The textile Industry

The textile Industry The textile industry is one of the biggest industries in the world, as the market for its product is growing at an exponential rate. This industry is concerned with the immediate role of producing material in yarn and cloth form; which are the primary ingredients in the manufacture of clothing.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The textile Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the 18th century, the British inventors wanted to exploit the world markets with their technological designs and at the same time there were restrictions on selling the designs, models, or the machinery to other parts of Europe. James Hargreaves invented the spinning Jenny while Richard Arkwright came up with the first textile factory in 1771 in Cromford, England. Samuel Slater later opted to start his own factory in Rhode Island in 1792. In the early 1800s, other factories started coming up in Boston and other parts of the United States. Since then the textile industry has flourished not only in America but in the whole world. Factories with modern state of the art equipments have been built in major cities in the world; and demand and supply of their products are at a rising trend (Gathi, 2001). International trade is one the most complex areas in the legal arena. This is because there are a number of players involved, both state and non-state actors forming trade organizations. The levels of interactions amongst the parties involved are difficult if not tedious to keep track of. Before the trade act of 2005, the textile industry in America was not doing so good. The relationship between the US and China for example has been in the dark side for decades. Exports and imports between the two countries have been hampered by the political interests and differing ideas of these two countries. The textile markets between these countries have never achieved their full potential. Looking at the American industry, the numbe r of jobs that were lost in this period with trade barriers were totaling to the thousands. This meant that more Americans were jobless and there was little income coming from this sector. The removal of the trade sanctions in 2005 has seen an increase in the trade of textile and especially in the trade of the demin material. Everybody in the word seems to be in love with the denim jeans. It therefore would be no surprise to find at least 10 pairs of jeans in each house hold in America. The denim business is a giant catch, raking in over 50 billion dollars each year. There are over 70 countries involved in the production of jeans in the world; the big producers are China and Mexico.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The business of denim has become so global, that it is literally evident in the threads that make the materials. Different countries e.g. India, Azerbaij an, Turkey, United States and Pakistan produce the cotton that is used to make the denim fabric. Snyder’s Fugitive Denim looks at the business of Jeans and its impact on the lives of those involved, as well as its impact on the environment. One of the counties explored was the United States. Different fashions have come and gone but the denim jeans seems to have outlived them all; only evolving to become the iconic fashion symbol of the 20th and perhaps the 21st century. However, in the last few years, cotton production has been of low benefit to the farmers as the world market prices plunged. Farmers in the United States enjoy subsidies from the government unlike some of their counterparts from others parts of the world. They also use methods of farming that are less harmful to the environment. When you buy your jeans from the shop, chances are that the pair contains up to 3.5 % of pesticides used during production. It is no wonder that the American farmers have adopted safe r methods that avoid the usage of Pesticides. The farmers are using genetically modified cotton seeds. The impact of the toxic pesticides has been felt by farmers in the third world; who do not have the privilege of advancing their farming methods. Farmers in these regions end up developing lung and other long term diseases such as cancer. Furthermore the textile industry has been riddled with scandals of child and slave labour. The most affected counties being china and Cambodia which have numerous scattered sweatshops. Other impacts of the textile business are those of water pollution and soil degradation. Being a water intensive type of farming, farmers channel water to their farms from the rivers. This leaves some of the rivers with no way of supporting life. Some of the water also gets contaminated with the chemicals from the farms leaving the soils toxic and dangerous to human life. The world system theory suggests that the world economy has disparities in economic development . That development largely depends on the technological knowhow of a state. Making the United States at the top of this hierarchy followed by her counterparts in Europe. And the tasks or works that require higher levels of skill and capitalization are reserved for these regions making the third world a peripheral region and receiver of the remnants of the maldistribution of resources. Hence, current progress of the world economy tends to enlarge the economic and social gaps even further.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The textile Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This leaves the third world a beggar of sorts (Chase-Dunn and Grimes, 1995). It would be safe to say that the world-systems theory is drawn from the dependency theory. This is further defined as a macro-sociological existence, where different states or regions depend on each other for the basic survival kits which include food, fuel, and perhaps pr otection. There is a presence of a power hierarchy. There are regions or states that exist in the core and are considered to dictate terms of business to the other regions that exist within the periphery. Technology seems to be a power weapon in the quest for domination. The peripheral countries are structurally disabled to pull themselves out of the murky situation and formulate policies that are development oriented. The core states maintain the system as well as try to pull out the peripheral states by offering their surplus (Goldfrank, 2000). Do I agree with this world-systems theory? It is quite evident that the third world countries have remained in the same status as they were economically; while the developed countries continue to rich themselves from the spoils they get from their exploits. Even though the developed world is offering help on one hand, the other hand seems to be taking. This makes me agree with wallerstein’s theory. Chase-Dunn, Grimes P., (1995) â⠂¬Å"World-Systems Analysis.† Annual Review of Sociology. Vol. 21 p. 387-417. Gathi H., (2001). The Evolution of Machines 1: Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the eighteenth Century. New York: Academic Press.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Goldfrank L., (2000). â€Å"Paradigm Regained? The Rules of Wallerstein’s World-System Method. Journal of World-Systems Research. Vol. 6. N. 2 pp. 150-195.

