Not a Periphery
World history is not simply European expansion. Non-Western societies faced their own crises and followed distinct paths.
- China was weakened by external and internal forces. The Opium Wars (1839–1842 and 1856–1860) ceded Hong Kong. Far deadlier was the internal Taiping rebellion (1850–1864).
- Japan modernised rapidly after the Meiji Restoration of 1868. It defeated China in 1895 and Russia in 1905.
- India shifted from East India Company control to Crown rule from 1858 after the major rebellion of 1857. Queen Victoria later became Empress.
- Latin America achieved independence between 1810 and 1826. However, British trade and capital soon dominated its new republics.
Africa and the Global Economy
Before 1880, European presence in Africa was mostly coastal.
The Berlin Conference (1884–1885) established ground rules for imperial expansion:
- It established the principle of effective occupation.
- It guaranteed free navigation on rivers like the Congo.
- It recognised King Leopold's claim over the Congo region.
The Great Divergence debate asks when European wealth pulled ahead. Pomeranz argued that around 1750, the Yangzi delta and England had comparable living standards. Access to coal and colonies drove the split.
Common pitfall: believing the Berlin Conference drew Africa's colonial borders. It merely set procedural rules for European powers, accelerating the partition on the ground.