadians, Brazilians, Americans of the USA, the Creoles of Guiana, the Caldochs of New Caledonia, the Breyons, the French-Acadians, the Cajuns and the French-Canadians (Quebecs) arose. They continue to be connected with the former metropolis by language, religion and common culture. The fate of some settler colonies ended tragically: the Pied Noirs of Algeria (Franco-Algerians), since the end of the twentieth century, European settlers and their descendants have been intensively leaving the countries of Central Asia and Africa (repatriation): in South Africa their share fell from 21% in 1940 to 9%. in 2010; in Kyrgyzstan from 40% in 1960 to 10% in 2010. In Windhoek, the share of whites fell from 54% in 1970 to 16% in 2010. Their share is also rapidly declining throughout the New World: in the United States it fell from 88% in 1930. to about 64% in 2010; in Brazil from 63% in 1960 to 48% in 2010.

3.Features of colony management.

Colonial rule was administratively expressed either in the form of a "dominion" (direct control of the colony through a viceroy, captain general or governor general) or in the form of a "protectorate". The ideological justification for colonialism came through the need to spread culture (cultural trade, modernization, Westernization - this is the spread of Western values ​​throughout the world) - “the white man’s burden.”

The Spanish version of colonization implied the expansion of Catholicism and the Spanish language through the encomienda system. Encomienda (from Spanish encomienda - care, protection) is a form of dependence of the population of the Spanish colonies on the colonialists. Introduced in 1503. Abolished in the 18th century. Dutch version colonization South Africa meant apartheid, the expulsion of the local population and their imprisonment in reservations or bantustans. The colonists formed communities completely independent of the local population, which were made up of people of various classes, including criminals and adventurers. Religious communities were also widespread (the Puritans of New England and the Mormons of the Wild West). The power of the colonial administration was exercised according to the principle of “divide and rule” by pitting local religious communities (Hindus and Muslims in British India) or hostile tribes (in colonial Africa) against each other, as well as through apartheid (racial discrimination). Often, the colonial administration supported oppressed groups to fight their enemies (the oppressed Hutu in Rwanda) and created armed forces from the natives (sepoys in India, Gurkhas in Nepal, Zouaves in Algeria).

Initially, European countries did not bring their characteristic political culture and socio-economic relations to the colonies. Faced with the ancient civilizations of the East, which had long ago developed their own traditions of culture and statehood, the conquerors sought, first of all, their economic subjugation. In territories where there was no statehood at all or was at a fairly low level (for example, in North America or Australia), they were forced to create certain state structures, to some extent borrowed from the experience of the metropolises, but with greater national specifics. In North America, for example, power was concentrated in the hands of governors who were appointed by the British government. The governors had advisers, usually from among the colonists, who defended the interests of the local population. Self-government bodies played a major role: a meeting of representatives of the colonies and legislative bodies - the legislature.

In India, the British did not particularly interfere in political life and sought to influence local rulers through economic means of influence (enslaving loans), as well as by providing military assistance in internecine struggles.

Economic policies in the various European colonies were largely similar. Spain, Portugal, Holland, France, and England initially transferred feudal structures to their colonial possessions. At the same time, plantation farming was widely used. Of course, these were not slave-owning plantations of the classical type, as, say, in Ancient Rome. They represented a large capitalist economy working for the market, but using crude forms of non-economic coercion and dependence.

Many of the consequences of colonization were negative. The robbery of national wealth and the merciless exploitation of the local population and poor colonists were carried out. Trading companies brought stale consumer goods to the occupied territories and sold them at high prices. On the contrary, valuable raw materials, gold and silver, were exported from colonial countries. Under the onslaught of goods from the metropolises, traditional oriental crafts withered, traditional forms of life and value systems were destroyed.

At the same time, eastern civilizations were increasingly drawn into the new system of world relations and came under the influence of Western civilization. Gradually there was an assimilation Western ideas and political institutions, the creation of a capitalist economic infrastructure. Under the influence of these processes, traditional Eastern civilizations are being reformed.

A striking example of changes in traditional structures under the influence of colonialist policies is provided by the history of India. After the liquidation of the East Indian trading company in 1858 India became part of the British Empire. In 1861, a law was passed on the creation of legislative bodies - Indian Councils, and in 1880 a law on local self-government was adopted. Thus, the beginning was laid for a new phenomenon for Indian civilization - elected bodies of representation. Although it should be noted that only about 1% of the Indian population was eligible to participate in these elections.

The British made significant financial investments in the Indian economy. The colonial administration, resorting to loans from English bankers, built railways, irrigation structures, enterprises. In addition, private capital also grew in India, which played a major role in the development of the cotton and jute industries, and in the production of tea, coffee and sugar. The owners of the enterprises were not only the British, but also the Indians. 1/3 of the share capital was in the hands of the national bourgeoisie.

