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To what extent do you agree that colonialism is the main culprit for variations in development in the world?

Explain your answer with reference to relevant examples that you have studied. [8]
Max: 8m Level 1 (0 - 3m) One or two factors about disparity in development level eg political stability & instability in some countries No place reference or very general, eg in Myanmar, in Singapore No mention of extent/counter argument, just repetition of question, eg it causes disparity Level 2 (4- 6m) Suggests & evaluate only 2 factors like colonialism & political stability Place reference given, but little detail eg in colonies like Indonesia, Malaya & Singapore Brief extent/counter argument like colonies also built infra-structure Level 3 (7-8m) Suggestions have some detail (often linked to location chosen), eg British exploited labour of colonies & introduced plantation agriculture to supply raw materials to industries at home. Place reference fairly specific, eg French colonised Laos to exploit mineral resource tin & made little effort to develop Laos economically & socially because Laos being landlocked has no economic potential. Locals in Laos were employed to farm & harvest cash crops & colonial powers laid infrastructure like roads & railways to facilitate the export of these cash crops to their home countries Detailed/supported extent/counter argument clear, eg realisation that Singapores strategic position would make her an important & profitable trading centre to the British, led to the emphasis on education & birth of schools like Raffles Institution, laying the foundation for post-independence industrialisation. An L3 Answer need not include all of the following [for markers reference only] NOTE: Candidates need to choose only one example for each factor & only any 3 factors need to be evaluated.

Historical: Colonialism / Colonial History NOTE: Just choose at least one colony exploited & one colony that benefits from infra-structural development by colonial powers. Do not panic. Students need to evaluate colonialism & any 2 other factors in the list below. Definition Colonialism is exercising controlling influence by more powerful country over less powerful one. Colonial powers like Netherlands, United Kingdom, France & Portugal are temperate countries unsuitable for growing tropical plantation crops like rubber, cotton, coffee & cacao desperately needed to manufacture rubber tyres, textiles & beverages respectively. Less powerful tropical countries have abundant labour & favourable physical conditions like suitable climate & soils for growing cash crops for raw material. Objectives of colonialism: to obtain raw materials & control strategic trading routes. Examples Example, Singapore colonised by British because of her strategic location along Straits of Malacca & within worlds trading routes. Portugese colonised Angola to set up cotton, coffee & cacao plantations to produce raw materials for sale in Europe. British colonised Malaysia (formerly Malaya including Singapore) to grow rubber to support her automobile industries back home Dutch colonised Indonesia to grow coffee, sugar, cacao & rubber for raw materials to be transported to Netherlands. French colonised Vietnam to set up coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco & rubber to produce raw materials for their industries & seize market for manufactured products back home.

French colonised Cambodia to exploit rubber & corn which demanded overseas. French did little to transform Cambodias village-based economy except to build limited number of roads & railways to transport raw materials for export.

Partly because French realised Cambodias Phnom Penh would never become trading hub or Singapore of Indo-China that will bring them economic benefits. Cambodias GDP per capita only US$ 820.00 French colonised Laos to exploit the mineral resource tin & made little effort to develop Laos economically & socially because Laos being landlocked has no economic potential. Locals in Laos employed to farm & harvest cash crops & colonial powers laid infrastructure like roads & railways to facilitate export of cash crops to home countries Laos GDP per capita is only US$ 840.00 per annum while Thailand which never been colonized has GDP per capita of US$ 4 200.00 per annum.

Explanation While colonial powers became richer due to supply of raw materials by colonies for profitable industrialisation, development of colonies slow due to neglect of education & emphasis on agriculture as source of cheap raw materials to serve motherland. Colonialism explains existence of uneven development between DCs & LDCs to a large extent as colonial powers industrialising & developing at expense of former colonies. Colonialism has transformed self-sustaining agricultural countries into huge plantations producing cash crops & economic benefits to motherland.

Thailand never colonised & worlds largest rice exporter is selfsustaining agricultural country, economically better off than many former colonies like Kenya, Angola & Indonesia. However, colonialism also brings benefits to colonies. Example, realisation that Singapores strategic position would make her important & profitable trading centre to British, led to emphasis on education & birth of schools like Raffles Institution, laying foundation for post-independence industrialisation. In Malaysia, roads & railways laid by British lay foundation for postindependence industrialisation as infrastructure built by British facilitates transport of raw materials & manufactured goods.

Point/Conclusion

Hence, colonialism or historical factor is not only culprit for uneven development. Other factors like physical, social, environmental & political factors have to be taken into consideration.

