DeLaughter & Handley 1

Grace DeLaughter & Jessica Handley

Mrs. Bennett & Mr. Martin
Humanities II / 4th & 5th period
21 February 2016
The Introduction of a Strong Consumer Society in the European Colonies
A flower is an undoubtedly delicate life form that needs a certain level of care to
be able to maintain its structure and health. As long as the flower receives enough water,
sunlight, and nutrition, it will be able to sprout and bloom into an alluring phenomenon.
But strip away the sunlight and the water, and the plant is left with a bud that is unable to
reach its full potential. Just like a strong and blooming flower, the European colonies
were able to be nurtured to their full potential, with the incorporation of population and
industry. Despite the popular belief that the industrial revolution sparked a rise in
colonialism, it can be argued that a growing colonial consumer society actually
influenced a growing industrialization in the European colonies. With the growing
population among the labor force, a consumer society became prominent amongst the
colonies, therefore encouraging the growth of industrialization within these areas. With a
higher demand for production and more people being integrated into the middle and elite
classes, a growing demand for specialized goods was met with the innovations of
machinery, factories, and technological advancements in regards to transportation. This
growing demand contributed to the adoption of a certain competitiveness never seen
before, which was ultimately affected by the growing population within these European
territories, as it was encouraged by the idea of supply and demand, fostered through the
growth of industrialization.

DeLaughter & Handley 2

It is obvious that the growing consumer society that presented itself in the modern
European colonies was in large part affected by an extreme increase in population. This is
apparent because this growing consumer society among the European colonies was most
markedly affected by the sharp incline in the amount of inhabitants in the relatively small
area, which was influenced by growing colonialism. When we take a look at the
European colonies in the early 1600s we acquire an understanding of a small town
market-based economy. Moving further in the the late 1750s, we watch as an
institutional switch occurs, and the once small market-based economy booms with the
introduction on the industrial revolution. It is evident that European colonialism led to
the development of institutions of private property in previously poor areas, including
private plantations and farms owned by elites, but worked by the lower classes (Fails,
Kriechkhaus 489). These private institutions in turn promoted an increase in the rates of
production in the lower classes, producing more exports and goods such as textiles, crops,
and other luxury goods, to subsidize the upper classes. This increase in a lower class
consumer movement pushed the limits of the previous ideals of expansion among the
middle and elite classes by allowing their population to flourish in this new form of
economy. This institutional reversal is due mostly to the fact that the poorer regions of the
colonies were very poorly populated, and clashed with the wealthier and more urbanized
regions, which had a lack of space for a large amount of settlers (Fails, Kriechkhaus 489).
The main reason for the institutional reversal is that relatively poor regions were sparsely
populated, and this enabled or induced Europeans to settle in large numbers and develop
institutions encouraging investment. In contrast, a large and booming population and
relative prosperity made extractive institutions more profitable for the colonizers (Fails,

DeLaughter & Handley 3

Kriechkaus 489). As the population count grew, it became apparent that the influx of the
lower classes into society would change the colonial consumer society forever. In no way
possible, could the economy surrounding the settlers have reached the heights it did
without the large scale settling of people in these relatively poor areas. The push factors
for industrialization and an increase in consumer society originated directly from the
introduction of the lower class population. Without this lower class as a source of labor,
no textiles, goods, and luxury items would have been produced. Therefore, without the
increase in the settling population in the European colonies, a strong consumer society
would not have been born, because without the lower class people used as a labor force,
there could be not have been an increase in production.
With the increase in population that was induced by the Industrial Revolution in
the European colonies, a likewise increasing consumer society emerged. This consumer
society was largely influenced by a multitude of economic factors, such as a material
industry, agriculture, and the innovation of efficient factory work. With increasing
mechanization in these colonies, agrarian advances in some areas may have stimulated
early industry, due to the increased population among the lower classes (637 Pollard).
This population increase was influential due to the agrarian lifestyle these people lived.
This lifestyle propelled agriculture, which in turn increased industrialization because
these specific areas were equipped with the formidable raw materials. With this new
introduction into an industrial-lead consumer society, only made possible by the
population growth, the idea of competition arose and created a unique set of
circumstances. Whereas many societies crumble under pressure, the Europeans mightily
rose to the prospecting idea of competition amongst their economy and their neighbors.

DeLaughter & Handley 4

This can be exemplified through competition between separate colonies territorially,
economically, and socially. As Sidney Pollard suggests, External competition, far from
suppressing home industry, tends to perfect, manufacture, and induce an extension of
activity (Pollard 642). This increased activity contributed to a strong consumer society
that could be supported by a continual competitiveness within and amongst the European
colonies. It is obvious that, as that drive of competition to stay at the forefront moved
underway, the people of this society took it upon themselves to keep the economy
growing. By continuously choosing to purchase from the internal market, the people
chose themselves to be the ones to produce a consumer society that would eventually
shape and mold the economy that we know today. Without the population growing, and
adopting this idea of propelling themselves to the top, the economy would not have
grown into what we know. If these people had decided to purchase extraneously from
other outside forces, the European economy could have collapsed and become dependent
on other countries for trade, just like modern day Latin America.
The European colonies undoubtedly blossomed into one of the most magnificent
economic powerhouses that the world had ever seen. Just as a flower requires continual
nurturing and care, the European colonies were fashioned through a growing population,
and a likewise growing competitiveness in their consumer society. Without these two
factors, these colonies would have never bloomed. As a greater demand for the items
manufactured in these areas emerged, the settlers worked even harder to supply
themselves with the necessary materials and labor force to be able to sustain their
budding economy. Without these competitive and economic roots, the world would have

DeLaughter & Handley 5

never experienced the full potential of the European colonies in their role as suppliers for
the global trade.

DeLaughter & Handley 6

Works Cited
Fails, Matthew D., and Jonathan Krieckhaus. Colonialism, Property Rights and the
Modern World Income Distribution. British Journal of Political Science 40.3
(2010): 487508. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
Pollard, Sidney. Industrialization and the European Economy. The Economic History
Review 26.4 (1973): 636648. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.