What was the relationship between European overseas expansion and developments in Europe?

Question

Relationship between overseas expansion and political, economical, and social developments in Europe?

Answer 1

None whatsoever; overseas expansion was perpetrated primarily by military aristocracy, while the economic and social development was largely the work of the commercial class...

Answer 2

It's been a long time since I studied this, so I can't really give you a good textbook answer.

But basically, as the european nations started colonizing other places, they had to ship more and more of their labor overseas also. However, since they were taking all the resources, and levying high taxes against the colonies (not to mention, getting free work from slaves in some parts), these nations became even richer and more powerful. In general, quality of life increased overall in these nations... but it increased much more for royalty and noblemen than it did for commoners, who didn't necessarily see any major change.

These trade routes became vital for the nation's survival, and navies became practically as important to the nation as it's army.

This answer may be a little lacking in the "social" department. Ya got me there.

Answer 3

Expansion overseas coincides with the civil unrest in many parts of Europe. There were the enforced farming laws, mass deportations to towns to give the new factories a labor force. France, Italy, Germany, UK, Netherlands all had periods of civil unrest, as well as attempts at empire building on the continent.

Child labor in factories became the norm and lasted until the late 1870's in most countries. Of course, this concentration of people also led to greater communication between workers, which led to the birth of the socialist movement and labor movements (which obviously have no use in agricultural economies).

In India, the UK destroyed over half the cotton industry and moved it to the north of England, thus wrecking the Indian economy (cotton also made its way from the slave trade, fought over by England, France and Spain, from the USA).

Africa was used as a slave base, with raw materials pillaged and people massacred wantonly. See Congo/ Rwanda and the Belgian occupation. Africa remains one of the richest mineral bases in the world but one of the poorest areas and this is in part because of the barbarous exploitation of the area by the European Empires. (the 19th and early 20th century architecture of Belgium was built on the theft of rubber from the Congo, as an example - mutilation of locals was common practice by those employed by the Belgians and many were not Belgian [see Conrads 'Heart of Darkness]). If you look around Europe, as with the USA, you will see a number of large buildings where the date of construction corresponds to a period of slavery and abuse by the constructors.

In South America, the Spanish and Portuguese simply destroyed most of what they found (as recorded in their letters home).

In China, the UK fought the Opium Wars over control of the opium trade. In Australasia, there was less care about the survival of indigenous people and in this area we find the first records of populations becoming extinct.

Answer 4

actual tale: In 1984 NATO hosted a multi-nationwide, joint guidance excercise in Holland. interior the evening, after guidance, a combat broke out between united statesand British infantrymen...( the only NATO international places who communicate the comparable language BTW). The combat grew to become into stopped and everyone went off to their barracks. At 3 a.m. a team of British infantrymen stormed the U.S. barracks and attacked with baseball bats, hammers and chains. Fifteen individuals have been heavily wounded. The NATO Commander grew to become into notified and that comparable evening the British forces have been ordered lower back to the U.ok. They have been flown out that morning. From 1984 till 1986 the U.S. and British forces have been "housed" a minimum of 10 kilometers remote from one yet another for the duration of joint NATO exercises. ethical of the story: a number of the warriors have been warm :)