The Plantation Economy In The Solomon Islands During The Colonial Period

With the progress of the second industrial revolution,imperialism has unleashed a new round of global expansion since the second half of the 19 th century.The struggle for power in the south Pacific was intensifying.The United Kingdom,in its consideration of the supremacy of the Pacific Ocean,coveted the strategic value of the Solomon islands and annexed it in 1896.With the aim of allowing the colonial regime to be financially self-sufficient,British officials decided to raise funds for self-financing,thereby encouraging the establishment of a plantation economy in the region.The plantation economy was originally based in the region.All the plantations of the settled European businessmen appeared much earlier than the British protection,but were generally smaller and concentrated in the west part of the region.The beginning of the 20 th century,protection led authorities to support the development of the plantation economy,thus developed a series of land property rights system safeguarding the interests of Europe land investor class.Combined with the stimulation of economic crop prices on world markets,British and Australian large corporations are engaged in large-scale plantation land speculation in the Solomon islands.Plantation economy spread to central and eastern parts of the region.In the capitalist world economic crisis of the 1930s',the plantation economy in the Solomon islands battered,small plantation owners went bankrupt due to debt,joint-stock companys were also struggling.All large plantations presented the obvious signs of recession.In this period,some plantation has opened the reform experiment of production organization and management level nevertheless,which has received some results for the turnaround of operation.All this,however,was interrupted by the outbreak of the Pacific War.After the Second World War,due to the changes of international political situation,former colonies obtained membership in the commonwealth,the UK had to adjust her colonial policy,having the newly independent countries gain self management requirement.In this time,the plantation economy unprecedentedly enhanced the confluence with the suzerain and the protection.With the monopoly control of the capital technology and market information,it was different from the pre-war industrial andrural joint enterprise system.Although plantation economy remained in the form of change as the suzerain colonial policy changed,but its nature as a political settlement control tool will not change,and the exploited,enslaved status of Solomon islands in the capitalist world system will not change.