Since the 40s XIX century The British authorities began to actively work to form a national “Indian” intelligentsia in blood and skin color, tastes, morality and mentality. Such intelligentsia was formed in colleges and universities in Calcutta, Madras, Bombay and other cities.

In the 19th century the process of modernization also took place in the countries of the East that did not directly fall into colonial dependence. In the 40s XIX century reforms began in Ottoman Empire. The administrative system and the court were transformed, and secular schools were created. Non-Muslim communities (Jewish, Greek, Armenian) were officially recognized, and their members received access to public service. In 1876, a bicameral parliament was created, which somewhat limited the power of the Sultan; the constitution proclaimed the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens. However, the democratization of eastern despotism turned out to be very fragile and in 1878, after Turkey’s defeat in the war with Russia, a rollback to its original positions occurred. After the coup d'etat, despotism reigned again in the empire, parliament was dissolved, and the democratic rights of citizens were significantly curtailed.

In addition to Turkey, only two states in Islamic civilization began to master European standards of living: Egypt and Iran. The rest of the vast Islamic world until the middle of the 20th century. remained subject to the traditional way of life.

China has also made certain efforts to modernize the country. In the 60s XIX century here, the policy of self-strengthening gained wide popularity. In China, industrial enterprises, shipyards, and arsenals for the rearmament of the army began to be actively created. But this process has not received sufficient impetus. Further attempts at development in this direction resumed with great interruptions in the 20th century.

Farthest from the countries of the East in the second half of the 19th century. Japan has advanced. The peculiarity of Japanese modernization is that in this country reforms were carried out quite quickly and most consistently. Using the experience of advanced European countries, the Japanese modernized industry, introduced a new system of legal relations, and changed political structure, the education system, expanded civil rights and freedoms.

After the coup d'etat of 1868, a series of radical reforms were carried out in Japan, called the Meiji Restoration. As a result of these reforms, feudalism was ended in Japan. The government abolished feudal appanages and hereditary privileges, the daimyo princes, turning them into officials who headed provinces and prefectures. Titles were preserved, but class distinctions were abolished. This means that, with the exception of the highest dignitaries, in terms of class, princes and samurai were equal to other classes.

The land became the property of the peasants for a ransom, and this opened the way for the development of capitalism. The wealthy peasantry, freed from the rent tax in favor of the princes, was given the opportunity to work in the market. Small landowners became poor, sold their plots and either turned into farm laborers or went to work in the city.

The state took over the construction of industrial facilities: shipyards, metallurgical plants, etc. It actively encouraged merchant capital, giving it social and legal guarantees. In 1889, a constitution was adopted in Japan, according to which a constitutional monarchy was established with greater rights for the emperor.

As a result of all these reforms, Japan has changed dramatically in a short period of time. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. Japanese capitalism turned out to be quite competitive in relation to the capitalism of the largest Western countries, and the Japanese state became a powerful power.

4.The collapse of the colonial system and its consequences.

The crisis of Western civilization, which manifested itself so clearly at the beginning of the 20th century. as a result of the First World War and the profound socio-political changes in the world that followed, influenced the growth of the anti-colonial struggle. However, the victorious countries, through joint efforts, managed to put out the flaring fire. However, Western countries, in the context of a growing crisis of civilization, were forced to gradually change their idea of ​​the place and future of the peoples of Asia, Africa, and Asia under their control. Latin America. The latter were gradually drawn into market relations (for example, the trade policy of England in the colonies, starting from the period of the Great Crisis of 1929-1933), as a result of which private property was strengthened in dependent countries, elements of a new non-traditional social structure, Western culture, education, etc. .p. This was manifested in timid, inconsistent attempts to modernize the most outdated traditional relations in a number of semi-colonial countries according to the Western model, which ultimately rested on the primary problem of gaining political independence, but the growth of totalitarian tendencies in the Western world was accompanied in the interwar period by the strengthening of the ideology and politics of racism, which , of course, strengthened the resistance of the metropolis to the anti-colonial movement in general. That is why only after the Second World War, with the victory of the forces of democracy over fascism, the emergence of an alternative to capitalism socialist system, which traditionally supported the anti-colonial struggle of oppressed peoples (in ideological and political political reasons), favorable conditions appeared for the disintegration and subsequent collapse of the colonial system.

Stages of the collapse of the colonial system

The issue of the international trusteeship system (in other words, the colonial problem), in accordance with the agreement of the heads of government of England, the USSR and the USA, was included in the agenda of the conference in San Francisco, which established the UN in 1945. Soviet representatives persistently advocated the principle of independence for the colonial peoples; their opponents, and above all the British, who represented the largest colonial empire at that time, sought to ensure that the UN Charter spoke only of movement “towards self-government.” As a result, a formula was adopted that was close to that proposed by the Soviet delegation: the UN trusteeship system should lead trust territories in the direction of “self-government and independence.”

