Development history of Australian capitalism

190 1 year, the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia marked the formation of the Australian nation-state. This is the inevitable result of Australia's long-term economic, political and cultural development, especially since the "gold rush" in 185 1 year. The formation of Australian nation-state is an important event in Australian history and occupies an important position in world history. It shows that the capitalist system, as an advanced social system at that time, extended from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere.

The formation of the Australian nation began with the "gold rush" that shocked the world in 185 1. The appearance of the "gold rush" accelerated the all-round development of Australian society since 1930s, and set off the second economic take-off in Australian history, creating all necessary preconditions for the formation of a nation and a country. In short, the "gold rush" brought Australia into a brand-new historical period-the period of national formation.

After entering 19 in the 1950s, Australia has completely changed from a fugitive colony to a citizen colony, and Britain has basically stopped banishing prisoners here, and free immigrants have surpassed all kinds of prisoners. 185 1 May to1June 852, extremely rich gold deposits were discovered in bathurst, New South Wales, Alexandria and Pontigo, Victoria. These changes from 19 became an important factor in the "gold rush" in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s.

1848, a gold mine was discovered in California, USA, which caused a sensation in the world and triggered the first "gold rush" in the world, and was called "San Francisco" by Chinese people. 185 1 year, Hargreaves discovered a gold mine in New South Wales, Australia, which caused a sensation all over the world again. As a result, there was another worldwide "gold rush", which China called "the new golden mountain". Both "San Francisco" and "New Golden Mountain" invested tens of thousands of ounces of gold in the capitalist world, which greatly promoted the economic, political and cultural development of the capitalist world in the 1950s and 1960s.

In the mine, there is news that gold nuggets are dug up every day. Oral propaganda, newspaper propaganda and telegrams spread the exaggerated news to other colonies and other countries. In this way, a large number of people flocked from all over the world, especially after Hiscock discovered the mythical gold mine in Balarat, Victoria in August, 185 1, and there were more foreign gold prospectors, and the "gold rush" was pushed to a new frenzy. Newspapers in various languages naturally and quickly spread all over the world, thinking that Australia is full of endless gold. This myth is spreading from Norway to China and from America to Europe and Asia, so immigrants of all colors and languages flock to Australia from all over the world. At that time, the gold mines in bathurst, Balarat and Bendigo were the places with the largest number of mixed-race children in the world, with only 40,000 people in China (1.857). The second world gold rush reached its climax.

New development of agriculture and animal husbandry economy

/kloc-The "gold rush" that began in the 1950s in 0/9 enabled Australia's national capitalist economy to take off for the second time, and through this economic take-off, it fundamentally changed the face of the colony and further moved towards independence. It attracts a large number of immigrants, many of whom are entrepreneurs, bankers, engineers, skilled workers, farmers, herders, educators and various intellectuals and professionals. In this way, Britain's advanced production technology and advanced management experience have been brought to Australia, but also brought huge capital.

From 1. to1in the second half of the 9th century, animal husbandry has developed into one of Australia's economic pillars. Therefore, its development is of great significance to the future development of Australia, especially to the development of other economic fields. In this historical period, the number of sheep increased rapidly, for example, 186 1 year reached more than 20.98 million; 188 1 year rose to 65.09 million, more than twice that of 186 1 year; 189 1 year breakthrough 1 billion mark (real number is 10642 1068). The output of wool also increased gradually, with the output of 186 1 being 67.004 million pounds, rising to 208.225 million pounds of 187 1 and 3 1 96.49 million pounds and1. The wool output of 189 1 year is more than 8 times higher than that of 186 1 year. During this period, the cattle industry also developed greatly and became an important part of animal husbandry. For example, the number of head stocks in 1884 reached 7.569 million, which was at116.77 million. The output value of livestock products (including dairy products) 188 1 reached 29.538 million Jin, and 189 1 reached 39.256 million Jin. The important position of animal husbandry in the national economy is also reflected in the share of foreign trade. Please refer to the following table:

The development of animal husbandry is also manifested in the slaughter industry in Australia. 186 1 annual output value of slaughter industry was 2.7 million Jin, increased to 3.4 million Jin in 1870, increased to 5.2 million Jin in 1880, and increased to 6 million Jin in 1890. In this way, Australia's animal husbandry has two major incomes, wool and meat products. These two incomes increased from ￡ 6.4 million in 186 1 to ￡ 32 1 10,000 in 1890, a fourfold increase.

The management level of pasture has also been greatly improved. Ranchers generally use barbed wire as fences in sheep farms to establish a regular shearing system and a shearing contract system. The great development of animal husbandry still maintains its leading position in the national economy, and Australia is still called "the country riding on the back of sheep".

2. Agriculture 1860- 186 1 year, Australia has 1 173628 mu of cultivated land, 1900- 1 year, reaching 8865433. See the following table for details of the expansion of cultivated land area over the years:

The growth of planting area is also reflected in the growth of agricultural output value. In 186 1, the agricultural output value was 665438+ million pounds, in 187 1, it was 6.4 million pounds, and in 188 1, it also exceeded1. By the 1970s and 1980s of 19, Australia had formed two major grain production bases, South Australia and Victoria, and also formed a sugarcane production base-Queensland. By the 1990s, food was not only self-sufficient, but also exported to a certain extent. For example, at 189 1, nearly 4 10000 quarts of wheat were exported, and at 1900, more than 680000 quarts were exported.

