Wealth in Asia (Richesse en Asie)
Mesopotamia was once very rich; India was once very rich, and China was once very rich.
But, Europe was comparatively poor, though in the Greek and Roman times some Mediterranean Europeans enjoyed some riches.
However, in a wider scope, wealth was taken and brought into Europe from Asia by modern force or by power of modern civilization.
SECTION I: Global GDP by Region
In 1885, Europe (except Russia but including Turkey and Palestine) caught up with Asia (including Saudi Arabia to Japan) in terms of total GDP of the region.
It was also in 1929 that Western Offshore (including North America and Australia/New Zealand) caught up with Asia in terms of GDP.
But, the historical trend was finally fixed with Japan's success in launching and consolidating its economy in the global No.2 position next to the U.S. in early 1970's.
Ratio of GDP of Region in the WorldTill 1885, wealth in the world had been truly in Asia but not in Europe or North America. Accordingly, Western powers came to Asia, colonizing the region and raking local wealth.
Year...Europe (%)...Asia (%)...Western Offshore (%)
AD 1:...13...74...0
...
AD 100:...13...73...0
...
500:...11...73...0
...
1000:...9...72...0
...
1492:...18...66...0
...
1700:...22...63...0
...
1800:...23...61...1
...
1861...33...43...8
...
1885:...34...34...14
...
1914:...34...26...22
...
1929:...31...26...26
...
1941:...30...24...27
...
1961:...28...20...28
...
1971:...26...24...26
...
1975...25...25...25
...
1981:...24...27...25
...
1991:...22...33...24
...
2001:...20...38...25
...
2006:...18...43...22
http://norenbrog.seesaa.net/article/142821849.html
But, the industrial revolution eventually allowed European nations to produce and accumulate modern wealth to the extent that surpassed mostly traditional wealth of Asia. Indeed, from 1885 to 1975, Europe and the Western Offshore region had enjoyed a leading position in producing wealth from factories and plants in the world. It was however changed forever with the rise of Japan as a member of Asia in early 1970's. The success of China in industrialization in 2000's is just an extention of this trend.
SECTION II: 1880's
The decade of 1880's seems to have some clues in analyzing the historical state of global wealth.
The 1880s was the decade that spanned from January 1, 1880 to December 31, 1889. They occurred at the core period of the Second Industrial Revolution. Most Western countries experienced a large economic boom, due to the mass production of railroads and other more convenient methods of travel. The modern city as well as the sky-scraper rose to prominence in this decade as well, contributing to the economic prosperity of the time. The Eighties were also part of the Gilded Age, which lasted from 1874 to 1907.The industrial power Europe obtained in this period finally produced artificial wealth the amount of which surpassed traditional and natural resources Asia had. However, it did not mean colonization and exploitation of Asia by European powers came to end. Rather, they found great market and a resource-supplying potential in Asia for their industrial products.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1880s
The British RajThe rupee India earned through trade with the U.K. was invested and operated mostly in London. Monetary wealth of India was taken to London to enrich the English and further Europeans under the regime of colonization by the British Empire. To put an end to this regime, WWII must have been fought, though mostly outside India.
...
In the second half of the 19th century, both the direct administration of India by the British crown and the technological change ushered in by the industrial revolution had the effect of closely intertwining the economies of India and Great Britain.[28] In fact many of the major changes in transport and communications (that are typically associated with Crown Rule of India) had already begun before the Mutiny. Since Dalhousie had embraced the technological change then rampant in Great Britain, India too saw rapid development of all those technologies. Railways, roads, canals, and bridges were rapidly built in India and telegraph links equally rapidly established in order that raw materials, such as cotton, from India's hinterland could be transported more efficiently to ports, such as Bombay, for subsequent export to England.[29] Likewise, finished goods from England, were transported back, just as efficiently, for sale in the burgeoning Indian markets.[30] However, unlike Britain itself, where the market risks for the infrastructure development were borne by private investors, in India, it was the taxpayers—primarily farmers and farm-labourers—who endured the risks, which, in the end, amounted to £50 million.[31] In spite of these costs, very little skilled employment was created for Indians. By 1920, with the fourth largest railway network in the world and a history of 60 years of its construction, only ten per cent of the "superior posts" in the Indian Railways were held by Indians.[32]
The rush of technology was also changing the agricultural economy in India: by the last decade of the 19th century, a large fraction of some raw materials—not only cotton, but also some food-grains—were being exported to faraway markets.[33] Consequently, many small farmers, dependent on the whims of those markets, lost land, animals, and equipment to money-lenders.[33] More tellingly, the latter half of the 19th century also saw an increase in the number of large-scale famines in India. Although famines were not new to the subcontinent, these were particularly severe, with tens of millions dying,[34] and with many critics, both British and Indian, laying the blame at the doorsteps of the lumbering colonial administrations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Raj#Technological_and_economic_changes:_1858-1905
SECTION III: 1890's
Japan put an end to the rule by the sword of samurai in 1868.
Since then, the new imperial government of Japan, actually run by modernized and Westernized samurai, made full efforts to introduce modern science, technology, and systems from Western Europe and North America. Japan had enough gold, silver, and other financial resources to purchase those cultural products from Western powers at the time. China had also enough financial resources, but failed in modernization. The Qing Dynasty failed even in defending itself from invasion by Western powers.
1890 - The first assembly was convened in the Imperial Parliament of Japan
1894 - 1895 The first Sino-Japanese War was fought by the Empire of Japan and the Qing Dynasty of China over suzerainty in Korea, resulting in victory of the Japanese Empire who obtained Taiwan as reparations.
1898 - The corpus of civil law was introduced into the Empire of Japan, setting modern legal framework for civilian life in the Empire.
1898 - In the Qing Dynasty or China, Empress Dowager Cixi took power after the Guangxu Emperor's failure in the modernization efforts. China failed in introducing modern political/social systems. Great confusion of society continued till 1912, when the Qing Dynasty fell, and beyond 1912.
*** *** *** ***
APPENDIX.
FIFA Soccer Ranking in Asia as of April 2011
1...JAPAN
2...Australia
3...South Korea
4...Iran
5...China
6...Uzbekistan
7...Saudi Arabia
8...Iraq
9...Qatar
10...Jordan
Female Soccer Ranking in Asia as of March 2011
1...JAPAN
2...North Korea
3...Australia
4...China
5...South Korea
6...Vietnam
7...Thailand
8...Taiwan
9...Myanmar
Rev 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
Rev 7:16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.