Features of the formation of the colonial system

In a slave society, the word "colony" meant "settlement". Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome had colonies-settlements on foreign territory. Colonies in modern meaning words appeared in the era of the Great geographical discoveries at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. As a result of the Great geographical discoveries, the formation of colonial system. This stage in the development of colonialism is associated with the formation of capitalist relations. Since that time, the concepts of "capitalism" and "colonialism" have been inextricably linked. Capitalism becomes the dominant socio-economic system, colonies are the most important factor accelerating this process. Colonial plunder and colonial trade were important sources of primitive capital accumulation.

A colony is a territory deprived of political and economic independence and dependent on metropolitan countries.

Initial period

The period of primitive accumulation of capital and manufacturing production predetermined the content and forms of relations between the colonies and mother countries. For Spain and Portugal, the colonies were primarily sources of gold and silver. Their natural practice was frank robbery up to the extermination of the indigenous population of the colonies. However, the gold and silver exported from the colonies did not accelerate the establishment of capitalist production in these countries. Most of wealth plundered by the Spaniards and the Portuguese, contributed to the development of capitalism in Holland and England. The Dutch and English bourgeoisie profited from the supply of goods to Spain, Portugal and their colonies. The colonies in Asia, Africa and America captured by Portugal and Spain became the object of colonial conquests by Holland and England

Period of industrial capitalism

The next stage in the development of the colonial system is associated with the industrial revolution, which begins in the last third of the 18th century. and ends in developed European countries around the middle of the 19th century. There comes a period exchange of goods, which draws the colonial countries into world commodity circulation. This leads to double consequences: on the one hand, the colonial countries turn into agrarian and raw materials appendages of the metropolises, on the other hand, the metropolises contribute to the socio-economic development of the colonies (the development of the local industry for the processing of raw materials, transport, communications, telegraph, printing, etc.). ).

By the beginning of the First World War, at the stage of monopoly capitalism, the colonial possessions of three European powers were formed:

At this stage, the territorial division of the world is completed. The leading colonial powers of the world are intensifying the export of capital to the colonies.

Colonialism in the XVI-XVII centuries.

Colonization of the African continent.

In the colonial policy of the European powers of the XVI-XVII centuries. African continent occupies a special place. Slavery existed in Africa for a number of centuries, but it was mainly patriarchal in nature and was not so tragic and destructive before the arrival of Europeans. slave trade the Portuguese began in the middle of the 15th century, then the British, Dutch, French, Danes, and Swedes joined it. (The centers of the slave trade were located mainly on the West coast of Africa - from Cape Verde to Angola, inclusive. Especially many slaves were exported from the Golden and Slave Coasts).

Colonialism of the period of industrial capitalism. The role of the colonies in economic development metropolises

Under the new historical conditions, the role of the colonies in the economic development of the metropolises is growing considerably. The possession of colonies contributed to industrial development, military superiority over other powers, maneuvering resources in the event of wars, economic crises, etc. In this regard, all colonial powers seek to expand their possessions. The increased technical equipment of the armies makes it possible to realize this. It was at this time that the “discoveries” of Japan and China took place, the establishment of British colonial rule in India, Burma, Africa was completed, Algeria, Tunisia, Vietnam and other countries were seized by France, Germany began to expand in Africa, the United States - in Latin America, China, Korea, Japan - in China, Korea, etc.

At the same time, the struggle of the mother countries for possession of colonies, sources of raw materials, and strategic positions in the East is intensifying.

Features of the formation of the colonial system

In a slave society, the word "colony" meant "settlement". Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome had colonies-settlements on foreign territory. Colonies in the modern sense of the word appeared in the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries at the end XV - early XVI centuries As a result of the Great geographical discoveries, the formation of colonial system. This stage in the development of colonialism is associated with the formation of capitalist relations. Since that time, the concepts of "capitalism" and "colonialism" have been inextricably linked. Capitalism becomes the dominant socio-economic system, colonies are the most important factor accelerating this process. Colonial plunder and colonial trade were important sources of primitive capital accumulation.

A colony is a territory deprived of political and economic independence and dependent on metropolitan countries. In the conquered territories of the metropolis, capitalist relations are being imposed. This happened in the colonies of England in North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The local population could not resist the force of the colonialists, it was either destroyed or driven into reservations. The main population in the states formed after independence was immigrants from Europe.

