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Mercantilism In Africa

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Nations engage in international trade because they benefit from doing so. The gains from trade arise because trade allows countries to specialise their production in a way that allocates all resources to their most productive use. Trade plays an important role in achieving this allocation because it frees each and every country’s residents from having to consume goods in the same time combination in which the domestic economy can produce them.
During the past decade, China’s growing presence in Africa has increasingly become a topic for debate in the international system and among economists as well as policy analysts. China’s presence in Africa and its relations with African countries is primarily driven by economic interests and practical …show more content…

The author argue that China-Africa trade does not improve and sustain the living conditions of African residents, instead is it damaging efforts for Sub-Saharan Africa to improve their development. Lyons and Brown states that the increasing number of imports from China affect local businesses because China import cheap products and sell them at a lower price. Therefore, there is a competition, and this competition lowers the profit margins and income for some trader. As a result of this the African traders lose their businesses as their consumer go for Chinese products. The author also address the benefits of China imports to Africa. These benefits include having access to afford the cheap products from China especially by the poor people since they are not able to afford expensive products and …show more content…

Instead the China-Africa trade has brought some impact on Africa’s market traders and also contributed to poverty. Mercantilism is failing Africa, particularly the SSA. Most of African states are still poor and majority of their citizens still lives in poverty. The trade between China and African is not mutually beneficial, because African states benefit less while China benefit most.
Another things that made African states not to benefit most in the trade is that, they export raw material or minerals because they lack means to process those raw material into finished goods and services. Therefore, those raw materials that are being exported, the African states import them back as manufactured and finished goods and they import them at higher cost compared to the profit they received when exporting

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510 Words | 3 Pages

There were tons of raw goods and raw materials in Africa. ALthough Europeans started colonizing in africa in the 1500s “The 19th century in Europe was a time of industrialization. Factories in Europe required raw materials to be manufactured into marketable products” (Doc 12). Not only was Africa full of raw goods and materials, it was also a completely new market where new materials could be sold. Factories were also a big part of the economic plan.

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790 Words | 4 Pages

For any country that wants to survive in the toughest of times, they need to have good trading capabilities. Very few countries are able to sustain themselves without indulging in intensive trade with other countries. Trading has been considered a good thing in the past, but with the changing world, there are doubts about the benefits of trading. There are some factors that lead to the development of trade networks between countries. When people started to settle in larger towns, the idea that you had to produce absolutely everything for survival, began to fade.

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1101 Words | 5 Pages

harvesting their raw materials was geopolitical in nature, as nations sought to increase their standing and become a world superpower. Another document that displays this is Document E, a graph that displays the money made from imports and exports from Africa, South of Sahara, in the year 1854 and in 1990. Looking at this graph, in 1854, imports and exports from and to Africa were considerably smaller compared to 1990. The overwhelming column for 1990 shows that Europeans exported more goods more often from Africa over time. Over the span of 136 years, Europeans have obviously have had an interest of exports of raw materials found in Africa as seen in this document, which brought them more than 20 million pounds in 1990.

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415 Words | 2 Pages

Africa had an abundance of resources that made it invaluable to have as a colony. While each country had its own resources, establishing colonies was a great way to get more resources for cheaper prices. The new resources also produced new products for industrial and economic uses (Doc D). Industries like Portugal, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Germany benefitted a lot from the African resources (Doc D). The

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532 Words | 3 Pages

From 1500 to 1750, there were changes and continuities on the ways Sub-Saharan Africa participated in interregional trade. The major turning point of Sub-Saharan Africa’s participation is the start the slave trade in West Africa. This event impacted the New World, Europe and SE Asia because Europe profited from the exploitation of Africans to the New World, Southeast Asia experienced a decline in population because of the start of the slave trade between Southern Africa and Indonesia, and the New World became more profitable as plantations where slaves worked grew. The overall continuity of Sub-Saharan Africa’s participation in trade is the European dominance in the region because of the Age of Exploration led by the Portuguese and Spanish.

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700 Words | 3 Pages

The Europeans realized that if they could take control of Africa, they would have access to resources without having to pay the expensive price and they would gain land at the same time. Africa was the richest continent in terms of resources back then. Document D shows African colonies that were then controlled by Europeans and their exports. All of the colonies that are shown have various valuable exports. It also shows that Great Britain had the most valuable colonies, because those colonies had resources that had multiple uses.

