Description
Book SynopsisDebates about the origins and effects of European rule in the non-European world have animated the field of economic history since the 1850s. This pioneering text provides a concise and accessible resource that introduces key readings, builds connections between ideas and helps students to develop informed views of colonialism as a force in shaping the modern world. With special reference to European colonialism of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in both Asia and Africa, this book: • critically reviews the literature on colonialism and economic growth; • covers a range of different methods of analysis; • offers a comparative approach, as opposed to a collection of regional histories, deftly weaving together different themes. With debates around globalization, migration, global finance and environmental change intensifying, this authoritative account of the relationship between colonialism and economic development makes an invaluable contribution to several distinct literatures in economic history.
Table of ContentsColonial and Indigenous Origins of Comparative Development Origins of Colonialism: Is There One Story? Colonialism as an Agent of Globalization Growth and Development in the Colonies Debates about Costs and Benefits How Colonial States Worked Did Institutions Matter ? Colonialism and the Environment Business and Empires Decolonization and the End of Empire Summary and conclusion
