Capitalism Mistaken? The Economic Decline of Surinam and the Plantation Loans, 1773–1850; A Rehabilitation

In: Itinerario: international journal on the history of European expansion and global interaction, Band 20, Heft 1, S. 11-18

Abstract

Has Europe grown rich because it expanded overseas? According to recent scholarship the answer must be no. During the period between 1500 and 1750 Europe's economy did not provide its inhabitants with a per capita income that was significantly higher than that in other parts of the world. Europe – and only the Western part of it – started to become richer after the Industrial Revolution from 1750 onwards. This far most attempts at linking the expansion of Europe to the Industrial Revolution have failed.