In the East, the colonialists could not establish themselves absolutely. In these countries, they were a minority, and attempts to change the established structure of society as a whole ended in failure. The main reason can be considered the centuries-old traditions and stability of Eastern society. At the same time, it would be wrong to say that the colonialists did not influence the course of historical development peoples of Asia and Africa. In this regard, it is important to note that in these regions the introduction of capitalist relations was opposed by traditional structures.

Thus, it is important to highlight the main stages and nature of colonization, which changed as European capitalism developed, and to identify the nature of the changes taking place in the countries of the East during the period of colonialism.

Initial period

The period of primitive accumulation of capital and manufacturing production predetermined the content and forms of relations between the colonies and mother countries. For Spain and Portugal, the colonies were primarily sources of gold and silver. Their natural practice was frank robbery up to the extermination of the indigenous population of the colonies. However, the gold and silver exported from the colonies did not accelerate the establishment of capitalist production in these countries.

Much of the wealth plundered by the Spaniards and the Portuguese contributed to the development of capitalism in Holland and England. The Dutch and English bourgeoisie profited from the supply of goods to Spain, Portugal and their colonies. The colonies in Asia, Africa and America captured by Portugal and Spain became the object of colonial conquests by Holland and England.

Period of industrial capitalism

The next stage in the development of the colonialsystems linked to the industrial revolutionto her, which begins in the last third XVIII in. and ends in developed European countries around the middle 19th century

There comes a period exchange of goods, which draws the colonial countries into world commodity circulation. This leads to double consequences: on the one hand, the colonial countries turn into agrarian and raw material appendages of the metropolises, on the other hand, the metropolises contribute to the socio-economic development of the colonies (the development of the local industry for the processing of raw materials, transport, communications, telegraph, printing, etc.). ).

By the beginning of the First World War, at the stage of monopoly capitalism, the colonial possessions of three European powers were formed:

At this stage, the territorial division of the world is completed. The leading colonial powers of the world are intensifying the export of capital to the colonies.

25.2. Colonialism in the XVI-XVII centuries.

Trading companies and their role in the exploitation of the colonies

At the beginning and middle XVII in. in all colonial countries are created east india companies(English - in 1600-1858, Dutch - in 1602-1798, French - in 1664-1770 and 1785-1793, etc.). These companies, which united the largest merchants and industrialists of the mother countries, received from their governments the monopoly right to wage wars with the aim of annexing new lands, to trade in the colonial possessions of the mother country, etc. The East India companies were exported from the colonies spices(cinnamon, pepper, vanilla, cloves, etc.) that they purchased low prices in the colonies and sold at monopoly high prices in European countries.

Constant clashes during the seizure of colonies, the fierce competition of the East Indian companies in the sea in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans invariably led to severe armed conflicts not only in Asia, Africa and Latin America, but also in Europe.

The main sources of income for the colonizers were not trade in manufactured goods in the East, but the resale of colonial goods, income from high taxes, extortions, and even from elementary robbery of the local population, military booty, additional payments that local merchants and feudal lords were forced to make, etc. d.

Thus, payment for English imports from Asian countries is in the middle XVIII in. about 80% was carried out due to the export of gold and silver to the East, and only 20% - industrial products. The company arbitrarily imposed high levies on the population, set prices for salt, opium, betel and other goods.

Similar methods of exploitation of the newly acquired colonies were used by the Dutch East India Company, subordinating to its control the richest country of the East - Indonesia. First of all, a monopoly was established on the spice trade. The company began to introduce new cultures to the islands, such as coffee. Introducing new taxes and duties for the conquered population, the Dutch tried not to affect the established feudal system. They left the old (loyal to the colonizers) feudal lords, instructing them to collect taxes, oversee and partially manage the local population.

The population everywhere resisted the colonialists, but none of them were successful.

Colonization of the African continent

In the colonial policy of European powers XVI - XVII centuries African continent occupies a special place. The construction of trading posts of European powers in Africa initially did not threaten local population. Only when plantation cultivation of sugar cane, coffee, and tobacco began in the West Indies, that is, in America, and gold and silver mines were opened in South and North America and cotton began to be grown, did the colonialists begin to use slaves from Africa.

