GCSE Geography | Historical Causes of the Development Gap (Development Gap 8)

Countries around the globe experience different rates of development - with some able to develop much more easily than others, which leads to a development gap.

There are significant historical reasons for the gap in development...

Colonialism

Colony - a country which is governed by another country and which is occupied by people from that country.

Colonialism - control by one country over another country and its people

The first waves of colonialism began in the 15th century with European countries, including Britain, France, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, colonising lands in North and South America - this was known as 'Europe's Age of Discovery'.

In the 1880s European countries raced to establish control over the continent of Africa in order to exploit resources - this was known as the 'Scramble for Africa'. The Berlin Conference (1884-1885) divided Africa into colonies ruled by fourteen European nations. This conference didn’t involve any African rulers and didn’t consider ethnic or language groups when decisions on boundaries were made, and resistance was met with force. Natural resources were exploited and the wealth sent to Europe, for example, King Leopold II of Belgium became the sole owner of the Congo Free State and forced local people to collect ivory from elephants and rubber from trees in the rainforest to boost his personal wealth. During this period the Congolese people were treated appalling, with million dying as a result.

Between 1880 and 1900 Britain began to occupy Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Gambia, Sierra Leone, north-western Somalia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Nigeria, Ghana, and Malawi. At the time the British Empire had control over 30% of Africa's people (see map below) and became very rich from 'stealing' resources from its colonies and sending them back home, stopping the countries from making money from their own raw materials.

Whilst colonialism was hugely exploitative to the colonies, important infrastructure, such as railway lines, were built by the imperial powers, in order to facilitate trade, which have since supported economic development.

Slavery

Between 12-15 million people were transported from Africa to the Caribbean and North America to work as slaves between the 1600s and 1800s - exploiting resources for the colonisers. This wasn't the first incidence of slavery, but slavery hadn't occurred at such a scale or as part of an industrialised system before. Europeans made huge amounts of money from selling slaves and trading the goods that had been produced using slave labour, such as tobacco and sugar. Nearly all of the profits from this went back to Europe.

Trade routes

As explorers made connections between different places in the world, trade routes developed, such as the Silk Road (see map below) which connected South-east Asia and East Asia with Persia, East Africa and Southern Europe. This route became famous for the trade of silk from China, but was used for many goods, helping areas along the route to develop. The term Silk Road actually refers to a network of routes used by traders for more than 1,500 years - so some historians prefer the term 'Silk Routes'. As well as goods, religion, culture and ideas spread along the Silk Road, and towns along the routes became multi-cultural cities and information exchange hubs.

Independence

European powers found themselves struggling to manage their own countries and their colonies following WWII. From the mid-1950s to 1975 decolonisation happened across Africa, with countries gaining independence - however, this often involved violence, political turmoil, widespread unrest, and organised revolts.

Some countries have developed rapidly since independence, whilst others have struggled. For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), gained independence from Belgium in 1960, but has struggled to develop despite its vast reserves of valuable resources, including iron-ore, gold and diamonds. This is because these resources have actually led to conflict rather than economic development. There are also huge issues with disease in the country due to inadequate healthcare, which has lacked investment since independence, and cholera, hepatitis A, malaria, measles and typhoid are all widespread.