Economic History

Haiti

Haiti before gaining it’s independence after the Haitian Revolution in 1804 was formerly known as Saint-Domigue, a French colony in the Caribbean. Under the French regime Saint Domingue was not only the most lucrative colony in the French empire but in the world. At it’s heights it was producing 40% of all sugar and 60% of all coffee consumed in Europe – the Western world was dependent on it’s natural produce. The economy was mainly based on the production of plantation crops for exports; they were leaders in the produce of sugar, cotton, coffee, cacao and indigo. The reason for the colony’s successful economic performance was due to the quality of the land, the climate, government support from the French empire and most importantly the large number of enslaved Africans driving the economy with their labour . There was approximately 8,000 plantations on the island of Saint Domingue alone, this led to high levels of output. Saint Domingue’s economy was so successful that one eighth of the people in France’s living came from it’s large trade.

However, after gaining it’s independence in 1804 Haiti’s economy plummeted. Haiti struggled to maintain or recover the wealth that Saint-Domingue once had, as a result more than half of its citizens live below the poverty line today.

Listed below are the factors that led to Haiti’s economic downturn after the Haitian Revolution:

The Damaging effects of warfare on infrastructure and the capital
Lack of trade relations with other countries
Lack of both domestic and foreign investment
Reparation Payments to France
Movement from Plantation Agriculture to Subsistence Farming

By Brianna Nakayiza Kasule

Qatar

Qatar was once a poor British protectorate and one of the poorest economies before the 1970’s. It survived on pearling, fishing and small trade. When the pearl trade collapsed, Qatar became plagued with poverty, malnutrition and disease. It began searching for natural oil and gas reserves in the 1930’s and it struck oil in 1939.

The discovery of oil boosted their economy significantly. However, it wasn’t until the 1970’s that it truly began to emerge from being economically poor. During this time, Qatar gained independence from Britain, found natural gas reserves and the production of oil increased, surging the country’s revenue.

Today, Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world based on GDP per capita. It has the 3^rd largest natural proven gas reserve and it’s the 2^nd largest exporter of natural gas due to having the world’s most sophisticated Liquefied Natural Gas infrastructures. Though the country is heavily reliant on it’s oil and natural gas, in recent year it has sought to expand it’s sources of revenue. Qatar has capitalised on its Tourism Industry; is expanding its manufacturing, construction and financial industries, as well as diversifying its international acquisitions.

By Brianna Nakayiza Kasule

Japan

Japan’s post WW2 economy recorded a long period of growth, this period took place from 1945-92 and is referred to as the economic miracle. This growth was partly due to the policies implemented by the government and the financial aid from the US. The motives for the US economic aid were due to ensuring Japan was able to recover in order to use it as a way of keeping communism at bay especially in South-East Asia where there was Soviet influence in places like North Korea and Vietnam.

There were four key phases of The Economic Miracle: the recovery phase, high increase, steady increase, and the low increase phase.

The recovery phase:

From 1946 - ‘54
Industries were weak due to the war and there was a significant drop in industrial output.
This phase focused on rebuilding the industries especially the cotton, steel, and coal industries.

High increase phase:

From 1954 – ‘72
Japan’s economy experienced the most significant growth recorded in this period.
The Japanese education system role in this period was vital as they produced highly skilled and disciplined workers.

Steady increase phase:

From 1973 – ‘92
The Arab oil crises of 1973 and ’79 saw a significant increase in oil prices due to the sanctions placed because of the Arab-Israeli War.
Though sanctions shocked the economies of countries, Japan’s economy continued to grow.

Low increase phase:

Starting around 1992 when the economic bubble faded leading to a recession.
The over lending of Japanese banks to industries led to the inflation of the Tokyo stock market.
This was followed be a deflationary period which negatively affected the economy.

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (formed in 1949) played a significant role in the economic recovery of the country. The cooperation between the private sector and the government to improve the productivity of industries thus leading to economic gains. The ministry was granted control over technological imports and later all Japans imports.

17/01/21

By Jeicy Cabulo

Vietnam

Prior to the Vietnam war when South Vietnam and North Vietnam were separated the South had a more prosperous economy than the Stalinist economic structure which suppressed the North. Once the North won the war the Stalinist economy adopted by the North had stagnated the economy and by the mid-1980s the Vietnamese economy was devastated. During and even after the war there was a detrimental loss in human capital as many died because of the war and many fled the country. The decade after the war in 1976 the economy deteriorated. The agrarian based economy of Vietnam was not growing enough rice under-collectivised (state owned) agriculture to feed its population. And after a period of famine the Vietnamese Communist party announced that they will abandon the structure of economy that they were using as it had not worked and adopt a program of market socialism called 'Doi Moi', a restructuring of the economic system. After 10 year of moving away from Stalinist economic system Vietnam had become the worlds third largest exporter of rice and in 1995 reported a growth rate of 9.5%.

The change in the economic system was the transition from the centrally planned Stalinist command economy to a “market economy” with socialist direction or referred to as market socialism. However, there were still ongoing economic problems in Vietnam in the 1990s such as the shortage of foreign investment due to the political structure.

03/02/21

By Jeicy Cabulo

The Early Mali Empire - West Africa

Now one of the 10^th poorest countries in the world, relying on foreign aid, Mali was once one of the wealthiest empires in West Africa, home to the richest man to have ever lived – Mansa Musa. The Mali Empire was at its peak during the 13^th Century, it was a focus for trade and scholarship. The main source of its wealth was derived from the Bure goldfields and its control over the salt trade. Mali’s gold was used to make coins in the Muslim world, which due trade meant that a lot of the world’s currency was dependent on the Mali Empire. It’s gold dust, salt and cotton cloth were even used as a form of currency at times. The rest of its wealth can be attributed to the empire’s abundance of crops, as a result of its rich and fertile soil, which by 1270 was producing a surplus of produce for trade. With an economy based on trade, Mali capitalised on this and heavily taxed goods passing in, out and through the empire which grew their wealth, allowed it to expand its boundaries and thus take control of trade. It was this control that diversified it’s trade routes, exponentially heightened it’s riches and made the Mali Empire economically prosperous.

By Brianna Nakayiza Kasule