Slavery existed in Africa for a number of centuries, but it was mainly patriarchal in nature and was not so tragic and destructive before the arrival of Europeans. slave trade the Portuguese started in the middle XV century, then the British, Dutch, French, Danes, Swedes joined it. The centers of the slave trade were located mainly on the West coast of Africa - from Cape Verde to Angola inclusive. Especially many slaves were exported from the Golden and Slave Coasts. Slaves were sold for European goods, weapons, trinkets. There was also a trade in slaves on the East coast of Africa; slaves were taken from there to Turkey, Arabia, Iraq, India, Iran and other countries.

25.3. Colonialism of the period of industrial capitalism

As a result of the industrial revolution, an industrial civilization was formed in the leading capitalist countries. Promoted to leading roles industrial production.

Changing the colonial policy of the mother country

Accordingly, the demand for new types of goods has also increased, especially in raw materials. The main role is now assigned to large industrialists, and not to trading companies, as was the case in the previous period. Accordingly, the situation in world trade has also changed. The importance of colonial goods fell, but the need for foodstuffs, raw materials, dyes, building timber, wool, and cotton increased, i.e., those goods that were especially needed for developing European industry. This led to a change in the nature of the relationship between the colonies and mother countries. There was a need for export of goods to the colonies. The British bourgeoisie is revising its foreign trade and colonial policy.

As a result, England's exports, mainly to the colonies, increased immeasurably. According to economists, in the first half XIX in. up to 64% of English exports of cotton products, 74% of beer, about 70% of soap and candles, about 60% of copper and brass products, 43% of coal and coke, etc. were sent to the colony.

The colonial policy of England is also changing. It is striving more and more insistently to turn its vast colonial possessions into an appendage of its developing industry. Its policy is aimed at increasing the export of manufactured goods to the colonies, on the one hand, and securing supplies raw materials from the colonies for their industry, on the other. Standing in the middle XIX in. "workshop of the world", England begins to export to the colonies and capital, investing it mainly in the development of production.

In XIX in. trade and predatory methods carried out in the colonies by East India companies are replaced by economic ones. There comes a period exchange of goods between metropolises and colonies. The colonies were drawn into world commodity circulation and became participants in the world market. Using their industrial superiority, the capitalist countries greatly increase the export of their goods to the colonies. Only in 20 years (from 1794 to 1813) the export of Great Britain, mainly to India, only cotton goods increased 700 times.

The colonies become agricultural and raw materials appendages of the metropolises, suppliers of raw materials and auxiliary materials for industry, food for the growing urban population. Finished fabrics, metal products, semi-finished products and other goods were sent to the colony. So, in 1870, the structure of Indian exports consisted of 36% of raw cotton, 21% of opium, 12% of cereals, 4% of jute, etc. Cotton fabrics occupied only 2%, jute products - 0.5% of India's exports. At the same time, the country's imports consisted of 45% of cotton fabrics, 8% of yarn, 13% of metal products (including rails for railways) and only 2% from machines, mainly for processing raw materials. It is clear that almost 85% of goods were imported into India from the metropolis.

The role of colonies in the economic development of metropolitan areas

Under the new historical conditions, the role of the colonies in the economic development of the metropolises is growing considerably. The possession of colonies contributed to industrial development, military superiority over other powers, maneuvering resources in the event of wars, economic crises, etc. In this regard, all colonial powers seek to expand their possessions. The increased technical equipment of the armies makes it possible to realize this. It was at this time that the “discoveries” of Japan and China took place, the establishment of British colonial rule in India, Burma, Africa was completed, France seized Algeria, Tunisia, Vietnam andother countries, the expansion of Germany begins in Africa, the USA - in Latin America, China, Korea, Japan - in China, Korea, etc.

At the same time, the struggle of the mother countries for possession of colonies, sources of raw materials, and strategic positions in the East is intensifying.

25.4. The development of the economy of the colonies

Development of industry in the colonies

During the period of primitive accumulation of capital, the colonialists did not change the socio-economic structure in the countries of the East. However, the industrial revolution in Europe changed the situation. This manifested itself in the following.

Significant for the economy of the colonies was the emergence in them of enterprises for the primary processing of raw materials and certain types of goods: for cleaning and pressing cotton, jute, and the production of dyes; hardware, building materials, sugar, dried fruits, opium, rum, coconut and soybean oils, certain types of food (rice, wheat, corned beef), leather processing, valuable breeds wood, copper, silver, etc.

In the colonial countries, the construction of railways began in order to more easily and quickly export raw materials from the hinterland, the extraction of coal and other minerals (diamonds, gold, copper, etc.), the organization of intermediary credit institutions (for example, English management agencies in India), etc.