Over the next ten years, more than 1.2 billion people were freed from colonial and semi-colonial dependence. 15 sovereign states appeared on the world map, in which over 4/5 of the population of the former colonial possessions lived. The largest British colonies of India (1947) and Ceylon (1948), the French mandated territories of Syria and Lebanon (1943, withdrawal of troops - 1946) achieved liberation; Vietnam was freed from Japanese colonial dependence, having won independence from France during the eight-year war (1945-1954). ), defeated socialist revolutions in North Korea and China.

Since the mid-50s. the collapse of the colonial system in its classical forms of direct subordination and dictatorship began. IN

1960 The UN General Assembly, at the initiative of the USSR, adopted the Declaration on Granting Independence to Former Colonial Countries.

By the end of World War II, about 200 million people lived in 55 territories of the African continent and a number of adjacent islands. Formally, Egypt, Ethiopia, Liberia and the British dominion, the Union of South Africa, were considered independent, having their own governments and administrations. A huge part of Africa was divided between England, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. 1960 went down in history as the “year of Africa”. Then the independence of 17 countries in the central and western part of the continent was proclaimed. In general, the process of liberation of Africa was completed by 1975. By this time, 3.7% of the world's population lived in surviving colonies throughout the world on an area that was less than 1% of the globe's area.

In total, after World War II, more than 2 billion people were freed from the colonial yoke. The collapse of the colonial system is, of course, a progressive phenomenon in the modern history of mankind, since opportunities for independent choice of path, national self-expression, and access to the achievements of civilization have opened up for the vast mass of the planet's population.

At the same time, a number of serious problems arose in the liberated countries, called developing countries, or Third World countries. These problems are not only regional, but also global in nature, and therefore can only be solved with the active participation of all countries of the world community.

In accordance with the rather flexible UN classification, most countries in the world are usually classified as developing countries, with the exception of developed industrial countries.

Despite the enormous diversity of economic life, the countries of the Third World also have similar characteristics that make it possible to combine them into this category. The main one is the colonial past, the consequences of which can be found in the economy, politics, and culture of these countries. They have one way to form the current industrial structure - the universal predominance handmade during the colonial period and the program of transition to industrial methods of production after independence. Therefore, in developing countries, pre-industrial and industrial types of production, as well as production based on the latest achievements of the scientific and technological revolution, closely coexist. But basically the first two types predominate. The economy of all Third World countries is characterized by inharmonious development of sectors of the national economy, which is also explained by the fact that they have not fully gone through successive phases of economic development, like leading countries.

Most developing countries are characterized by a policy of statism, i.e. direct government intervention in the economy in order to accelerate its growth rate. The lack of sufficient private capital and foreign investment forces the state to take on the functions of an investor. True, in recent years In many developing countries, a policy of denationalization of enterprises began to be implemented - privatization, supported by measures to stimulate the private sector: preferential taxation, import liberalization and protectionism in relation to the most important privately owned enterprises.

Despite the important common characteristics that unite developing countries, they can be divided into several similar groups. In this case, it is necessary to be guided by such criteria as: the structure of the country’s economy, exports and imports, the degree of openness of the country and its involvement in the world economy, some features of the state’s economic policy.

Least developed countries. The least developed countries include a number of countries in Tropical Africa (Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Chad, Togo, Tanzania, Somalia, Western Sahara), Asia (Kampuchea, Laos), Latin America (Tahiti, Guatemala, Guiana, Honduras, etc.). These countries are characterized by low or even negative growth rates. The agricultural sector predominates in the economic structure of these countries (up to 80-90%), although it is not able to meet domestic needs for food and raw materials. The low profitability of the main sector of the economy does not allow relying on internal sources of accumulation for much-needed investments in the development of production, training of qualified labor, improvement of technology, etc.

Countries with an average level of development. A large group of developing countries with an average level of economic development includes Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Algeria, the Philippines, Indonesia, Peru, Colombia, etc. The structure of the economy of these countries is characterized by a large share of industry compared to the agricultural sector, more developed domestic and foreign trade . This group of countries has great potential for development due to the presence of internal sources of accumulation. These countries do not face such acute problems of poverty and hunger. Their place in the world economy is determined by a significant technological gap with developed countries and large external debt.

