What Does a Study of Scandinavian Experience Tell Us about the Essay

What Does a Study of Scandinavian Experience Tell Us about the Relationship between Globalisation and the Welfare State - Essay Example As the report declares neoliberal argumentations show that an open economy, as well as a global market where the forces of the market will make the rules, will â€Å"compel all States to converge towards a neoliberal political system which will involve significant cutbacks in States' market interventions as well as the renunciation of States' commitment to redistribution and equality†. In this sense, liberal economic principles, as are present in a global economic environment, will need to be adopted and adapted by the states as well in their programs. This discussion researches that with strict reference to the Swedish model, some show that the model is in a significant crisis and that this crisis has started and continued during the 90s. The explanation for this crisis would be concluding the need for a state to remain competitive in the 21st century, alongside the private actors. The reason for this bears the economic justification of competition: a foreign investor is much more likely to choose a state where the economic policies the state has implemented are more permissive, less aggressive, more flexible. Why choose a state where you would have to pay an additional salary in taxes for each of your employees, when you can choose a country with a permissive legislative system and a location where you could trim your human resource related costs as close to 0 as possible? Globalization is often associated with a diminishment in state sovereignty as private actors.

Age of Exploration Essay Example for Free

Age of Exploration Essay The age of exploration had many varied effects on the countries involved, mainly Spain, France, and England. By establishing a prosperous empire in South America by conquering the native people, Spain became vastly wealthy off of the gold collected by its native subjects. However, since the native people were dying off rapidly due to the foreign diseases brought over by the Conquistadors, as well as malnutrition and fatigue, Spain and Portugal were the first to introduce slavery to the New World by replacing them with African slaves brought over by Portuguese slave traders. The silver mining by these slaves caused world trade to increase. Often, silver brought to Europe from America was then traded with China and other Asian countries, making silk, porcelain, and Indian spices more prevalent in Europe. Products from America that became popular in Europe included corn, potatoes, pineapples, and sugar cane. Many cultures spread and combined with others: Spanish missionaries converted natives to Christianity, which then combined the new Christian beliefs with the natives’ cultural traditions. Another example, Arabian coffee with American sugar became quite popular throughout Europe. Although saying that anyone who crossed the Atlantic (at least when referring to modern theories) truly discovered America is ridiculous, I believe that the first to do so was Leif Eriksson and his group of Vikings whose settlement was found in Canada. According to the Greenlander saga and the Eric saga, his father, Eric the Red, a Viking outlaw, discovered Greenland. In order to establish himself as a man separate from his father, Leif sailed to the west in order to discover his own land. He sailed west because there had been a rumor in Greenland for the past fifteen years of a merchant sailing from Iceland to Greenland whose ship had been blown off course in a storm. According to the rumor, the merchant claimed that there were three separate lands west of Greenland. Around the year 1000, Leif purchased the merchant’s ship from the story, and obtained directions from the same merchant. He set sail only for a few days, which was reportedly was miserable due to the conditions on the open boat. On this expedition, they were seeking trees, which were scare in Greenland, but abundant in what is now northern Newfoundland, Canada, where the party landed. Leif named the new land Vinland after the wild grapes found there and the wine the grapes produced. Shortly thereafter, the settlers began to erect a settlement and scouted the land. In 1960, the archeologist and set out to find the fabled Vinland, using a four hundred year old Icelandic map and descriptions from the sagas. On the very northern tip of Newfoundland, they came across an area of mounds and ruins near a small town. Because the ruins predated the settlement of the area, the locals had always believed that Native Americans created the mounds. In fact, through almost seven years of painstaking excavations and radiocarbon testing, it was proven that the ruins were of a settlement dating back to the year 1000. Various artifacts found at the site also confirmed its Norse origins. Archeologists have gone so far as to pinpoint which ‘house’ was Leif Eriksson’s, based on size and complexity of the structure. I believe that Leif Eriksson was the first to cross the Atlantic and settle in America because of many factors. The radiocarbon dating of the site which puts it at 1000 C. E. immediately eliminates any of the explorers from the age of exploration, as well as the Chinese in 1492, in addition to the obvious implausibility of traveling above Canada in ice riddled waters in a flimsy wooden vessel. A case could perhaps be made for the merchant