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472 Words | 2 Pages

Those reasons are the incredible amount of natural resources, the need to increase production of new products, and the amazing economical payout. Though these are the main reasons, greed is a factor that should not be forgotten. Africa was given the wonderful gift of useful natural resources. The only unfortunate part for the Africans was that after seeing the insane amount of money that King Leopold II took on, the other European nations wanted to expand their economies and also make more money. Document D in the “Mini Q” packet also titled, “Selected African Colonies and Their Exports” shows that Africa was loaded with natural resources that would increase not only the country's wealth but the income of the entrepreneurs and the production companies.

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478 Words | 2 Pages

Founded in document D African colonies and their exports. Economic factors were more of a driving force behind imperialism since the imperialists were in search of  natural resources for improving technology and their national pride. The Europeans went to Africa because of their many resources and their quantities of gold, fur, and yarn all superior resources for the Europeans. Africa had dealt with  European

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640 Words | 3 Pages

European nations exported goods such as, cotton, palm oil, coffee, sugar, rubber, ivory, gum, copper, zinc, lead, coal, and diamonds, and more. A faster way of collecting resources was owning slaves and having them do the job of going to get the resources, they weren’t paid so it saved the Europeans a lot of money, and a lot of time. But it still wasn’t fair for European nations just to invade a land and then have the people that previously lived there work for you it's just so discourteous to the African people. Along with that the people were forced to extract resources from their land and give it up to the Europeans and if they did not meet their quota they were punished harshly sometimes even getting their hands cut

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709 Words | 3 Pages

The industrial revolution propelled African imperialism to a level the world had never seen before. During the late 19th century, borders in Europe became difficult to alter and the only way to expand was in other continents like Africa. Europe exposed Africa’s weakness and preyed on them, leaving the continent in disarray. The industrial revolution induced African imperialism for economic prosperity, the rise in cultural and social power, and political motives. Economic prosperity had a major impact on the advancement of African imperialism.

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902 Words | 4 Pages

China has also benefited greatly because market socialism. According to an article by The Monthly Review, Jul-Aug 2004, “When the leaders of China of announced their program of market socialist reforms in 1978, they argued that it was a necessary step to overcome growing problems of economic stagnation and waste caused by the Mao era's overly centralized state systems of planning and production” “China then experienced a rapid growth and a complete industrial transformation in the 1980’s, which caused many who opposed the idea of market socialism, to view it as an attractive vehicle for achieving sustained growth, an egalitarian distribution of goods and services, and new forms of democratic participation in economic decision making (The Monthly Review, Jul-Aug 2004).” Wealth equality or socialism is not always to be opposed or feared, it can actually benefit the economy, and raise the standard of living for the

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1426 Words | 6 Pages

The association of poverty with Africa goes together like apple pie and America. From the advertisements of malnourished, African children to our education, or rather lack of education, about African countries in the American school system, the concept of Africa as an impoverished continent has been engrained into our minds. This rhetoric of Africa has lasted over decades, with a substantial amount of aid being given to African countries to rectify this problem. And yet, sixteen of the world’s poorest countries were identified as being in sub-Saharan Africa as of 2013. This insinuates that foreign countries and organizations that provide aid, need to reevaluate why aid isn’t making a bigger impact at fixing the problem.

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1404 Words | 6 Pages

The process of globalization, and its impact on economic growth have become the defining influence on the development of modern China. China 's integration into the global economic system has been a multifaceted and complex process, and one that China appears exceptionally eager to embrace. Encompassing domestic policy shifts, engagement with both global and regional institutions, as well as bilateral agreements with various countries, globalization has been an impressively orchestrated process initiated by the very top of the CCP. While advocates of globalization tout the growth of China as proof of its merits, analyzing the actual effects on the ground reveals a much more nuanced reality. Globalization has undoubtedly brought China more wealth and power, but it has also generated a host of other effects, both positive and negative.

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998 Words | 4 Pages

International trade is also knows as a globe trade which give the country opportunity to expands their markets for both good and services that otherwise may not have been available in other countries. This type of trade also give advantages for world to rise the economy in term of prices, supply and customer demands, affect and are affected by global events. All of the good and services can be found on international market. International trade will involve two types of process which be export and import. Export is a function of international trade in which the goods produced in a country will be sent to another country for future sale or trade.

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531 Words | 3 Pages

"The slave trade actually prevented the coming into being of an agrarian revolution in Ghana, and likewise an industrial revolution. Because before you can industrialize you need to have stable agricultural production.” (“Slavery 's long effects on Africa”, para 6) Since during that time they got attacked to kidnap people and burn places they had nothing to start living. “The period between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries was a time of economic stagnation for Africa, which fell further and further behind the economic progress of Europe as the years passed by.” (“Riches & Misery: The Consequences of the Atlantic Slave Trade”, para 5)

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