Oil producing countries. Oil-producing countries have significant specific economic features: Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, etc., which previously bore the characteristic features of lagging states. The world's largest oil reserves, actively exploited in these countries, allowed them to quickly become one of the richest (in terms of annual per capita income) countries in the world. However, the structure of the economy as a whole is characterized by extreme one-sidedness, imbalance, and therefore potential vulnerability. Along with the high development of the mining industry, other sectors do not actually play a significant role in the economy. In the world economic system, these countries firmly occupy the place of the largest oil exporters. Largely due to this, this group of countries is becoming the largest international banking center.

Newly industrialized countries. Another group of states with high rates of economic growth consists of newly industrialized countries, which include South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, etc. The state policy of these countries includes a focus on attracting private (domestic and foreign) capital, reducing the public sector by expanding the private sector. National measures include raising the level of education of the population and spreading computer literacy. They are characterized by intensive industrial development, including high-tech, export-oriented industries. Their industrial products largely meet world standards. These countries are increasingly strengthening their place in the world market, as evidenced by the numerous modern industries that have emerged and are dynamically developing in these countries with the participation of foreign capital and transnational corporations. The so-called new transnationals, competing with US TNCs, have appeared in countries such as South Korea, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, etc.

New industrial countries are developing through skillful borrowing, selection of the undeniable achievements of Western civilization and their skillful application to national traditions and way of life. It should be noted that a similar assessment or European vision of the prospects for the development of liberated countries (whether they belong to the Arab-Islamic, Hindu-Buddhist or Chinese-Confucian worlds) is also characteristic of the Marxist school. Thus, the majority of Soviet scientists believed (as did a significant part of bourgeois researchers) that after liberation, the countries of the Third World would begin to rapidly catch up with the developed countries. The only difference in this approach was a different, or rather, polar assessment of the merits of capitalist and socialist models of choice, capable of ensuring the pace and ultimate success of development. And such a difference in approach was to a certain extent justified by the fact that after liberation, developing countries seemed to enter the orbit of one or another political camp: socialist or capitalist.

It is known that after the victory of the liberation movements (in the interpretation of Soviet researchers - people's democratic revolutions), a number of developing countries embarked on the path of socialist construction (Vietnam, Laos, North Korea, China). About 20 more developing countries, including Algeria, Guinea, Ethiopia, Benin, Congo, Tanzania, Burma, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Mozambique, Angola and others, have chosen the path of socialist orientation (or non-capitalist development). The total territory of this group of states by the beginning of the 80s. was 17 million sq. km, and the population is about 220 million people. However, most of the liberated countries sought to strengthen their political and economic positions along the path of capitalist modernization, which began during the colonial period. Moreover, in the 60-80s. a number of these countries have achieved serious success. These are Brazil, Mexico, Türkiye, the “countries of the oil elite,” newly industrialized countries and some others.

However, neither orientation towards the West nor towards socialism provided the vast majority of liberated countries with such a pace of development that would allow them to catch up with the developed countries. Moreover, many Third World countries not only do not catch up with the advanced ones, but even lag behind them even further. Today it has become obvious that many developing countries are neither willing nor able to follow the universal path of development, be it the Western, capitalist version or the socialist model. The understanding of this truth by the vast majority of Third World countries led to the emergence (back in 1961) and consolidation of the Non-Aligned Movement, which in 1986 united 100 states with a total population of 1.5 billion people.

Apparently, illusions regarding the potential capabilities of Third World countries are also being eradicated in Europe. This is happening as Western civilization emerges from the crisis of the first half of the 20th century. and returning it to humanistic values ​​in the post-industrial era.

In other words, there is a growing understanding that the only possible option for the development of world civilization is an equal dialogue, cooperation based on a synthesis of values ​​accumulated by the West and the East (the East refers to various types of civilizations, which include the countries of the Third World). And also an understanding that the Western version of development has led to the emergence of global problems that threaten the existence of humanity, while the Eastern version has preserved values ​​that can provide invaluable assistance in solving these problems. However, it should be emphasized once again that this dialogue is possible on the basis of the West’s complete rejection of the relapses of the policy of neocolonialism. And apparently, only on this path is progress and survival of both Western civilization and solutions to the problems of backwardness, poverty, misery, hunger, etc. possible. in Third World countries.

In the world historical process of the 20th century. was an era when, at the beginning, the territorial division of the world between the leading powers was completed, and at the end, the collapse of the colonial system occurred. Important role The Soviet Union played a role in granting independence to colonial countries.

Over the same historical period, only newly industrialized and oil-producing countries have achieved certain successes in economic development. Countries that developed after liberation along the path of socialist orientation remain among the least developed.

For most Third World countries, the problems of hunger, poverty, employment, lack of qualified personnel, illiteracy, and external debt remain acute. Thus, the problems of the Third World countries, where about 2 billion people live, are a global problem of our time.

Migrant colonies.
Raw material colonies (or exploited colonies).
Mixed (resettlement and raw materials colonies).