in the sagas who started the rumor, but as with all epic stories, the Icelanders who were the ones to transcribe the sagas based on oral stories, may have simply added him in as a fictional supporting character. Because of this and other equally plausible scenarios, I have to concede that Leif Eriksson was the first to reach the New World by crossing the Atlantic. There is confusion among certain people about whether America was colonized because of a desire for more money on the part of England or because the colonists were seeking religious freedom from the Roman Catholic Church. This confusion stems mainly from the watered down version of Jamestown and the Mayflower that we teach students at a young age. While it is true that Puritans did indeed come to the New World seeking religious freedom, the initial desire to colonize America was all about the desire for wealth. Because of Spain’s conquests in South America, the gold it had acquired from the natives and silver mining had made the country vastly wealthy and other nations were eager to get their share of the riches. America also had an abundant supply of farmland at a time when many farmers had small farms that they toiled over in an effort to merely support their families. In addition, as more settlers moved to America and created a demand for indulgences that they were accustomed to in Europe, the companies that sold such items made more money because of the higher prices the settlers had to pay in order to accommodate shipping costs. In short, while religious freedom was a noble and idealistic dream, it wouldn’t benefit anyone or make any money, which is what people were chiefly concerned with. How would America be different if it had been settled one hundred years later, in 1592? To begin with, it probably would not be called ‘America’. America is so named after Amerigo Vespucci; however, as he died in 1512, it is unlikely that we would have been named after him. Perhaps we would be named Raleigh, after Walter Raleigh, a British explorer of both North and South America in our actual history. Christopher Columbus would not be in history books, as he would not have been to Raleigh. Native Americans thus would have never been referred to as Indians. Because of our late start as a nation, it is reasonable to assume that certain historical events in our country would be delayed, let us say, fifty years or so. Because colonization was delayed, it would take longer for tensions to raise between the colonists and the French, so the French and Indian War would not have started in 1689, but around 1739 instead. This in turn would delay the Seven years war and thus the taxed imposed by the British that led to the American Revolution, which would now begin in 1825. Thus, we would have the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1826 and become our own country in 1833. Or alternatively, because of the differing technology, we might have lost the war and still been English today. But lets assume that we won and Raleigh was founded. I believe the Civil War would have been delayed as well until 1911, three years before World War One started. Both world wars, because we did not start them, would have happened the same years as they actually did, 1914 and 1939 respectably. However, I believe that the issue of civil and women’s’ rights would have been later in coming, perhaps in the 80’s. We would probably be dealing with racism more than gay rights today, if that were the case. And our music would be behind as well, so 60’s music today would then be 80’s music now.

Brave New World 3 :: essays research papers

Brave New World: “Oh, my God, my God!'; In 1932, Aldous Huxley first published the novel, Brave New World. During this time, the ideas that Huxley explored in his novel were not a reality, but merely science-fiction entertainment. Brave New World confronts ideas of totalitarianism, artificial reproduction, anti-individualism, and forever youth- ideas which were not threatening in the 30’s. In the 1930’s, the high ethical standards people maintained and the limited amount of scientific knowledge did not allow for the acceptance of the types of ideas found in Brave New World. These values include abstinance, family structure, and life-long marriages- issues that had little to no importance in the Brave New World. As we begin the new millenium, our increasing scientific knowledge has taken our curiousity beyond ethical consideration, and Huxley’s novel has become much closer to a reality than it was 65 years ago. Today, Huxley’s Brave New World parallels current advances in genetical engineering, cloni ng, the lowering of moral standards held by the general mass, and the obsession people have with looking young. Theses new discoveries of genetical engineering and cloning closely parallel the process of giving birth in the Brave New World. In Brave New World, people are born artificially in test tubes. Everyone is condidtioned to be the same: to share the same characteristics, their way of thinking, and their ideas. People who claimed individual thought against the community- such as Bernard in the beginning of the novel- were considered to have a defect from a lab mistake during birth, and were ostracized from the community, until they conditioned themself to think like the rest of the community. Scientific development in both genetical engineering and cloning, have made the idea of anti-individualism closer to a reality. Genetical engineering enables parents to choose characteristics for their child, creating a “poster child'; which ultimately ends in every child becoming a poster child and all looking the same. Although genetical engineering is currently under ethical scepticism, and the cloning of humans is illegal, it is still possible to eventually end all diversity (except possibly between ethnic groups as in Brave New World). Huxley says: Ninety-six identical twins working ninety-six identical machines!… You really know where you are… Community, Identity, Stability… If we could bokanovskify [a method whereby a human egg has its normal development arrested and whereupon it proceeds to bud, producing many identical eggs] indefinetly the whole problem

