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Cotton is King
The Industrial revolution shock the world market, it completely transformed the world economy leading to a large global market. As my classmate Robert stated in his blog post, British “textiles had helped launch industry and through its continued growth came a huge demand for cotton.” To meet the demand the United States southern plantation owners invested in more enslaved men, larger areas to cultivate and new forms of technology such as the cotton gin. By 1860 Southern United States plantations cultivated the majority of the world’s cotton; but while cotton production rose southern political power diminished, to the point where they felt succession was necessary. They formally declared their secession after the results of the 1860’s election, however, the new president-elect will refuse to let them succeed and will be forever remembered as keeping the Union intact. The war of Northern Aggression had begun, a war the southern confederacy thought wouldn’t last, after all, they figured they had the support of all of Europe. The North placed a blockade on the Southern States removing their ability to export their primary cash crop, cotton, by placing the blockade the Union made a great gamble, Europe was no longer acquiring cotton and therefore had a reason to back the Southern South, however, if they stayed out of the war the blockade would surely strangle the sSouthern Confederacy. English parliament was at odds its merchants required cotton but they couldn’t openly support a war based on the abolition of slavery. The solution they came up with was to outsource, during the American civil war production of cotton rose drastically in India, Brazil, and Egypt. These three countries/colonies rose to meet the demand of cotton and it paid off for Great Britain, they now successfully removed the middle man (northern merchants) and managed to acquire raw materials at a cheaper rate. This brought the three colonies into the world market, bringing large wealth into the area, however, it exposed them to the influx of the world economy. They now had to worry about falling prices for their raw goods that they were completely dependent on, during the depression is 1873 prices fell so low that may lose their farms. This form of trading reminds me much of the prices of oil, there are numerous countries that are completely dependent on oil prices and when they fall the nation suffers.