The main factors promoting the economic development of agriculture and animal husbandry are as follows:

First of all, the population is growing rapidly. The population of Australia has soared from over 400,000 in 1850 to 3.765 million in 1900, especially in urban areas. For example, 189 1, the population of big cities has reached more than 1 1400, accounting for 35.27% of the total population in China. To solve the problem of feeding 3.765 million people, it is necessary to develop agriculture and animal husbandry. Because Australia is surrounded by the vast sea and far away in the southern hemisphere, there is no food to eat without vigorously developing agriculture, and it is impossible to return the necessities of life without vigorously developing animal husbandry, which makes Australian society collapse frequently.

Secondly, Australian wool has been improved many times to become high-quality wool, which is very competitive in the international market. As early as 1850, Australian wool has overwhelmed Spanish and German wool in the British market. Australian wool is almost exclusively underwritten by Britain, and the broad market is an important reason for its rapid development. Agriculture also has such problems. Australia's grain sales market is getting wider and wider. The successful introduction of refrigeration equipment in the 1980s from 65438 to 2009 had a great technical impact on the development of animal husbandry. Refrigeration equipment is an important reason for the rapid development of meat and cheese export industry. 1880, Australia successfully transported frozen meat to Britain on board the ship Strasbourg Levin for the first time with refrigeration equipment. This caused a great sensation in Britain and has since become an important market for frozen beef and mutton in Australia. This will in turn stimulate the great development of animal husbandry in Australia.

Third, the technical level of agricultural production has improved. With the growth of agricultural production, its production technology has also developed. From 65438 to 1970s, MacKay invented the threshing harvester, Smith invented the disc plow for reclamation, William Farrell cultivated rust-resistant wheat varieties adapted to the Australian environment, and established an agricultural college to train agricultural technical experts. They have made great contributions to soil, wheat varieties, agricultural machinery, irrigation and water conservancy, and greatly promoted the development of agriculture. In a word, Australia started the Green Revolution.

Fourth, the establishment of the transportation system reasonably solved the contradiction between agriculture and animal husbandry, the establishment of new colonies, and so on.

Development of industry, mining and transportation

Australia's agriculture and animal husbandry economy is the foundation of its national economy, so with the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, Australia's basic industries have also developed. From the second half of the19th century, Australia, like many countries in Europe and North America, experienced the industrial revolution, that is, the process of steaming and mechanization began. By the end of 19, Australia had initially established a modern basic industry. But until the 1920s and 1930s, industry was still the weak link in Australia's national economy.

1. In order to cultivate mining talents, the mining industry established the first higher mining school-Mining Engineering College on 1893. The earliest mining was coal mine. In 1940s, prisoners were used to dig coal in Newcastle. After 1950s, the total output of coal increased exponentially, reaching 2.88 million tons in 1884, 4.0 million tons in 1894 and 6.385 million tons in 1900. The focus of this period was on mining gold and iron ore. Due to large-scale mining, the mining output value has increased rapidly, such as 186 10 1 065438+million Jin per year, rising to 1 1.3 million Jin and1.

2. Metallurgical Industry According to historical records, Australia's metallurgical industry began in 1833. 1833 The steel foundry established in Sydney is one of the earliest factories in Australia and the earliest smelting foundry. Like the mining industry, the metallurgical industry developed on a large scale in the 1970s and 1980s. In this historical period, the main body of Australian metallurgical industry is iron smelting industry. According to statistics, from 1850 to 1884, a total of 24,543 tons of iron was produced. In addition, there are a series of products made of domestic iron, such as 4820 tons of rails and bars in 1876, 1000 tons in 1879 and 335 1 ton in188. At 188 1, 220 tons of various castings were processed with domestic iron, and at 1882, the product was processed at 2 139 tons. 188 1 year processes more than 50 tons of nuts and bolts. In short, Australia already has its own steel industry at this time.

Other industrial sectors are also developing rapidly under the impetus of mining and metallurgy. By the 1990s, the national industrial system had begun to take shape. However, from the perspective of the whole Australian economic structure, animal husbandry and mining (mainly gold mining) are the two pillars on which Australia's national economy depends for survival and development, and also the two pillars of export trade. This situation lasted until the first half of the 20th century.

3. Traffic The traffic in Australia has been terrible. At first, the colonial authorities used prisoners to build some roads, but they were all dirt roads. Inland river transportation capacity is also very poor, and ocean transportation depends entirely on Britain. Since 1850, great changes have taken place in this field, which is characterized by the beginning of the modernization process of transportation. This is mainly manifested in the establishment of the railway network.

