Colonial pattern of trade
Topic: International Trade: Patterns, Ports and the WTO · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 8 "International Trade"
Meaning
The colonial pattern of trade grew after the Industrial Revolution. Industrial nations imported primary goods such as grain, meat and wool from colonies and other non-industrial lands. They sold back value-added manufactures, which are goods made more valuable by processing. Over time, primary goods lost value compared with manufactures. This idea is called the Prebisch-Singer thesis (1950). By the late 19th century, the industrial nations had also become each other's main customers.
Example
Under British rule, India sent raw cotton to Britain. Mills in Manchester turned it into cloth, and that cloth was sold back in Indian markets. The profit from processing stayed in Britain.
Don't confuse with
- Triangular trade: this was the earlier slave-trade circuit. European manufactures went to Africa, enslaved Africans to the Americas, and sugar, cotton and tobacco to Europe. The colonial pattern is a two-way swap of raw materials for manufactures.