Sonic Case Study :: essays research papers

Executive Summary Beginning with one restaurant, Sonic has become the largest drive-in chain in the United States. While they are smaller than their competitors, they are still leading in sales growth, customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. Sonic restaurants saturate the southern U.S. This gives them the opportunity to expand to other area. However, Sonic is reluctant due to the colder climates and their basis as a drive-in restaurant. Sonic should look at adding or combining capabilities to it’s restaurants to increase competitiveness and make it easier for them to expand into other areas without limiting themselves. Situational Analysis In 1953, Troy Smith, the founder of SONIC and World War II veteran, was living in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Troy dreamed of owning his own restaurant business. In fact, he had already tried twice. Troy first owned a small diner called the Cottage Cafà ©. The income he received was barely enough to make a living for himself and his family. Troy sold the Cottage Cafà © and bought a bigger restaurant. His next business, the Panful of Chicken, was so successful that he tried opening more. Unfortunately, fried chicken didn't do well in early 1950s Oklahoma and Troy closed his Panful of Chicken restaurant. Troy then owned a steak house that had a root beer stand attached. This root beer stand, called The Top Hat proved more profitable and eventually outlasted the steak house. While traveling to Louisiana, Troy saw some homemade intercom speakers in use at a local hamburger stand. He contacted the innovator in Louisiana and asked him to make an intercom for the Top Hat. He then hired some local electronics wizards to install the system. He then added a canopy for cars to park under and servers to deliver the food right to customers’ cars. During the first week after the intercom was installed, the Top Hat took in $1750. With his new partner, Charlie Pappe, four more Top Hats were opened. However, their lawyers informed them that the Top Hat name was copyrighted. They changed the name to Sonic to go along with the restaurant slogan of "Service With the Speed of SoundSM."1 In 1973, a group of ten principal franchise owners became the officers of the company. Shares were offered to each store owner. Because of the amount of stock offered, Sonic became a publicly traded company with 165 stores in the chain. Between 1973 and 1978, Sonic grew tremendously. 800 new stores were opened and a Sonic School that formally trained new managers was established.

Books and e-books Essay

Some people believe that printed books are no longer necessary in this digital era, as all writings can be stored electronically. Others think print books till play important role. Discuss both views and give your opinion.  In the past few years, e-books have been sold or downloaded for free in large numbers on the internet. These books and e-readers are challenging convention reading habits making the sales of traditional books decreased. But it still needs much consideration before eliminating altogether the need for printed books. There is no doubt that e-books are able to offer huge amount of information with feather like weight. Readers do not have to face the difficult choice of which book should be taken with on vacation, as one single e-reader like kindle or Nook would hold all the books you might want to read on the trip with no extra space in suitcase being wasted. E-books are also strong contenders when it comes to pricing. Because they are delivered in digital format, a part of the overhead including printing, storing and distribution can be avoided. And many classic books are free online, which is a boon to readers who only need a partly review or reference from those books. However, we cannot ignore a fact that the popularity of digital books can be a bit daunting for many readers who are used to going to the local book store, browsing the aisles and perhaps reading any chapter before purchasing. Or, there still are some senior readers who are reluctant to buy and learn to use an e-reader instead of holding a real book and making note wherever they want. Then when we talk about personal book collections, electronic ones can hardly be involved. Privately owned printed books can typically be displayed neatly as part of the household collection. These books may build up a reader’s spirit world and be good company as having friends being around. The bottom line is that both printed books and e-books have something to offer. We cannot simply eliminate the use of any single format because they are needed in different situation by various kinds of readers. They are all  making life better.