In the colonies and semi-colonies, the development of commodity-money relations accelerated noticeably, and the crisis of the feudal order accelerated.

In 1854, for example, the first Indian jute factory began operating in Calcutta, and two years later the first cotton factory, founded by an Indian merchant, opened in Bombay.

Owing to the influx of industrial products of the metropolises and freedom of trade, family and semi-family communities, closed, isolated from the world, based on domestic industry, village crafts and a peculiar combination of hand weaving, hand spinning and manual (primitive, archaic) way of working the land, began to collapse.

The construction of railroads greatly expanded the scope of the exchange of goods and the pumping of raw materials from the interior of the colonies. The use of steamships accelerated the turnover of goods and capital.

In the era of industrial capitalism, the colonial countries were drawn into the world capitalist market, and through it into the production of goods, which had very complex and contradictory consequences.

On the one hand, the colonies and semi-colonies broke through the circle of isolation and joined the world development of capitalism. However, on the other hand, their dependence on industrialized states has increased. In the world economy, a division of labor between colonies and mother countries is being established. The colonialists oriented the economy of dependent countries to the production of the corresponding goods.

India specialized in the production and export of cotton, tobacco, sugar, and jute. Egypt supplied only cotton, Brazil - rubber and coffee, Australia and New Zealand- wool, China - tea, raw silk, etc.

The largest semi-colony is China

In Asia and Africa, there are semi-colonies, turned into the object of sharp disputes and clashes between the leading capitalist powers of the world.

Semi-colonies are formally independent states that had their own governments and management system. Typical semi-colonies are China, Iran, the Ottoman Empire.

Characteristic story of transformation major countries East in a semi-colony, and above all the largest of them - China. The "closure" of this country in 1756, i.e. the prohibition of trade in foreign goods in China (except for the port of Macau) was a kind of reaction to the expansion of European powers into the countries of the Far East. But this complicated the situation of China itself. China lost the opportunity to use the achievements of European science and technology, its trade with other countries was reduced, which undermined production.

Despite this, at the end XVIII in. the British are increasingly eager to penetrate into China. The main subject of import into the country is opium, manufactured in India. The Chinese government is trying to fight smuggling. In 1839, the opium trade in China was banned, and approximately 1,000 tons of the drug, owned by British merchants, were destroyed. This was the reason for the war. In 1840-1842. flashes the so-called first opium war between China and England. Backward China suffers a severe defeat and is forced to sign the unequal Treaty of Nanjing. England achieved its goals: it captured the port of Hong Kong, expanded its trade areas, received military indemnities worth 23 million dollars. China lost its customs independence - customs duty could not exceed 5% of the value of imported products.

Bombardment of the South Chinese port city of Canton by British ships during the Opium War

In 1843, a new treaty was imposed on China, which established the extraterritoriality of the British, British merchants enjoyed the most favored nation in trade. In 1844 The United States sent a squadron to the coast of China and forced it to give them the same rights. In 1844, the French signed the same treaty with China.

The Chinese government is making continuous concessions to the colonialists. In 1869, 15 ports were already "opened" for trade with foreigners. The Office of Imperial Maritime Customs was created in the country, which was completely transferred to the British (customs fees went to pay indemnity).

Strengthening the expansion of foreign capital, popular uprisings, the destruction of irrigation systems and, as a result, crop failures, constant wars (the Franco-Chinese war of 1885 over Vietnam, the Japanese-Chinese war of 1894-1895 over Korea, etc.), the collapse of the policy of "self-reinforcing" and etc. - all this completely upset the country's finances and ultimately made China a semi-colony.

The former mighty Ottoman Empire.

The only country that, although subjected to the expansion of European powers and which managed to defend its independence, was Japan.

Soon, she herself will become a colonial power.

Review questions

1. Tell us about the history of the formation of the colonial system.

2. Compare the methods of exploitation of the colonies in the era of the primitive accumulation of capital and in the era of industrial capitalism.

3. Describe the largest metropolises and their colonial policy.

In parallel with the discovery of new lands, they were studied, described and conquered. Interests clashed in the new lands different countries, there were disputes and conflicts, often armed.