Australia started to build railways from 1850. The first railway under construction is the Sydney-Ballarat railway line, with a total length of only 14 miles. 1853, the railway from Newcastle to Maitland was built, with a total length of 20 miles. Then the Melbourne-Keelung Railway was built, with a total length of 50 miles. 1The 1970s and 1990s were the period of large-scale railway construction in Australia, which was in line with the great social and economic development in Australia at that time. 186 1 year railway 243 Li, 1870 soared to 950 Li, 188 1 year reached 2800 Li. To 189 1, Australia has a railway of 10024 miles. The railway length of 189 1 year is more than 39 times that of 186 1 year! By 190 1, the entire Australian railway network has been basically completed. However, it is very backward in marine transportation and still depends on Britain.

Australia's railway network has many shortcomings, some of which are serious. First of all, the railway gauge in different colonial areas, especially Victoria and New South Wales, greatly reduced the transportation capacity of the railway network. Secondly, the railway network is mainly concentrated in the eastern and southern coastal areas, and there are almost no railways in the inland, western and northern coastal areas. The biggest advantage of Australia's railway network is that economically developed areas and important cities are connected by railways.

4. In order to meet the needs of economic, political and military development, Australia also vigorously developed the communication industry in the second half of the19th century. By the end of 1970s, telegrams had been exchanged between major cities: between Melbourne and Adelaide in July1858; June 5438+same year 10 between Sydney and Melbourne; Between Sydney and Brisbane 186 1 year; 1867 between Sydney and Adelaide. The temporary telegraph exchange between London and Melbourne is 1859, and the permanent telegraph exchange is 1869. The telegram between Augusta and Darwin Harbour is 1872, and the telegram between Adelaide and Perth is 1877. Telegraph offices have been set up in the capitals of colonial areas: Melbourne 1878, Brisbane 1880, Sydney 188 1, Adelaide and Herbart 1883, Perth 1887. From 65438 to 2009 in the 1990s, an all-Australian telecommunications network centered on Sydney and Melbourne was formed, which unified the management of post and telecommunications services in various colonial areas.

Characteristics of Australian economy in this period

First, the Australian economy has no primitive accumulation stage of capital, let alone a simple cooperation stage, but transplanted the capitalist system from Britain through free immigration and capital inflow. During the period of 1830- 1850, it mainly introduced the capitalist economic system of agriculture and animal husbandry, and in the second half of the 9th century,/kloc-0 mainly introduced the capitalist industrial and commercial economic system. Of course, this transplant is not a mechanical copy, but a combination of the general principles of capitalism and Australia's specific conditions. In other words, it is to Australize the capitalist economic system or capitalize the Australian economic system, thus forming a capitalist economic system with Australian characteristics.

Second, the establishment of the Australian capitalist system was accomplished by forcing the British government to change its colonial policy towards Australia through legal struggle. This struggle is a struggle for reform, not a violent revolution. In other words, the formation of Australia's capitalist economic system is gradual, unlike Western Europe's sudden, so there has been no major social unrest and social productivity has not been greatly damaged.

Third, Australia's economic system retains a strong colonial heritage, which is reflected in both economy and politics. Economically speaking, Australia's capitalist economic structure in the19th century was not dominated by industry, but by agriculture, animal husbandry and mining. Export trade is not mainly industrial products, but mainly livestock products (mainly wool) and mineral products (mainly gold); But the import trade is mainly industrial products. Typical capitalist countries in Western Europe and North America are just the opposite. Politically speaking, because the Australian population is mainly British immigrants and their descendants, it has been transplanted not only into the population and economic relations, but also into various social relations in Britain, including politics, culture and even morality, ethics, religion and so on. In this sense, Australian society is essentially an expansion of British society. In the process of the formation of Australia's national capitalist economy, a large part of the capital was imported from Britain. At the same time, it also introduced advanced technology, equipment and advanced talents, such as introducing funds from Britain through various channels in 200018610.4 million pounds. Later, with the development of economy, especially the expansion of industrial and railway construction scale, more and more money was introduced, such as 2.4 million pounds of 1862, 4.8 million pounds of 1870 and 20.4 million pounds of 1885. From 186 1 to 1900, Britain has invested nearly 300 million pounds (299.7 million pounds) in Australia. Judging from the economic history of Australia, the scale and speed of its economic construction are directly proportional to the amount of foreign capital introduced. For example, 1882- 189 1 In the past ten years, Britain has invested 18 1.9 million pounds, accounting for 40 years (1861- It can be asserted that Australia is a country that has made rapid economic development by introducing a large number of British funds.

Fourth, in the whole process of developing the national economy, Australia has always brought its own economy into the world market and into the world economic cycle. In this sense, its economy is a typical open (export-oriented) economy, which is the fundamental reason for its rapid development, so that its domestic economic development can be coordinated with the world economic development in time, at least not lagging behind the world economic development momentum. For example, in 188 1- 1890, the average annual total import and export trade during this period was 58.94 million pounds, while the average annual national income of 1886- 1890 was 5 1 10,000 pounds and 0,000 pounds respectively.

Fifth, Australia's national capitalist economy was mainly formed through two economic take-offs. One is the economic take-off caused by 183 1 year land reform; The second time was the economic take-off caused by the 185 1 year gold rush. Australians seize the opportunity provided by history in time and develop their economy in an all-round way without hesitation, thus getting rid of backwardness and entering the advanced ranks of the world.