Delivering a Persuasive Speech

Delivering a Persuasive Speech Douglas A. Parker August 13, 2001 |  Amazon Products | |Subject(s):   Language Arts/Reading and Public Speaking |Links of Note | |[pic] | |Overview:  Ã‚   Students need to understand that how they say something and how they physically present |Persuasive Essay Topics  form| | | |themselves are just as important as what they say.By understanding the dynamics involved in effective |Curious Castle Classroom. | | | |persuasive speaking, students will improve their overall confidence in communicating. | | | | |Purpose:   The purpose of this lesson is to improve students’ oral persuasion techniques by understanding |Writing the Persuasive | | | |the appropriate speaking skills.The lesson is presented in second person, making it more meaningful as a |EssayCurious Castle | | | |resource for the students, and easier for the teacher to use as a handout. |Classroom | | | |Objectives:  Ã‚   Students will be able to: | | | | |1) Demonstrate the appropriate classroom public speaking and listening skills (e. . , body language, |[pic]   | | | |articulation, listening to be able to identify specific examples of the speaker's coordination of talking |[pic] | | | |and action) that would be necessary to influence or change someone's mind or way of thinking about a | | | | |topic. | | | |2) Define the elements of persuasion. | | | | |3) Recognize the elements of personal credibility. | | | | |4) Develop methods to analyze other students’ speeches. | | | | |5) Understand outlining main ideas. | | | |6) Create a persuasive speech. | | | | |Resources/Materials:  Teacher-prepared topics for persuasive speeches. | | | | |Assessments:  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Class will assess each speaker's performance in terms of voice and body coordination, | | | | |and in terms of persuasiveness.Each class can develop performance assessments such as rubrics to | | | | |facilitate this process. | | | | |Teacher's Anticipatory Set: | | | | |During class discussion, define and explain how people make decisions based on what they see and hear. | | | |Explain that sometimes we have to use skills to convince others about our positions. Have the students | | | | |recall and list their own experiences trying to convince their friends about something, and then ask them | | | | |to share these with the class. | | | |   | | | | |Activities and Procedures:   Delivering a Persuasive Speech   | | | | |   | | | | |The Procedure | | | | |Pick a proposition that not everyone would agree with such as: â€Å"nuclear power plants are superior energy | | | | |sources. †Ã‚   Write a 6 to 8 – minute speech in outline form to persuade the group. | | | | |The Lesson:  Your Voice and Body are Your Best Tools | | | | |You are a natural persuader! You have done it all your life.Every time you enter a conversation, you | | | | |engage in elementary persuasion techniques. It is true, that any time you make a statement of fact, you | | | | |are asserting its validity and assuming that your listener agrees. | | | | |This speech goes further than a normal conversational assertion: now you have to assume that not everyone | | | | |will agree with you from the start, and it is your job to make them see things your way.The goal of this | | | | |speech is to change someone's mind or way of thinking about a topic. This is not a speech to sell, as you | | | | |do not ask that the listener do anything except to agree with you or to begin to listen to your way of | | | | |thinking. Your message is, of course, very important in this speech, but your voice and body language are | | | | |even more important. Here you will see how your delivery can help. | | | |There are several important aspects of presentation to keep in mind: | | | | |1)  Body language  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ make sure that you have a proper posture. If your shoulders are sagging and your legs | | | | |are crossed, you will not appear as being sincere and peo ple just will not accept your message. | | | | |2)  Articulation  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ articulation means how your total vocal process works. There are several steps to this | | | | |entire process.First, you need air from the lungs, your vocal cords in your larynx must be working, your | | | | |mouth and tongue must be in sync, and you have to make sure that you have got some saliva in your mouth to | | | | |keep things oiled. You should be aware of your physical makeup to be able to understand how you speak. | | | | |3)  Pronunciation  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ pronounce each word. Avoid slang, except to make a point, and do not slur your words. | | | | |Avoid saying, â€Å"you know. | | | | |4)  Pitch  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ pitch refers to the highs and lows of your voice. Whatever you do, avoid a monotone! | | | | |5)  Speed  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ your speed, or pace, is an important variable to control. Between 140-160 words per minute is | | | | |the normal pace for a persuasive speech. Any faster and you may appe ar to be glib; any slower and you | | | | |sound like you are lecturing.If you are not sure about your speed, tape yourself for one minute and then | | | | |replay it and count the number of words you used in the minute! The human ear and brain can compile and | | | | |decode over 400 spoken words per minute, so if you are going too slow your listeners' minds are going to | | | | |start to wander as the brains finds other ways to keep themselves occupied. | | | | |6)  Pauses  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the pause, or caesura, is a critical persuasive tool. When you want to emphasize a certain | | | | |word, just pause for one second before; this highlights the word.If you really want to punch it, pause | | | | |before and after the word! | | | | |7)  Volume  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ volume is another good tool for persuasive speech, but you should use it with