Earlier than others, Portugal and Spain entered the path of colonial conquests. They also made the first attempt to delimit the spheres of their interests. To prevent the possibility of clashes, both states entered into a special agreement in 1494, according to which all newly discovered lands to the west of the 30th meridian were to belong to the Spaniards, and to the east - to the Portuguese. However, the dividing line passed only along Atlantic Ocean, and this later led to controversy when the Spaniards, approaching from the east, and the Portuguese from the west, met in the Moluccas.

Invaders - conquistadors conquered vast territories, turning them into colonies, appropriated and ruthlessly exploited their wealth, converting pagan natives to Christianity, wiped entire civilizations off the face of the earth. By the middle of the XVII century. Spain, Portugal, Holland, France and England had the largest overseas territories.

Conclusion

Until the XV-XVII centuries. The West was a relatively closed region, and at the stage of the decomposition of feudalism, the borders Western world moved apart, the process of forming a pan-European and world market began, the horizons of Europeans expanded.

Such shifts were caused by the Great geographical discoveries that covered these two and a half centuries. Great geographical discoveries became possible thanks to the organization of expeditions across the oceans by Europeans to find new ways to India - a country of untold riches. The former routes to this distant fairy-tale country through the Mediterranean Sea and Western Asia were blocked by Arab, Turkish, Mongol-Tatar conquerors. And Europe during this period experienced a significant significant shortage of gold and silver as a means of circulation.

The great geographical discoveries had very important economic consequences, although not the same for different countries.

First of all, the development of the world's productive forces has advanced; the territory known by that time increased only in the 16th century. six times, there were less and less white spots on it.

Trade routes from the North, Baltic and Mediterranean seas moved to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Thanks to this, trade routes connected the continents with each other. Navigation made it possible to establish stable economic ties between separate parts of the world and led to the formation of world trade.

The great geographical discoveries contributed to the disintegration of feudalism and the development of capitalist relations, laying the foundations of the world market.

However, there is also Negative consequences, which was expressed in the formation of the colonial system of emerging capitalism.

The main periods of the formation of the colonial system

Aggressive policies have been pursued by states since antiquity. Initially, merchants and knights exported goods from the colonies to the metropolis, used labor for slave farms. But since the middle of the 19th century, the situation has changed: the colonies are turning into markets industrial products metropolis. Instead of the export of goods, the export of capital is used.

All the time of colonial conquests can be divided into three periods:

1. XVI-mid XVIII century - trade colonialism based on the export of goods to Europe;
2. With mid-eighteenth century-late XIX century - the colonialism of the era of industrial capital, characterized by the export of manufactured goods from European countries to the colonies;
3. the end of the 19th-beginning of the 20th century - the colonialism of the era of imperialism, a distinctive feature of which is the export of capital from the metropolises to the colonies, stimulating the industrial development of dependent states.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the largest industrial powers were completing the territorial division of the world. The whole world was divided into metropolises, colonies, dependent countries (dominions and protectorates).

The main features of the colonial system at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries

In the 1870s, the colonial system of imperialism took shape in the world. It was based on the exploitation of the economically lagging countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Definition 1

colonial system imperialism is a system of colonial oppression created at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries by the developed imperialist states of the overwhelming majority of the less economically developed countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

During the period from 1876 to 1914, the European powers increased their colonial possessions many times over.

Remark 1

Before the First World War, the British colonial empire took over 9 million square kilometers, where approximately 147 million people lived. french empire increased by 9.7 million square kilometers and 49 million people. The German colonial empire annexed 2.9 million square kilometers with 12.3 million inhabitants. The United States seized 300 thousand square kilometers of land with 9.7 inhabitants, and Japan - 300 thousand square kilometers with 19.2 million people.

The entire territory of the African continent was divided. Those countries that the colonial powers could not completely enslave were placed in the position of semi-colonies or divided into spheres of influence. These states include China, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and many other countries in Asia and Latin America.

In the era of imperialism, the colonial countries remain raw material appendages of the mother countries and function as a market for the sale of surplus industrial goods. The export of capital in the colonies begins to predominate when it does not find a sufficiently profitable application in the mother countries. The high profitability of investing capital in the economy of the colony is explained by the cheapness of raw materials and labor.

The struggle of the mother countries for the colonies

Remark 2

By the beginning of the 20th century, the struggle of the metropolises for colonies intensified. Since there are practically no undivided plots left, the war for the redivision of the world is escalating. Young states such as the German Empire demanded a "place in the sun" for themselves. Following Germany, Japan, the United States and Italy make similar demands on established colonial empires.

