The Tentacles of Progress

This study analyzes why a massive transfer of Western technology to European colonies between 1850 and 1940 did not create an industrial revolution in those countries. It argues that the transfer of technology caused some colonial regions to become locked in a state of underdevelopment.

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Daniel Headrick examines why the massive transfer of Western technology to European colonies did not spark an industrial revolution in those countries. Rather than spurring economic progress, he argues, the transfer of stock technology between 1850 and 1940 caused the traditional self-sufficient economies of the colonial regions to be stuck in a state of underdevelopment, a legacy which burdens these countries to this day.