[long_answer] The late nineteenth century witnessed rapid expansion of world trade and rising prosperity in i…

Question

[long_answer] The late nineteenth century witnessed rapid expansion of world trade and rising prosperity in industrialised nations, yet this growth came at a severe cost to colonised peoples. Using the experience of African societies under European colonialism, explain how the economic gains of one group were built upon losses imposed on another. In your answer, discuss land, labour, and disease as interconnected factors, and assess whether the idea of a 'prosperous global economy' during this period can be considered complete or one-sided.

Accepted Answer

## Model Answer The late nineteenth century saw expanding trade and prosperity in industrialised nations, but this growth was built on severe losses imposed on colonised peoples, particularly in Africa. **Land:** Europeans seized African land to establish mines and plantations for export to Europe. Inheritance laws were changed to displace peasants, forcing them into wage labour. **Labour:** Since Africans had land and livestock, they had no reason to work for wages. Colonisers imposed heavy taxes payable only through wage work, and confined mineworkers in compounds. **Disease:** Rinderpest arrived in the late 1880s, killing 90% of cattle. This destroyed African livelihoods, allowing colonisers to monopolise remaining cattle and force Africans into the labour market. Thus, land dispossession, coerced labour, and disease were interconnected tools of colonial control. The idea of a 'prosperous global economy' is therefore **one-sided** — prosperity for industrialised nations was achieve…

Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question