Global Shifts: Trade, Labor, and Migration (1750–1900)

Export Economies

Economies specialized in the commercial extraction of natural resources and production of food and industrial crops.

Mercantilism

An economic theory that emphasizes the importance of accumulating wealth through trade and maintaining a favorable balance of trade.

Opium Wars

Conflict between Britain and China over the trade of opium, resulting in the Treaty of Nanking.

Treaty of Nanking

An 'unequal treaty' that ended the First Opium War and ceded Hong Kong to Britain.

Economic Imperialism

A situation where foreign business interests have significant economic power or influence over another country.

Banana Republics

Unstable states in Latin America economically dependent on the export of tropical fruit, often controlled by foreign corporations.

Indentured Servitude

A labor system where individuals worked for a set number of years in exchange for passage to a new country.

Push Factors

Factors that compel individuals to leave their home country, such as poverty or political instability.

Pull Factors

Factors that attract individuals to a new country, such as economic opportunity or subsidized passage.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

The first U.S. law to ban a specific ethnic group, restricting Chinese immigration.

White Australia Policy (1901)

Australian immigration legislation aimed at limiting non-European immigration.

Shifts in Labor Markets

Changes in demand for labor due to various economic, social, and political factors affecting the movement of people.

Guano

Bat and seabird excrement that was heavily mined in Peru and Chile, used as a premier agricultural fertilizer.

Cotton

A key commodity vital for British textile mills, sourced from multiple regions including Egypt and India.

Rubber

A crucial material for industrial production, derived initially from trees in the Amazon and later farmed in Southeast Asia.

Palm Oil

A resource extracted primarily from West Africa, used in machinery lubrication and soap production.

Diamond Mining

A concentration of control and extraction of diamond resources in places like South Africa by companies like De Beers.

Economic Dependence

A situation where a politically independent country remains economically reliant on foreign powers.

Taiping Rebellion

A massive civil war in China (1850-1864) that forced many to migrate due to political instability.

Gold Rushes

Periods of rapid migration and settlement sparked by discoveries of gold in places like California and Australia.

Convict Labor

A system where convicts performed labor in penal colonies, such as road building in Australia.

Ethnic Enclaves

Communities formed by migrants where they maintain cultural practices and support one another.

Gender Imbalance

A demographic imbalance often seen in migrant populations where a majority of migrants are male.

Cultural Transplanting

The process of bringing cultural practices from one society into another through migration.

Corporate Control

The dominance of business interests over local economies and resources, often seen in economic imperialism.

Migration Patterns

Trends and changes in the movement of people from one region to another over time.

Labor Vacuums

Situations where there is a shortage of labor, often following the abolition of slavery.