caution. If you | | | | |scream all the way through your speech, people will become accustomed to it and it will lose its | | | | |effectiveness. On the other hand, a few well-timed shouts can liven up the old speech! Try to â€Å"project† | | | | |or throw your voice out over the entire group – speak to the last row. | | | |8)  Quality  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ quality of voice is gauged by the overall impact that your voice has on your listeners. | | | | |Quality of voice is the net caliber of your voice, its character and attributes. Try to keep your vocal | | | | |quality high; it is what separates your voice from everyone else's. | | | | |9)  Variance  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ variance of vocal elements is your most important consideration of all! One of the most | | | | |persuasive speakers in modern history was Winston Churchill.One of his most remarkable qualities was his | | | | |ability to vary the elements of his voice. He would start with a slow, laconic voice and then switch gears| | | | |to a more rapid pace. People were light-headed after listening to him! Even if you have no desire to run | | | | |for political office, you ca n still use the tools of variance. Change your pitch, volume, and speed at | | | | |least once every 30 seconds, if only for just one word. Never go more than one paragraph without a vocal | | | | |variance.This keeps your group locked into your speech, if for no other reason than it sounds | | | | |interesting! Let the words speak for themselves; reflect their nature through your voice. If you use the | | | | |word â€Å"strangle,† say it with a hint of menace in your voice. If you say the word â€Å"heave,† let the group | | | | |feel the onomatopoeic force behind it. If you say the word â€Å"bulldozer,† make it sound like a titan | | | | |earthmover, not like a baby with a shovel. | | | |The Strategy: Appear Rational | | | | |When you are trying to convince someone of something, you must first establish your credibility, or in | | | | |other words, you must sell yourself before you sell your message. If people feel that you are not being | | | | |reasonable or rational, you do not stand a chance. You must be committed to the ideals and goals of your | | | | |speech and what you are saying. Do not use words such as â€Å"maybe† or â€Å"might†- use positive words such as | | | | |†will† and â€Å"must.    | | | | |You are the authority figure in this speech, so you had better supply enough information to prove your | | | | |points so that you can seem knowledgeable, and you had better know your material cold. People can usually | | | | |spot someone who is trying to â€Å"wing† a speech. You should also appear to be truthful -even when you are | | | | |really stretching a point. If you do not appear to be earnest, even if your message is the 100% truth, | | | | |people will doubt your word and tune out your speech. | | | |Lastly, do not be afraid to show a little emotion – this is not a sterile or static speech. Your body and | | | | |voice must match the tone of your words. If your language i s strong, you must present a physical force to | | | | |go along with your delivery. | | | | |The Comments and Goals | | | | |Self-control? | | | | |You cannot sit back and let your words do all of the talking.You must use your total self to deliver your| | | | |message, and this means that you will have to expose a little of your personality to the group. Your group| | | | |will be supportive. | | | | |The Group Reaction | | | | |The group has two major criteria to consider after each member's speech. First, the delivery. Were the | | | | |speaker's body, words, and actions in synchronization and harmony? Did one support the other or was there | | | | |tension between the body and the voice?Secondly, were you persuaded? Why or why not? Discuss what makes| | | | |a persuasive speech work and how the intangibles effect a positive outcome. | | | | |More Information? | | | | |For more information and help with public speaking, contact:   | | | | |http://capital. net/~bps2/   | |

Effects of British Colonial Rule in India Essay

The colonization of India and the immense transfer of wealth that moved from the latter to Britain were vital to the success of the British Empire. In fact, the Viceroy of British India in 1894 called India â€Å"the pivot of our Empire †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I examine the effects of the Industrial Revolution on the subcontinent. Besides highlighting the fact that without cheap labor and raw materials from India, the modernization of Britain during this era would have been highly unlikely, I will show how colonial policy led to the privation and death of millions of natives. I conclude that while India undoubtedly benefited from British colonial rule, the negatives for the subject population far outweighed the positives. . Colonialism, by definition, is exploitative and oppressive, with the rulers enriching themselves at the expense of those they rule. Generally speaking, colonizers dominate a territory’s resources, labor force, and markets; oftentimes, they impose structures — cultural, religious and/or linguistic — to maintain control over the indigenous population. The effects of the expansion of European empires, which began in the 15th century, on the colonized can still be felt today. Some historians, for example, argue that colonialism is one of the leading causes in income inequality among countries in present times. They cite patterns of European settlement as determinative forces in the type of institutions developed in colonized countries, considering them major factors in economic backwardness. Economist Luis Angeles has argued that the higher the percentage of Europeans settling in a colony at its peak, the greater the inequality in that country so long as the settlers remained a minority, suggesting that the colonizers drained those lands of essential resources while reaping most, if not all, of the profits. In terms of per capita GDP in 1995, the 20 poorest countries were all