The Rise of Trade Capitalism: 1700-WWI - Essay Sample

Introduction

Trade played a significant role in European history, particularly between 1700 and the start of the First World War. During this period, early capitalism and trade capitalisms were affected because of the industrial revolution, the American Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, and the emergence of independent trading nations. The competition began during the pre-industrial era and the manufacturers replaced the merchants even down to World War I. At the same time, the craft-manufacturers wanted to deal directly with the customers. However, in every operation, there were municipal regulations and a body of guild, which controlled the entire process. Another stratum of entrepreneurs emerged as a result of trans-Atlantic economies and widened the circles between the local manufacturers and the customers. In this paper, the focus is to explore the economic competition among merchants and manufacturers in Europe and how it affected ordinary Europeans as well as non-Europeans between 1700 and the start of World War I.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Competition among the merchants doomed domestic manufacturers because of the emergence of a new innovative industry. A growing research documents that the competition had an impact on artisans in that the early merchant wholesalers were able to form an industrial agglomeration, which reduced the size of the constraint of local markets. This competition extended an entrepreneur's market reach, something that facilitated the formation of the division of labor hence allowing local specializations. However, the merchants were competing with the domestic manufacturers in that they partook roles such as producers of goods, traders, as well as the conveyer of goods. This means that the role of artisan traders was affected many firms had ascribed the traditional roles of merchants. Firms began employing merchant wholesalers in the distribution of goods and services. Also, the product market contracted wholesaler functions because they were best at product advertising. Researchers from the dominance theory propose that the modern settlement of the merchant overpowered local manufacturer's functions. They allowed the merchant wholesalers to acquire higher levels of specialization even in places where local production was insufficient. The expectations of production and labor specializations exceeded the local market trends. However, during the trans-Atlantic trade, there were major improvements in artisans due to economic growth in Europe. The merchant groups that were trading coincided with the artisans in the Atlantic even though the merchants were wealthy during this period. Domestic manufacturers, on the other hand, were disaster-prone in that they could not even participate in the Atlantic trade. However, the artisans knew the trading links between major Atlantic trading ventures and this created large fortunes for them.

The rise of the transatlantic slave trade hastened the industrial revolution in England. According to Glasmeier, there are several reasons as to why the rise of slave trade sped industrial revolution. To start with, capitalism and slavery played a vital role in the advancement of the industrial revolution. Slaves were a solution to the shortage of labor that was previously lacking in many industries. Moreover, the slaves were cheaper and therefore, industries could acquire them according to the labor requirements to provided services; this helped many industries to grow. The other reason form industrial advancement in England is slave plantation development. Transatlantic trade comprised of main slaves who were to be transported to various farmlands in Britain to provide labor and other essential services. Their roles in plantations augmented the stream of plantation products such as coffee, sugar, tobacco, chocolate, cotton, and many other crucial industrial input. The products could then be transported to different industries for processing. Also, the participation of slaves in market exchanges hastened the industrial revolution. Participants in the transatlantic trade greatly relied on wages, salaries, and fees. Historians assert that wage dependence is one of the factors that lead to the industrial revolution in that the long hours and tight labor are the main concepts that are linked to industrialism. A good example is the plantations in which there is the anticipation of organized labor and coerced slave gangs that are working while being monitored in what is called a slave drive. Indeed, slave plantations made a crucial contribution to industrialization although British merchants could not penetrate the European markets during the 18th century.

Competition between English industrialists diminished the quality of life for English wage earners and led to the expansion of the factory system to the rest of Europe. Blackburn highlights that this trend was experienced because of Industrialization. The competition resulted in the industrial revolution, something that transformed society's social and economic status from agrarian to industrial. Also, capitalism emerged, an analogy that usually makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. The industrial revolution was described in terms of dark satanic mills because it diminished the quality of life for English wage owners while contributed to the growth of factories. Most factories paid workers inadequate wages and it did not consider the working hours as well as the conditions of work. Also, there was large scale employment of women and children. Blackburn avows that this was a harsh interpretation of capitalism in that there was an explicit line between class poverty and the misery in the factories. The other manner that industrialization diminished the quality of life for English wage earner is by introducing more problems, for example, environmental drawbacks were a rampart. At the same time, pollution of soil, water, and air deteriorated the quality of life. Income inequality was the main challenge in that the owners of the means of production were concerned with the expansion of the factory system in the rest of Europe while exploiting the workers. English wage-earners struggled in every span of life, working long hours and this led to social tension, stress, poor nutrition, and diseases. Industrialization created a wage gap between the rich and the poor in that capitalism prevailed. There was a division of labor because the owners of factories seemed to be concerned with accumulating excessive profits and expanding the factory system to the rest of Europe. Also, rapid urbanization diminished the quality of life for English wage earners due to crimes and psychological disorders. Dangerous working conditions in cities at the same time were among the catalysts for shrank quality of life, especially because of noise and dirt.

Research done by Mixon indicates that the economic crisis throughout Europe affected the quality of life for non-European after 1873. This was due to a long economic depression that had weakened Europe's economic leadership for four years. The non-Europeans developed a panic because many companies went off business weakening the financial conditions in the country. Market bubbles collapsed, which encompassed a worldwide depression in the initial euphoria excepted from the crash. These unpleasant economic consequences deteriorated the quality of life for non-European in that in every step they had to struggle to hasten deflation and return to a fixed metallic state. The long depression that occurred in 1873 was accompanied by tough government policies something that led to the plummeting of securities that tied real estate and the stock market. Non-Europeans felt the pinch because their businesses were affected. At the same time, the government has implemented tough policies and unregulated practices, which restricted financial institutions hence resulting in high default rates. Even the banking industry was not able to maintain economic growth within this period. Mixon also asserts that the collapse of financial markets and the rise of economic depression heightened housing prices and this was a challenge to non-Europeans; this led to a massive default by borrowing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the economic competition had a significant impact in Europe and other places around the world. For example, the competition between merchants and manufacturers affected both European and non-European during 1700 until the start of the First World War. However, major events such as the transatlantic trade led to the emergence of the industrial revolution, something that gave rise to more interaction and trade. Slave trade hastened the industrial revolution, but this resulted in capitalism, a condition that weakened the quality of life for England wage earners. At the same time, the economic crisis of 1873 in Europe affected the quality of life for non-Europeans due to long economic depression. The non-Europeans developed panic and stress because most businesses were off the market and the economy has collapsed.

Bibliography

Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson. "The rise of Europe: Atlantic trade, institutional change, and economic growth." American economic review 95, no. 3 (2005): 546-579. https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/0002828054201305

Blackburn, Robin. "Enslavement and Industrialization." BBC, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/industrialisation_article_01.shtml

Glasmeier, Amy. "The role of merchant wholesalers in industrial agglomeration formation." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 80, no. 3 (1990): 394-417. https://dusp.mit.edu/sites/dusp.mit.edu/files/attachments/publications/The%20Role%20of%20Merchant%20Wholesalers%20in%20Industrial%20Agglomeration%20Formation.pdf

Mixon, Scott. "The crisis of 1873: perspectives from multiple asset classes." The Journal of Economic History 68, no. 3 (2008): 722-757. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40056436?seq=1

Walter, Rolf. "Economic Relations Between Europe and the World: Dependence and Interdependence." Notes 2 (2012): 11. https://d-nb.info/1043596968/34