Introduction
The world economy began developing with the advent of the great trade routes and continues expanding to this day, being an integral part of the globalization process. Trade began to become global with the advent of the Great Silk Road when luxury goods from China started reaching the European continent: “Silk yarn and textiles were the most popular commodities” (Marchand et al., 2013, p. 366). The era of geographical discoveries has made a considerable contribution to the development of the global economy, connecting East and West. The real engine of this process was the British Empire. Despite the apparent advantages of globalization and its development, its shaping and strengthening are associated with violence and state power demonstrations in the countries in the Asian region.
The British Empire as an Engine of Global Trade
A truly significant contribution to the process of globalization, the development of world trade, and the economy was made by the British Empire, which became the driving force of globalization. The British Empire began to dominate the world geographically and technologically in what is known as “British supremacy” (Marchand et al., 2013, p. 521). Industrialization made it possible to produce goods that were in demand, which brought significant profits. The basis of profit for the British Empire was the established Asian trade routes. The methods by which the dominance of global trade has been installed are a demonstration of imperialist behavior and the establishment of dominance and are fraught with violence against the local population.
Capture of the Eastern Territories
The British East India Company was a joint-stock company that received corporate privileges aimed initially at establishing trade relations in India. However, the result of the corporation’s activities was not the establishment of world relations but the colonization of several eastern territories, which is an example of violent behavior. Nevertheless, despite the consequences, the East India Company made a significant contribution to the development of the global economy. The company was granted the right to an absolute monopoly on trade in India, which resulted in British dominance over the entire continent. The East India Company remains an example of a corporate “aggressive colonial power” (Dalrymple, 2015, p. 2). Corporate violence has been used as a means of expanding trade power.
The company’s policy was originally aimed at conquest, total control, and exploitation of the population. In raids, the most prosperous provinces of the Asian territories were captured, “tying [to collect] the whole of the Indian Ocean trade together” (Marchand et al., 2013, p. 449). The company armed the local population, generating additional violence in the community, “to obtain trading privileges, they presented arms as gifts” (Satia, 2018, 4). Thus, the occupation of the eastern territories and violence against the local population is an example of how the violence and state power demonstration helped establish the global economy.
Opium Addiction in China
One consequence of the East India Company’s activities was the spread of opium addiction in China, which is an example of cruelty and indifference. The need to establish control over China was explained by the British desire to increase the global economy, since China was more independent than other Eastern countries and did not need a constant trade exchange. The East India Company found a way to make a product that was valuable to Chinese consumers, and that product was opium.
The desire to balance the power in the controlled territories and raise income at the expense of China led to an increase in opium production in India. “The British greatly expanded their manufacture and export of opium to China to balance their rapidly growing imports of Chinese tea and silk” (Marchand et al., 2013, p. 594). Opium, as an illegal drug, quickly became widespread in China.
The negative side of this process was an increase in the number of dependent people, which subsequently led to cultural decline. The British Empire achieved the goal of globalizing trade by forcing the Chinese population to buy a drug at inflated prices for no analogs, which is another example of a show of force. Thus, in pursuit of the goal of establishing a global economy, the East India Company deliberately caused an epidemic of opium addiction in China.
Conclusion
The brutality and show of strength of British politics during the establishment of the global economy is proof that the violence and the demonstration of state power were at the beginning of this globalization process. The methods of colonization, expansion, and violence against the indigenous population laid the foundation for trade relations with the eastern countries. By distributing weapons, the British contributed to the development of violence in society. Wanting to capture the Chinese market, the British deliberately caused an epidemic of opium addiction. Cruel political methods led to the establishment and development of a global economy, but ethically unacceptable methods accompanied this process.
References
Dalrymple, W. (2015). The East India Company: The original corporate raiders. The Guardian. Web.
Marchand, S., Prakash, G., Elman, B., Aron, S., Brown, P., Shaw, B., Liu, X., Tignor, R., Tsin, M., Pittman, H., Kotkin, S., Adelman, J. (2013). Worlds together world apart: A history of the world: From 1000 CE to the present. W.W. Norton.
Satia, P. (2018). Guns and the British Empire. Stanford Center for South Asia. Web.