former colonies, which would seem to bolster Angeles’ contention. There are, however, competing views on how much underdevelopment in today’s poorest countries is a byproduct of colonial rule and how much of it is influenced by factors such as a country’s lack of natural resources or area characteristics. For poet, activist and politician Aime Cesaire, the verdict was in: Colonizers were â€Å"the decisive actors †¦ the adventurer and the pirate, the wholesale grocer and the ship owner, the gold digger and the merchant, appetite and force, and behind them, the baleful projected shadow of a form of civilization which, at a certain point in its history, finds itself obliged, for internal reasons, to extend to a world scale the competition of its antagonistic economies. This is not to suggest that Western European nations were the first and only countries to pursue imperialistic policies or that nothing good came out of colonial policies for the subject population. Dinesh D’Souza, while arguing that colonialism has left many positive as well as negative legacies, has stressed that there is nothing uniquely Western about colonialism, writing: â€Å"Those who identify colonialism and empire only with the West either have no sense of history or have forgotten about the Egyptian empire, the Persian empire, the Macedonian empire, the Islamic empire, the Mongol empire, the Chinese empire, and the Aztec and Inca empires in the Americas. † For this paper’s purposes, however, I will focus on the British Empire, its colonizing efforts in India (1757-1947), and the effects British policy had on that subject population. A couple of caveats before examining the British-Indian relationship: experiences differed from colony to colony during this period of European imperialism; India was unique in the colonial experience because of its size and history. It also should be noted that India was rather unique among colonized lands during this era for at least two reasons. First, South Asia was â€Å"already a major player in world commerce and possessed a well-developed trading and financial world† by the time Europeans arrived. Indigenous administrative structures already existed for taxation purposes, while commerce within the country and throughout the continent offered prospects of giant profits. Second, British India, which included today’s India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, was a region so large that there were areas in which Britain exercised direct control over the subject population and others where it exerted indirect control. It is exceedingly difficult, therefore, to extrapolate from one experience to another. Although it is impossible to determine how India would have developed had England never established a dominating presence there, I find the results of British colonialism to have been a mixed bag for India: the negatives, however, far outweighed the positives. Liberal and democratic aspects of British colonialism in India played a significant role in leading to a democratic South Asia following Indian independence in 1947. Yet, the British — first through the East India Company and then through direct government control — held almost all of the political and economic power in India during the Empire’s expansion and apogee, guaranteeing the Indian economy could not evolve and/or function independent of the ruling power’s control; ensuring raw materials extracted from Indian soil would go towards British manufacturing industries mostly without profiting the vast majority of Indians; and leading to lives of privation for millions of indigenous subjects. Although there have been arguments made that, in political and economic terms, south Asia was backwards until the arrival of Europeans, recent research has debunked that myth, showing the region to have possessed healthy trading and financial structures prior to the Europeans’ arrival. British Colonial Strategy in the Subcontinent Imperial powers followed two basic strategies when colonizing. They either allowed a large number of Europeans to settle overseas (known as Settler Colonies) or sent a much smaller number – usually less than 1 percent of the population — to serve as administrators and tax collectors (known as Peasant Colonies). Britain followed the latter strategy in regards to India. The percentage of English people in India in 1913, for example, was only 0. 1 percent of the country’s population; by comparison, they accounted for over one-fifth (21. 4 percent) of the population in South Africa and Losetho during the same period. As previously mentioned, Britain exerted both direct and indirect control over the Indian subcontinent. Areas of indirect control are called â€Å"native states. These were controlled by Indian rulers who wielded considerable power over the internal administration of the land, while the British exercised complete control over the area’s defense and foreign policies. When looking at this two-pronged approach Britain took in establishing an Indian colony, the economist Lakshmi Iyer has argued that there is a differential long-term effect on areas the Empire controlled directly compared to areas in which it basically outsourced control. Rather than expropriating Indian land, which was negligible, the English taxed Indian land, producing considerable revenues and inducing the indigenous population to shift from traditional to commercial products (e. g. tea). Areas that were directly under British control today have significantly lower levels of public goods relative to areas that were not under direct colonial rule. In 1961, for example, districts (administrative divisions below state level) that had been under direct control of the British Empire had lower levels of primary and middle schools, as well as medical dispensaries. Present-day differences between directly and indirectly controlled areas, Iyer argues, are most likely the result of differences in internal administration during the colonial period because once the British left in 1947, all the native states were integrated into independent India and have since been subject to a uniform administrative, legal and political structure. The Company and the Crown By the middle of the 18th century, there were five major European colonial powers — the Dutch Republic, France, Great Britain, Portugal, and Spain. From about 1850 on, however, Britain’s overseas empire would be unrivaled; by 1901, the empire would encompass 11. 