4.2.3

Historic Factors Affecting Development

Test yourself

Which Historical Factors Cause Uneven Development?

The following are possible historical factors that can lead to uneven development:

Illustrative background for ColonisationIllustrative background for Colonisation ?? "content

Colonisation

  • Some nations were colonised in the past.
  • Spain and Portugal ruled lots of Latin America, and England, France & the Netherlands ruled a lot of Asia and Africa.
  • Nigeria became independent from the United Kingdom in 1960.
  • Often the benefits of cheap labour and raw materials flowed to colonial rulers, rather than the colonised nations themselves.
  • Lots of less developed nations used to be colonies, like Malawi and Lesotho.
Illustrative background for Conflict and warsIllustrative background for Conflict and wars ?? "content

Conflict and wars

  • Wars damage countries' infrastructure badly.
  • After World War 2, Marshall Aid was American funding which helped rebuild a lot of Europe. However, without this funding, development would have been slower.
  • Afghanistan has been involved in civil wars since 1978.
Illustrative background for Neo-colonialismIllustrative background for Neo-colonialism ?? "content

Neo-colonialism

  • More powerful nations influence post-colonial countries by their control of debt markets and their transnational corporations. Lots of poor nations struggle to repay their debts to richer, more developed nations.
  • Oil companies like Shell and Exxon are influential in the Middle East and Africa.

Jump to other topics

1Geography Skills

2Geology of the UK

3Geography of the World

4Development

5Weather & Climate

6The World of Work

7Natural Resources

8Rivers

9Coasts

10Glaciers

11Tectonics

12Climate Change

13Global Population & Inequality

14Urbanisation

15Ecosystems

16Life in an Emerging Country

17Analysis of Africa

18Analysis of India

19Analysis of the Middle East

20Analysis of Bangladesh

21Analysis of Russia

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