Preprint / Version 1

Would Britain Be Better-Off Economically Without the Effects of Colonialism?

##article.authors##

  • Ziqing Wang Keystone Academy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.993

Keywords:

Great Britain, Colonialism, Economics

Abstract

Researchers and historians have investigated the economics of the colonialist ventures of the British Empire. Many believe that such ventures brought great amounts of wealth and established an age of economic prosperity for Britain. This essay will take a different perspective and examine the negative effects of Britain's vast colonial empire. Such an examination will include an analysis of the domestic costs of running the empire and the external costs of colonialism in the form of worsening relations with Britain's neighbors in Europe and colonies elsewhere.

References

Acemoglu, Daron. “The Economic Impact of Colonialism.” Cepr.org, 30 Jan. 2017, cepr.org/voxeu/columns/economic-impact-colonialism. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Andrews, Kenneth. Trade, Plunder and Settlement : Maritime Enterprise and the Genesis of the British Empire, 1480-1630. Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Appleyard, Dennis R. “The Terms of Trade between the United Kingdom and British India, 1858–1947.” Economic Development and Cultural Change, vol. 54, no. 3, 2006, pp. 635–54. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1086/500031. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Beckett, J. V. “Land Tax or Excise: The Levying of Taxation in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century England.” The English Historical Review, vol. 100, no. 395, 1985, pp. 285–308. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/568625. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "British Empire". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Apr. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/place/British-Empire. Accessed 19 June 2023.

City University of New York. “Principles of Macroeconomics 2e, the Aggregate Demand/Aggregate Supply Model, How the AD/as Model Incorporates Growth, Unemployment, and Inflation.” Opened.cuny.edu, 2015, opened.cuny.edu/courseware/lesson/544/overview. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Clingingsmith, David, and Jeffrey Williamson. India’s Deindustrialization in the 18th and 19th Centuries. 2005, www.tcd.ie/Economics/staff/orourkek/Istanbul/JGWGEHNIndianDeind.pdf. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Daudin, Guillaume, et al. Trade and Empire, 1700-1870. 2008, hal-sciencespo.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03459838/document. HAL Open Science.

Esteban, Javier Cuenca. “The British Balance of Payments, 1772-1820: India Transfers and War Finance.” The Economic History Review, vol. 54, no. 1, 2001, pp. 58–86. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3091714. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Gedefr. “British National Debt as a % of GDP 1700-1999.” Schroders.com, 2009.

Ginarlis, John. Road and Waterway Investment in Britain, 1750-1850. 1970, etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/10379/1/537699.pdf. Accessed 4 June 2023.

Lai, George. “Hong Kong and the Surprising Truth about the British Empire.” The Spectator, 18 May 2022, www.spectator.co.uk/article/hong-kong-reveals-the-truth-about-the-british-empire/.

Mankiw, Gregory. Principles of Economics Instructor’s Edition. Cengage, 2012.

Mares, Isabela, and Didac Queralt. “Figure 3: United Kingdom 1843-1853: The Tax Rate of the Traditional...” ResearchGate, ResearchGate, 2015, www.researchgate.net/figure/United-Kingdom-1843-1853-The-tax-Rate-of-the-Traditional-sector-dashed-curve-and_fig2_282803704. Accessed 19 June 2023.

McQuade, Joseph. “Earth Day: Colonialism’s Role in the Overexploitation of Natural Resources.” The Conversation, 18 Apr. 2019, theconversation.com/earth-day-colonialisms-role-in-the-overexploitation-of-natural-resources-113995. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Nye, John Vincent. “The Myth of Free-Trade Britain and Fortress France: Tariffs and Trade in the Nineteenth Century.” The Journal of Economic History, vol. 51, no. 1, 1991, pp. 23–46. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2123049. Accessed 19 June 2023.

O’Brien, Patrick K. “The Costs and Benefits of British Imperialism 1846-1914.” Past & Present, no. 120, 1988, pp. 163–200. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/650926. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Offer, Avner. “The British Empire, 1870-1914: A Waste of Money?” The Economic History Review, vol. 46, no. 2, 1993, pp. 215–38. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2598015. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Pettinger, Tejvan. “History of Inflation in UK.” Economics Help, May 2022, www.economicshelp.org/blog/2647/economics/history-of-inflation-in-uk/. Accessed 19 June 2023.

The Tax Policy Center. “How Do Taxes Affect the Economy in the Long Run?” Taxpolicycenter.org, 2014, www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-do-taxes-affect-economy-long-run#:~:text=Budget%20and%20Economy-,How%20do%20taxes%20affect%20the%20economy%20in%20the%20long%20run,economic%20growth%20by%20increasing%20deficits. Accessed 19 June 2023.

Downloads

Posted

2024-03-03