The war of 1898 between the United States and Spain is considered the first war for the redivision of the world. The Americans managed to capture part of the islands that previously belonged to the Spanish crown: the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, Coupon, Hawaii. The United States tried to bring the entire American continent under its control. The Americans crowded out competitors in China, creating spheres of their influence. Germany joined the struggle for the redivision of the world. She expanded into Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa and the Far East. Japan pressed Russia and gained a foothold in Korea and Manchuria.

The contradictions between the old rivals (England and Russia, England and France) threatened to escalate into a grandiose war. The world was on the verge of the First World War.

The Renaissance, which originated in the second half of the XIV century. and fully came into its own from the middle of the 15th century, was the greatest progressive upheaval that broke the framework of the old orbis terrarum, laid the foundations for later world trade, for the transition of handicraft to manufacture, an unprecedented rise in productive forces; and laid the foundation for the development of modern European nations on the basis of bourgeois societies.
By the end of the XV century. Europe, ahead of the East both in the sphere of material and spiritual culture, becomes the bearer of the progressive tendencies of world history. The great geographical discoveries of the 15th-16th centuries contributed to a significant expansion of European politics.
Already from the middle of the XV century. Portuguese navigators began moving south along the western coast of Africa, and in 1488 Bartolomeu Dias rounded its southern tip. In 1498 Vasco da Gama's ships entered the Indian port of Calicut. As a result of the successful struggle against the Arabs and Egyptians, the Portuguese soon became the undisputed masters of the western part of indian ocean. Then they come into contact with China and in 1557 found the first European colony on Chinese territory in Macau. In 1500 they discovered and from 1530 actively colonized Brazil. Thus, a small country, thanks to its military and naval superiority, created a huge colonial empire.
At the same time, Spain is taking vigorous action to find new routes to wealthy India. During this process, Columbus discovers America (1492). The colonization of new lands began with the West Indies, where the first Spanish plantations and gold mines appeared. It was soon discovered that the local Indians turned out to be a physically weak labor force, they could not withstand the difficult conditions, they died or hit the run. Because of this, from 1518, the supply of hardy Negro slaves from Africa to the West Indies begins.
In 1519 - 1521, using the help of the Indian tribes, the detachment of Cortes conquered the rich Aztec empire. In 1532 - 1533. another conquistador - Pissarro took possession of the rich empire of the Incas. Here, on Peruvian soil, the richest mines were found, Peruvian silver poured into Europe.
The Spanish colonial empire became the basis of Spain's political hegemony in Europe in the 16th century.
The great geographical discoveries gradually led to the movement of trade routes and to a change in the balance of power in Europe. The Mediterranean Sea lost its importance as the center of maritime trade, giving way to the Atlantic Ocean, which favored the growth of the world trade authority of Antwerp and the Netherlands as a whole. In the second half of the 16th century, the strengthened Dutch bourgeoisie was able to successfully fight for the country's independence from Spanish domination.
In the XVI century. Spain's colonial expansion also went to the northern shores of Africa, but here it did not achieve much success.
So, Antwerp becomes, as it were, the geographical center of a new emerging world market. Its crafts and manufactories worked mainly for the foreign market, while the manufactories of England and France sold their goods mainly on the domestic market. In 1531, a stock exchange was opened in Antwerp, which became the rate-setting institution of the emerging global financial market. However, the role of the world center of credit and financial operations was later transferred to the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and the Amsterdam Bank. In addition, Amsterdam has become a world center for the redistribution of goods, pricing and exchange rate formation.
In 1609, the long struggle of the Netherlands against Spanish rule ended, and the recognized Republic of the United Provinces appeared on the European political arena. Since that time, the Amsterdam Bank began to play a decisive role in the credit and financial system of the world market. The stock exchange worked intensively, bills of exchange became the main form of credit and payment, industrial development and the growth of productive forces were successfully going on. Trade in weapons and military equipment has become a highly profitable industry. Relying on a developed maritime fleet, a strong Amsterdam market, and a low credit interest rate of an Amsterdam bank, Dutch merchants everywhere suppressed the aspirations of competitors.
In 1602, the Dutch merchants created the monopoly East India Company for trade and colonial development. In 1621, the West India Company was established, which served as a cover for military piracy and smuggling operations in the ocean, as well as the slave trade. The robbery of colonies, the predatory destruction of natural resources and productive forces, the enslavement and actual destruction of entire peoples began.