Physical: Presence of raw materials Definition Countries rich in raw materials like timber, minerals & oil tend to develop faster than countries with limited resources. Money earned from sale of raw materials can be channelled to national development projects like building of roads, railways, housing, schools, hospitals, industries, water treatment plants & modern sewerage systems. Example Example, Norway rich in timber & crude oil has GDP per capita of about $US 95,600.00 & very high HDI value. Oil-rich Brunei, located in Borneo Island has GDP per capita of about $US 37, 100.00. However, there are exceptions. Example, Singapore has no resources but her success in industrialisation & port development due to her strategic location has earned her high HDI value & GDP per capita of about $US 38, 600.00 Conversely, Nigeria rich in crude oil but less developed country where majority of people poor. Due to oil wealth mismanaged by leaders for personal enrichment, thus turning away foreign investors. Revenue spent on development of urban areas instead of meeting needs of rural poor. In spite of her oil wealth, Nigerias estimated GDP per capita only $US 1,450.00.

Point/conclusion Hence, presence of raw materials does not guarantee high development level. A country can be rich in resources but poor in development as in case of Nigeria due to other factors.

Environ-mental: Natural disasters & man-made disasters Definition Environmental factor another cause of uneven development. Natural disasters like hurricanes, droughts & earthquakes can strike any country regardless of development level. However, responses to these differ greatly between DCs & LDCs. DCs have resources & manpower to deal with them & help victims recover quickly. When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, USA in 2005, severe floods affected hundreds of thousands of residents. USA responded without external assistance. However, volcanic eruptions & earthquakes in May 2006 near Yogyakarta, Indonesia brought hardship to residents because country lacks resources & manpower to deal with disaster. Foreign aid was needed. World Bank pledged US$60 million. United Nations planned half year relief effort. Aid channelled to restoration works instead of to economic development. When Indian Ocean tsunami occurred off west coast Sumatra in December 2004, residents badly affected. Relief efforts poured in from DCs. Singapore also sent help. Even till today, funds being used for restoration works at expense of economic development.

When 2008 cyclone Nargis hit Irrawaddy Delta, Mynamar, immense devastation felt. Foreign aid that could have been more productively spent on improving incomes of locals spent on restoring livelihood of victims. Many agriculture-based LDCs like Bangladesh face natural disasters like monsoon floods while Ethiopia & Somalia face droughts which ruin food supply & source of income. Already limited funds to be diverted to relief efforts, further diminishing funds & hindering development process. It is true to a certain extent that natural disasters affect development especially when countries are unable to cope with the devastation.

Man-made-disasters like overgrazing, deforestation & poor farming practices lead to severe soil erosion, deterioration & desertification which require capital to restore through irrigation systems & fertiliser application. No doubt, environmental disasters can further weaken financial situation of some LDCs. However, a country like Japan is very prone to natural disasters such as earthquake & typhoons. Yet, Japan is developed.

Hence, it is not always true that natural disasters cause disparity in development. Countries hit by natural disasters are often compensated by nature. Eg Bangladesh is often flooded after heavy monsoon rains, but Ganges delta & floodplain are often replenished with fertile alluvial soil after each flood. Indonesia is vulnerable to volcanic eruptions that cause death & damage. However, the extremely rich volcanic soils enhance agricultural productivity & increase income of farmers. In conclusion, environmental factor is not always the cause of uneven development.

NOTE: the following explain why uneven development occurs within countries of developing world. Example low development level exists in Sub-Saharan countries when compared to Indonesia & Vietnam due to extreme water shortage that retards modernisation of agriculture for greater productivity & higher income in Sub-Saharan countries. Conversely, Indonesia has sufficient water for agriculture enhanced by extremely rich volcanic soils, hence higher development level. Vietnam has ideal low-lying land & fertile alluvial soils in floodplains & Mekong Delta for agriculture, hence higher incomes for farmers, when compared with farmers of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Social & cultural: education Social & cultural factor like level of education, fertility rate & birth control, work ethics, provision & accessibility of healthcare services & medical facilities can be blamed for uneven development as well. DCs have high adult literacy rates resulting in wealth accumulation as people engaged in high-paying technological, managerial & entrepreneurial positions. Example, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany & France with 99.9% literacy rate & Italy at 98.5% have high GDP per capita.

Conversely, LDCs, low literacy rates resulting in low revenue for nations as majority of people engaged in unskilled low-paying jobs in primary industries like agriculture & mining. Example, Sierra Leone adult literacy rate about 30% because basically agrarian generating low incomes, making sending children to school unaffordable for parents. Besides, children regarded as farm hands contributing to family incomes. Sierra Leone ravaged by civil war since early 1990s, GDP per capita only about $US330.00. Lacks funds to build schools & train teaching staff. Another example Laos, adult literacy rate about 49%, estimated GDP per capita $US840.00 Low education level hinders acquisition of technological skills & employment in high-paying jobs. Shortage of potential skilled labour hinders industrialisation. Hence, countries with low education level remain agricultural economies with low GDP per capita. However, high literacy rate does not always correspond with high development level. Literacy among women has stronger influence on development level.

