Role of Colonialism in the Development of Industrial Capitalism in Europe

ROLE OF COLONIALISM IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM IN EUROPE
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Role of Colonialism in the Development of Industrial Capitalism in Europe
1 Introduction
The world witnessed colonialism within the inception phase of development. Many European countries, including Britain, Spain, France, and the Netherlands, established colonies in Africa and Asia. The European countries occupied and began to exhaust the colonized countries’ natural and human resources (Bernstein, 2021). The peonage of one person for another person is referred to as colonialism. The European countries started subjugating people from other countries who had enrichment of resources but were internally scattered morally, politically, and socially (Blakemore, 2021). These extractions of Europe from its colonies included precious metals like gold, diamond, spices, cloths, and other natural resources. The European countries developed their economies and societies with extensive extractions from their colonies. Undoubtedly, colonization played a significant role in the rapid industrialization of Europe. The enrichment of looted booty, valuable metals, natural resources, and precious spices worked like catalysts in instigating the industrial developments of the European countries. These imperial countries also imposed heavy taxes on their colonies’ residents for using their products. The miserable colonies of Asia and Africa had to bear the heavy import duties their colonial masters used to export from their home countries.
Colonization did not start by chance but was planned by apprehending the debilitating social conditions of the people living in those countries. More than 120 countries were colonized by different European and non-European countries. However, a few countries were never colonized but faced certain internal political and social debacles. Japan, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, and Bhutan are those countries that were never occupied. The natural resources in non-colonized countries were much lower than those in Asia and Africa, colonized by Europe (Peterson, 2022). The shortage of natural and human resources can be a possible reason behind the non-colonization of the countries like Japan and Bhutan.
2 A Brief Overview of Colonialism and Industrial Capitalism
The practice of subjugation, which involves the domination of a person, class, or country in a broader way on another person, class, or land, is called colonialism. Colonialism came into discussion in the 15th century when many European countries started bringing several countries from Asia, Europe, and Australia, into servitude. Colonization by Europe was initiated in different countries simultaneously as a part of the global expansionist policy. The European countries colonized many of the nations around the world.
It is worth mentioning that America, one of the greatest global powers today, was also occupied by Britain during the 16th century. Soon after the discovery of America, people from different countries began to settle in America. The Spanish and Portuguese were among the earliest settlers in America (Axtell, 2019). At the start of the 16th century, apprehending America’s ge...