2 million square miles and rule about 400 million people. For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, India was Britain’s largest and economically most important colony, an â€Å"empire within an empire. † It should be noted that although this period coincided with the birth of the Industrial Revolution historians and economists have cast doubt on whether industrialization was the sine qua non for British imperialism. They have noted that England’s first major advance into the Indian subcontinent began in Bengal in the middle of the 18th century, long before large-scale mechanization turned Britain into the â€Å"workshop of the world. † Historian P. J. Marshall, in studying early British imperialism, has written: â€Å"As a blanket term the Industrial Revolution explains relatively little about British expansion in general at the end of the eighteenth century. † While Marshall and others may be correct in asserting the British would have pursued empire even without the Industrial Revolution, its advent impacted colonial policy in that it required expanded markets and a steady supply of raw materials to feed the country’s manufacturing industries. Cotton, for example, was one of the driving forces behind the evolution of Britain’s modern economy. British traders purchased raw cotton fibers from plantations, processed it into cotton cloth in Lancashire mills, and then exported them to the colonial markets including India. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, India had been the world’s main producer of cotton textiles, with a substantial export trade. By the early nineteenth century, however, Britain had taken over dominating the world market for cotton textiles based on technology that lowered production costs . â€Å"This dramatic change in international competitive advantage during the Industrial Revolution was surely one of the key episodes in the Great Divergence of living standards between Europe and Asia. † Britain’s 200-year run ruling India began in the mid-17th century when the British East India Company set up trading posts in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. In 1757, Robert Clive led Company-financed troops – led by British officers and staffed by native soldiers known as sepoys — in a victory over French-backed Indian forces. The victory at the Battle of Plassey made the East India Company the leading power in the country. It would dominate India for just over 100 years, the area it controlled growing over that time to encompass modern Bangladesh, a majority of southern India and most of the territory along the Ganges River in the north of the country. The East India Company’s control of Bengal alone yielded taxes of nearly  £3 million; by 1818, its territorial revenues in India stood at  £22 million, allowing it to finance one of the world’s largest standing armies. This established British rule well before the Industrial Revolution could have played any major role in Britain expanding its overseas empire, strengthening historians’ – Marshall, et al. – arguments regarding the significance, or lack thereof, of the role mechanization in England had in the country’s expansionist efforts. The fact remains, however, that Britain in the 19th century would become the world’s leading industrial power and India a major source of raw materials for its industry. What’s more, the subcontinent’s population of 300 million would constitute a huge source of revenue and a gigantic market for British-made goods. Although, the English expanded gradually in India during those first 100 years of colonization, once the British government gained control of the country’s administration following the Indian War of Independence in 1857, India was virtually incorporated into the British Empire and became its â€Å"crown jewel. † During the life of the Britain Empire, India was its most profitable colony. Examples of huge returns on British investments in India based on surviving business records are plentiful. To give two examples: Binny and Co. , which was founded in 1799 with 50,000 rupees in capital, returned profits of 140,000 rupees only 12 years later; and William Mackinnon’s Indian General Steam and Navigation Co. , which began trading in 1847 and whose assets five years later were valued at more than nine times the original capital of 72,000 rupees. The 1852 prospectus of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China stated that â€Å"bearing in mind the very high rate of interest which prevails in the East and the very lucrative nature of the Exchange Business †¦ a very large Annual Dividend may be looked for with certainty. British investment in India increased enormously over the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. According to economist James Foreman-Peck, by the end of 1911, 373 stock companies were estimated to be carrying on business exclusively or almost exclusively in India, yet were registered elsewhere, with the average size of those companies (railways accounted for nearly half of the capital, and tea plantations about one-fifth) dwarfing the far more numerous – 2,463 — Indian-registered companies. The discrepancies between the two are stark. The companies registered outside India had paid-up capital of â‚ ¤77.979 million and debentures of â‚ ¤45.353 million compared to â‚ ¤46.251 million and â‚ ¤6 million, respectively, for Indian-registered companies. According to Foreman-Peck, â€Å"The magnitude of foreign investment and the rate of return on it, broadly defined, have been seen as a means by which empire imposed burdens on colonies and boosted the imperial nation’s economy. † This was not an idea that could only be gleaned in hindsight. Writing at the end of the 19th century, historian Brooks Adams wrote the following: â€Å"Probably since the world began no investment has yielded the profit reaped from the Indian plunder. The amount of treasure wrung from the conquered people and transferred from India to English banks between Plassey and Waterloo (fifty-seven years) has been variously estimated at from $2,500,000,000 to $5,000,000,000. The methods of plunder and embezzlement by which every Briton in India enriched himself during the earlier history of the East India Company gradually passed away, but the drain did not pass away. The difference between the earlier day and the present is that India’s tribute to England is obtained by ‘indirect methods’ under forms of law. It was estimated by Mr.  