Social & cultural: population growth rate Social norms & cultural beliefs such as gender inequality with emphasis on superiority of men & disempowerment of women in Sub-Saharan African countries affect birth rate & family size. Rapid population increase especially in LDCs may lead to overpopulation whereby resources insufficient to meet basic needs of people. Example, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria & Bangladesh annual growth rates of 3.2%, 2.8%, 2.7% & 2.2% respectively. Large population & high birth rate hinder development as resources to be channelled to basic necessities like food, medicine & housing, leaving limited resources for economic development. Conversely, DCs usually low population growth rates like Norway, Japan & Italy with negative growth rate partly due to higher living cost, demands of bringing up children & changing lifestyle preferences whereby career-minded couples desire freedom & avoid being tied down by children.

However, it does not necessarily mean that low population growth equates high development level. Low growth rates can bring about problems that can negatively affect development level. Example, availability of workforce may be reduced, thus limiting progress in industrialisation due to potential shortage of technological expertise. Problem of ageing population may set in whereby resources to be channelled to geriatric care instead of industrial expansion & innovation. Example, Sweden, Germany, France, Japan & Singapore face problem of ageing population & if higher birth rate not aggressively encouraged, current development level may not be maintained.

Political: Political conflict & leadership Political conflicts in form of wars or political instability hinders development. Cambodia once prosperous country between 11th & 14th centuries. However, Cambodian Civil War in 1970s between Sihanouk government & Cambodian communist movement named Khmer Rouge disrupted businesses as urban dwellers forced out of major cities, famous sites like Angkor Watt in ruins, deterring tourists from visiting country, depriving nation of tourism receipts. Hence, lack of political stability due to civil wars deters foreign investments in country. Another example political instability resulting from 1990s civil war in Sierra Leone, deterring investors from setting up businesses there, resulting in Sierra Leone being one of the least developed countries with GDP per capita about $US330.00. Unstable governments with internal struggles for power deter foreign investment. Another example Pakistan, prone to terror tactics like suicide bombing by Taliban rebels or militants & political instability in Afghanistan threatening routine life & commercial activities in cities, turn away foreign investors. GDP per capita of Pakistan & Afghanistan about $US 1,040.00& $US 430.00 respectively. Conversely, Thailand, with political stability & no civil war apart from some minor protests against the current prime minister, has attracted Japanese automobile manufacturers to set up automobile industry. Thailand enjoys per capita income about $US 4,120.00 with many locals gainfully employed in automobile industry.

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Another example, Switzerlands political stability & peace enable foreign enterprises & businesses to flourish, giving estimated per capita income of $US67, 380.00.

Political: leadership Leadership also a cause of uneven development. Economically & socially progressive countries are those under efficient & developmentoriented leadership. Example, Norways high GDP per capita about $US95,000.00, result of stable, perceptive & forward-looking leadership which enforces sharing of countrys oil wealth with citizens through imposing profit ceiling on oil producers Another example is Chinas modernisation programme in late 1970s under leadership of reformer Deng Xioping who led China towards market economics. Chinas open door policy has attracted foreign trade & investments resulting in her double digit economic growth rate in recent years. Example, China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Parkn joint venture between China & Singapore with aim of turning it into world-class high-tech modern industrial park manufacturing sophisticated electronic products to meet local & external demand. Another foreign investment is Singapore-Eco Industrial Park in Hunan Province, China. Corrupt leadership is reason for poverty in some countries. Example, Nigeria, largest oil producer in Africa economically undeveloped with low standard of living & quality of life, with estimated GNP per capita $US 1,450.00. Due to political corruption in public administration with mis-management of financial resources for personal gain. Such corruption in administrative service turns away foreign investors. Another example, corrupt & non-transparent administration under military Junta in Myanmar weakens investor confidence. Ruling military Junta both financially & politically corrupt GDP per capita of Myanmar about $US 462.00 in spite of wealth in resources like petroleum, natural gas, tin, zinc, timber & gems like rubies. Although Zimbabwe rich in natural resources like gold, coal, iron-ore, platinum & copper, GDP per capita only about $US 1380.00 & many rural folks starve & die of lack of medical aid. Due to political corruption in public administration with mis-management of financial resources for personal gain. Such corruption in administrative service turns away foreign investors, hindering progress in industrial development

In conclusion, it should be noted that all factors go hand in hand & play a part in uneven development. No one factor can cause disparity in development level.

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