Without colonialism, how would European countries be today?

[Black Panther]

Britain's Industrial Revolution came before its takeover of most of its would-be colonies in Africa and Asia, though admittedly they had colonised the Americas and to an extent Oceania by then.

And that boosted their national budget which allowed them to invest on higher education which in turn fueled the IR to a large extent. There is individual merit to the British who started the revolution, but ignoring that they were largely able to expand the number of people in the elite through material and labor resource takings from their colonies is disingenuous.

[Tooting Carmen]

And that boosted their national budget which allowed them to invest on higher education which in turn fueled the IR to a large extent. There is individual merit to the British who started the revolution, but ignoring that they were largely able to expand the number of people in the elite through material and labor resource takings from their colonies is disingenuous.

Yes, the forced deindustrialisation of Kolkata in particular was a disgrace - when the British first arrived there, it was as developed as many British cities at the time.

[Black Panther]

Anything relevant to add, you leftist mutt?

How can someone be so pathetic and self-hating as to describe themselves as someone "not of X descent"?

[Anthony PV]

Still pretty advanced. However what especially boosted the West is the successful colonisation of the Americas. Nowadays the USA are the most innovative and they are probably staying it for a long time to come.

Hmm... Americas gave euros living space to export their population but geopolitically speaking, the US was pretty irrelevant until both World Wars...

A disloyal Tibet it has to keep under its sway, to prevent a pro-Indian Tibet at its doorsteps. Failure to ascertain true dominance at the South China sea. But I am no expert. However the 'China will become dominant believers' are blind guessers themselves.

Shhh... You're gonna make Taiji cry...

How can someone be so pathetic and self-hating as to describe themselves as someone "not of X descent"?

The pathetic one is you. You're the one spouting leftist idiocies here, you hypocritical mutt. Not me.

[Tooting Carmen]

A disloyal Tibet it has to keep under its sway, to prevent a pro-Indian Tibet at its doorsteps. Failure to ascertain true dominance at the South China sea. But I am no expert. However the 'China will become dominant believers' are blind guessers themselves.

On that argument, the US is far more ethnically heterogeneous than China is - there are already probably fewer fluent English-speakers in California and South Florida than in the Netherlands and Sweden, and Spanish is rapidly taking over as the second language in many parts of the country.

[Tietar]

They would be poorer and conquered by ottomon empire. 300-400 years set back in technology.

Even without colonies Spain would have kicked all the Moors


On April 28, 1503, the armies of Spain and France fought in Southern Italy at a place called Cerignola (near Bari), a battle decided by the small arms fire of muskets and arquebuses, one of the first European battles where small arms fire from firearms decided the battle. Although hand held firearms using black powder had been around for nearly 200 years, such weapons had usually not been decisive in battles fought mainly with edged weapons and later with a combination of edged weapons and cannons.

At Cerignola the Spanish forces numbered only about 6300 men and 20 cannons, but among them were 1000 arquebusiers (soldiers equipped with an arquebus). The Spanish faced the much larger French force of 9000 men and 40 cannons but were able to repel French attacks with massed arquebus fire, cutting down the attacking French. The Spanish gained a huge victory, killing about 2000 of the French to a loss of 500 Spaniards. The arquebus had proven pivotal in the Spanish victory, the first time small arms were known to have proven decisive in a battle of European armies.

https://www.historyandheadlines.com/...all-arms-fire/

[Dandelion]

On that argument, the US is far more ethnically heterogeneous than China is - there are already probably fewer fluent English-speakers in California and South Florida than in the Netherlands and Sweden, and Spanish is rapidly taking over as the second language in many parts of the country.

That's the thing with the future, it's often difficult to predict. Many pundits on YT can give far more convincing arguments contra 'Chinese future dominance' scenarios than I could, but even they don't know in the end.

[Teutone]

Switzerland and Austria are rich and developed without any colonial backround

Germany only had a few colonies for a few years which were no profit whatsoever and still rich

same would be with UK, France and Belgium

[Thanas Django]

Without the discovery of the Americas the entire western Europe would have to unite and carve out a way to the silk road through the Ottomans by the sword.

[KMack]

Not much of a difference. If European countries companies needed some resources they would have paid for it as opposed to colonization.
The Americas, which culturally is has Euro roots, allowed Europeans another continent to have fun with. 1 Billion people in the Americas, about 742 Million in Europe. Cultures do need to be maintained.