Hyndman some years ago that at least $175,000,000 is drained away every year from India without a cent’s return. † Plunder and Famine At the time Britain established its colony on the subcontinent, the Indian economy was based predominantly on agriculture. Iyer has shown that since the Indian economy was so dependent on farming, British annexation policy focused on acquiring land with the most agricultural potential, guaranteeing that land taxation would be the East India Company’s/British government’s biggest source of income throughout the colonial period. In 1765-66, the East India Company had collected â€Å"the equivalent of  £1,470,000; and by 1790-1791, this figure had risen to  £2,680,000. † To ensure the land-revenue system, known as â€Å"tax farming,† would continue to supply money to the East India Company’s treasury, the Company introduced the Permanent Settlement of Bengal in 1793, an agreement between it and absentee landlords, known as zaminders. Through this policy, peasants who worked the land became the tenants of the zaminders, who, for themselves and the tax collectors, extracted as much as possible from those who cultivated the land. This settlement created a class of Indian landowners loyal to the English and a division in the rural society between the tenants and landlords, which last well into the 20th century. Indian climate is characterized by the monsoon, which generally includes nine months of dry weather followed by three months of rains known as the monsoon. At least once in a decade, the monsoon fails to arrive and a drought occurs. Indians for centuries had set aside a portion of crops to ensure there would be adequate food in times of drought. This practice was so successful that between the 11th and 18th centuries, India experienced only 14 major famines; yet, from 1765-1858, when it was under East India Company control, India suffered through 16 major famines, followed by an average of one famine every two years under British Colonial Office rule from 1859-1914. Under British rule during the 18th century, over 25 million Indians died of famine between: 1 million between 1800 and 1825, 4 million between 1825 and 1850, 5 million between 1850 and 1875, and 15 million between 1875 and 1900 ; more than 30 million deaths occurred from famine between 1870 and1910. Why did tens of millions die from starvation under the East India Company and the British Raj? Why, comparatively speaking, did so many famines occur under Britain’s watch? Historian Laxman D. Satya argues the famines were price-induced and that timely government intervention could have prevented millions of deaths from starvation. State intervention was minimal, however; Lord Curzon acknowledged once that a famine in Indian excited no more attention in Britain than a squall on the Serpentine. Like other European imperialists in the late 18th century, Britain – first through the East India Company – followed a laissez-faire doctrine whereby government interference in the economy was anathema; in addition, famine later was seen as a natural way to control overpopulation. According to Satya, â€Å"†¦ any act that would influence the prices of grains such as charity was to be either strictly monitored or discouraged. Even in the face of acute distress, relief had to be punitive and conditional. † The powers that be also began using famine labor to build an infrastructure – railways, roads – ensuring that revenues would continue to increase, expenditures would be kept low; worst of all, the new infrastructure allowed for the exportation of grain that could have fed the starving. Studies have shown that even in years of official famine – Britain only recognized three periods of famine — there was never a shortage of food grains. The problem was that with prices for grains so high and wages stagnant, most people could not afford to buy them. As an example, during the Indian Famine of 1887-88, nearly 44 percent of total exports from Berar, one of the hardest hit provinces, were food grains. Between 1874 and 1903 the province exported an average over 40 tons of grain, and Satya has shown that this could have amounted for nearly 30. pounds of food per person. Historian and social commentator Mike Davis has cited even evidence that grains were exported to Europe for speculative trading while millions were dying of starvation. Since the primary concern for the government was maximizing returns on investments, it didn’t prioritize famine relief, considering those expenditures wasteful; therefore, relief camps were â€Å"deliberately kept in remote locations and beyond the reach of the physically weakened population. What’s more, people seeking relief were required to work on colonial projects as a condition for receiving food – as little as 16-22 ounces of food for a minimum of nine-10 hours of often grueling labor Fearing that Indian nationalists would take to the newspapers – in general, the government had a comparatively lax policy toward the press — the Raj implemented tight press control through various laws including the Newspaper Act of 1908 and the Indian Press Act of 1910. It’s important to note that despite these and other attempts at press censorship, a large number of vernacular newspapers were published throughout the country and played an integral role in creating a nationalist/political consciousness in India.