The Second Anglo-Afghan War in the Late 1870s

The Second Anglo-Afghan War in the Late 1870s The Second Anglo-Afghan War began when Britain invaded Afghanistan for reasons that had less to do with the Afghans than with the Russian Empire. The feeling in London in the 1870s was that the competing empires of Britain and Russia were bound to clash in central Asia at some point, with Russias eventual goal being the invasion and seizure of Britains prize possession, India. British strategy, which would eventually become known as The Great Game, was focused on keeping Russian influence out of Afghanistan, which could become Russias stepping-stone to India. In 1878 the popular British magazine Punch summed up the situation in a cartoon depicting a wary Sher Ali, the Amir of Afghanistan, caught between a growling British lion and a hungry Russian bear. When the Russians sent an envoy to Afghanistan in July 1878, the British were greatly alarmed. They demanded that the Afghan government of Sher Ali accept a British diplomatic mission. The Afghans refused, and the British government decided to launch a war in late 1878. The British had actually invaded Afghanistan from India decades earlier. The First Anglo-Afghan War ended disastrously with an entire British army making a horrendous winter retreat from Kabul in 1842. The British Invade Afghanistan in 1878 British troops from India invaded Afghanistan in late 1878, with a total of about 40,000 troops advancing in three separate columns. The British Army met resistance from Afghan tribesmen but was able to control a large part of Afghanistan by the spring of 1879. With a military victory in hand, the British arranged for a treaty with the Afghan government. The countrys strong leader, Sher Ali, had died, and his son Yakub Khan, had ascended to power. The British envoy Major Louis Cavagnari, who had grown up in British-controlled India as the son of an Italian father and an Irish mother, met Yakub Khan at Gandmak. The resulting Treaty of Gandamak marked the end of the war, and it seemed that Britain had accomplished its objectives. The Afghan leader agreed to accept a permanent British mission which would essentially conduct Afghanistans foreign policy. Britain also agreed to defend Afghanistan against any foreign aggression, meaning any potential Russian invasion. The problem was that it had all been too easy. The British did not realize that Yakub Khan was a weak leader who had agreed to conditions which his countrymen would rebel against. A Massacre Begins A New Phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War Cavagnari was something of a hero for negotiating the treaty and was knighted for his efforts. He was appointed as envoy at the court of Yakub Khan, and in the summer of 1879 he set up a residency in Kabul which was protected by a small contingent of British cavalry. Relations with the Afghans began to sour, and in September a rebellion against the British broke out in Kabul. Cavagnaris residence was attacked, and Cavagnari was shot and killed, along with nearly all of the British soldiers tasked to protect him. The Afghan leader, Yakub Khan, tried to restore order and was nearly killed himself. The British Army Crushes the Uprising in Kabul A British column commanded by General Frederick Roberts, one of the most capable British officers of the period, marched on Kabul to take revenge. After fighting his way to the capital in October 1879, Roberts had a number of Afghans captured and hanged. There were also reports of what amounted to a reign of terror in Kabul as the British avenged the massacre of Cavagnari and his men. General Roberts announced that Yakub Khan had abdicated and appointed himself military governor of Afghanistan. With his force of approximately 6,500 men, he settled in for the winter. In early December 1879, Roberts and his men had to fight a substantial battle against attacking Afghans. The British moved out of the city of Kabul and took up a fortified position nearby. Roberts wanted to avoid a repeat of the disaster of the British retreat from Kabul in 1842 and remained to fight another battle on December 23, 1879. The British held their position throughout the winter. General Roberts Makes a Legendary March on Kandahar In the spring of 1880, a British column commanded by General Stewart marched to Kabul and relieved General Roberts. But when news came that British troops at Kandahar were surrounded and facing grave danger, General Roberts embarked on what would become a legendary military feat. With 10,000 men, Roberts marched from Kabul to Kandahar, a distance of about 300 miles, in just 20 days. The British march was generally unopposed, but being able to move that many troops 15 miles a day in the brutal heat of Afghanistans summer was a remarkable example of discipline, organization, and leadership. When General Roberts reached Kandahar he linked up with the British garrison of the city, and the combined British forces inflicted a defeat on the Afghan forces. This marked the end of hostilities in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The Diplomatic Outcome of the Second Anglo-Afghan War As the fighting was winding down, a major player in Afghan politics, Abdur Rahman, the nephew of Sher Ali, who had been Afghanistans ruler before the war, returned to the country from exile. The British recognized that he might be the strong leader they preferred in the country. As General Roberts was making his march to Kandahar, General Stewart, in Kabul, installed Abdur Rahman as the new leader, the Amir, of Afghanistan. Amir Abdul Rahman gave the British what they wanted, including assurances that Afghanistan would not have relations with any nation except Britain. In return, Britain agreed not to meddle in Afghanistans internal affairs. For the final decades of the 19th century, Abdul Rahman held the throne in Afghanistan, becoming known as the Iron Amir. He died in 1901. The Russian invasion of Afghanistan which the British feared in the late 1870s never materialized, and Britains hold on India remained secure.