England also took an increasing part in this process. English merchants were actively looking for new, more and more distant markets for their goods, opening up ways to unknown lands. There are "regulated" and "share" companies. The first, representing merchant corporations of a national scale, received from the royal court special patents for monopoly trade in any area. Participants in such companies did not pool their capital, each trading at their own risk. Individualism bred competition, encouraged the development of initiative and business acumen, so necessary in the daring entrepreneurship of that adventurous era. "Regulated" companies traded mainly in the nearest European markets - in France and Holland.
The search for new markets was taken up by "share" companies. The latter included the Russian Company, which arose in 1554 as a result of R. Chancellor's visit to the Moscow State. In 1588, the Guinean Company was founded, which monopolized the slave trade, which soon became one of the most important sources of enrichment for the nation. In 1600, Queen Elizabeth signed a charter on the creation of the East India Company, marking the beginning of the "legalized" penetration of the British into India.
The struggle for markets led to a clash of English and Spanish interests. For a long time this struggle went on in the vast expanses of the Atlantic. In England, special merchant companies arose to equip pirate expeditions. In the last quarter of the XVI century. they, in fact, waged an undeclared war against the Spaniards, plundering the Spanish colonies and ships that were sailing with a precious cargo from the New World. The British authorities were very condescending towards the predatory activities of pirates, which were beneficial to the state.
In 1578, one of these pirates, Francis Drake, having passed through the Strait of Magellan, robbed the Spanish settlements in Chile and Peru, crossed the Pacific Ocean and, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, returned to England, having completed the second circumnavigation of the world after Magellan (1520). The queen welcomed the lucky adventurer by granting him the title of nobleman. Under Elizabeth, the English navy was significantly upgraded. Instead of bulky ships with a high freeboard, low elongated ships were built, fast and maneuverable. Along with changes in tactics sea ​​battle this allowed England in 1588 to win an important victory over the Spanish Invincible Armada.
In 1589 - 1590. equipping new British expeditions to the West Indies and to the basin Pacific Ocean with the aim of ousting Holland from the "Spice Islands", and the Portuguese from Indian waters. Piracy becomes one of the methods of creating the foundations of the British colonial empire. The Anglo-Spanish war continued until 1604. It obviously dragged on, became very burdensome, and its end was greeted in England with relief.
The Anglo-Spanish naval war led to the disruption of England's regular trade with Europe, to the closure of part of the English markets on the continent. The losses associated with this began to exceed the profits from piracy and robbery of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. FROM early XVII in. the organization of the English colonies proper, the state-sanctioned seizure of colonial sources of raw materials and markets acquires special significance.
France also actively participated in the struggle to seize the colonies. Moreover, the French sought to establish their colonies in the very center of the American possessions of Portugal and Spain. But in 1560 the Portuguese destroyed the French settlement that had existed since 1555 near Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), in 1565 the Spaniards defeated the newly founded French Protestant colony in Florida, and in 1583 the combined Spanish-Portuguese forces were liquidated the French colony in Paramba (Brazil). It was obvious that at that time France did not have enough strength to confront powerful rivals. In addition, she had to solve difficult political problems in Europe. Bartholomew's Night (1572) again plunged France into the abyss of religious wars.
So, we can rightfully say that the Renaissance was not only the most important progressive upheaval, but also the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, the era of the primitive accumulation of capital, which prepared the conditions for the first bourgeois revolutions in Europe. The first of them, the Netherlands, leads to the emergence of the bourgeois Republic of the United Provinces, which, in itself, was the most important outcome of the 16th century. 1609 became the year of birth of the first state of the victorious bourgeoisie. The Dutch revolution was of exceptionally great international significance.
Already in the first decade of the XVII century. Holland has achieved economic growth which surprised all European countries. The Netherlands soon became a great maritime and colonial power, with a number of ships that outnumbered the ships of all the rest of Europe. Amsterdam became the center of the international payment system, the largest banker of the new world market.
Equally impressive and significant was the entry of Holland into the arena of world politics. The United Provinces, which possessed a powerful fleet, were strong enough to set a course for the decisive displacement of the old masters and the creation of their own colonial empire in the places of their former possessions. This was already the beginning of real wars for the redistribution of colonies, the beginning of the era of trade wars of European nations, the beginning of the birth of a new world colonial system, the arena of which was the entire globe.