Hello and welcome.

My name is Ms. Harrison.

I'm so excited to be learning with you today.

Today's lesson is called Past and Present Causes of Global Inequality.

Grab everything you might need for today's lesson and let's begin our learning.

By the end of today's lesson, you will explain how historical and present day factors have created and reinforced inequalities.

Before we can begin this learning, we need to define the keywords that we'll be using throughout today's lesson.

The keywords are colonialism, debt, imports, and exports.

Colonialism: This is a system where powerful countries control others for power, land, and resources.

Debt: This is money that is borrowed and must be paid back.

Imports: This is goods or services that a country buys from other countries.

And exports: This is goods or services that a country sells to other countries.

Fantastic.

Now that we've defined these keywords, we can begin our learning.

The first topic we are going to explore in today's lesson is historical causes of inequality.

The world map showing land area is familiar to most people because it represents the actual size and shape of countries and continents.

This helps us to understand where places are and how big they are compared to each other.

What would happen to the map if the size of each continent reflected the average income of people living there? Pause the video here whilst you have a think and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

This map changed the size of each continent based on the average income of people living there.

North America and Western Europe appear much larger because they have higher average incomes.

In contrast, Africa looks much smaller because many countries here have lower average incomes.

This shows the inequality around the world.

Why is the difference in wealth so large? Pause the video here whilst you have a think and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The wealth today is very unequal and one big reason for this is colonialism.

In the past, powerful countries took control of other places using their land, people, and resources to get richer.

This has left a lasting impact on many countries, especially within Africa, Asia, and South America.

Here's how colonialism created inequality.

Unfair borders.

When colonial powers divided up land, they didn't think about the people already living there.

They often group different cultures and languages together or split them apart, causing problems that still exist today.

And this has made it hard for some countries to stay peaceful and grow strong economies.

Unfair trade.

Colonised countries were forced to send their valuable raw materials like cotton and gold to the countries that colonised them.

In return, they had to buy finished products back from the colonisers.

This meant wealth flowed out of the colonies, making them poorer while colonial powers got richer.

Slavery and exploitation.

Millions of people, especially from Africa, were taken from their homes and forced into slavery.

This destroyed communities and took away skilled workers, leaving many places struggling to recover, even today.

Even though colonialism ended, its effect are still felt.

Many former colonies are still poorer and have fewer opportunities.

While the countries that want to control them remain wealthy and powerful, understanding this helps us to see why some parts of the world are richer than others.

Colonialism was a system where powerful countries took control over other regions to expand their influence, gain land, and extract valuable resources.

This often led to significant political, economic, and social changes in the colonised areas, many of which still impact the world today.

Different parts of the world were colonised at different times and by different European powers.

South America.

This was mostly colonised by Spain and Portugal in the 1500s, leading to widespread Spanish and Portuguese influence, including language, culture, and religion.

Native populations were often forced into labour and many societies were reshaped to serve European economic interests.

Parts of Asia.

These were mostly colonised by European countries between the 1500s and 1900s.

North America and the Caribbean.

This was colonised by Britain, France, and Spain in the 1600s and 1700s.

The establishment of plantations in the transatlantic slave trade played a major role in shaping the economies and societies of these regions.

Australia and New Zealand.

These were colonised by Britain in the late 1700s.

Indigenous populations such as Aboriginal Australians and Maori people face displacement, loss of land, and suppression of their traditional cultures.

Africa.

This was mostly colonised by European countries during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The scramble for Africa saw European powers dividing the continent without regard for existing ethnic or cultural boundaries, leading to long-term political instability.

Colonies were often exploited for their raw materials and labour, benefiting European economies while limiting the development of local industries.

The impact of colonialism can still be seen today in the economic inequality between countries, the artificial borders that contribute to conflict, and the lasting cultural and linguistic influences in former colonies.

Many countries that were once under colonial rule continued to face challenges related to poverty, political instability, and dependence on former colonial powers for trade and economic support.

Colonialism is where: A, people move from one country to another.

B, countries work together to make joint laws.

C, countries control others for power, land, and resources.

Pause the video here whilst you have a go at this task, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

The answer is C, countries control others for power, land, and resources.

Well done.

Imposed borders.

What do you notice about many of the borders within Africa? Pause the video here whilst you take a closer look and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

If we take a closer look at the border between Mauritiana and Mali, and the border between Egypt and Sudan, we can see, like Laura said, "Many of these borders are straight lines." During the late 19th and early 20th century, European powers divided Africa into colonies without considering the diverse ethnic, cultural, and geographic landscape.

These imposed borders often group together different ethnic groups with different languages, traditions, and political systems, or split apart communities that have previously lived together.

Nigeria is a prime example of this.

It is home to over 250 ethnic groups and more than 500 languages.

Yet its borders were drawn by British colonial rulers without considering these complexities.

As a result, Nigeria, like many African nations, has faced challenges in creating unified national identity and managing ethnic and linguistic diversity.

The long-term effects of these imposed borders include political instability, ethnic tensions, and struggle over resources.

Many conflicts in post-colonial Africa can be traced back to the artificial borders that ignored the realities of the people living there.

Many African nations have faced internal conflicts and political instability due to borders that were drawn by European colonial powers without considering ethnic, cultural, and geographical realities of the region.

These borders often forced diverse groups to live within the same country, leading to tensions over power, resources, and identity.

A common pattern has emerged in many African countries.

Borders were created by Europeans in the late 1800s.

During the scramble for Africa, European powers divided the continent into colonies, often ignoring existing ethnic and cultural divisions.

Large number of different ethnic and cultural groups within the country.

Many African nations include dozens or even hundreds of ethnic groups from different languages, traditions, and political systems. Independence in the 1960s.

As African nations gained independence from colonial rule, they inherited borders that had been imposed on them, leading to difficulties in forming stable governments.

Tension and conflict between different groups.

Competing ethnic and cultural groups often struggle for political control and access to resources.

Sometimes this leads to civil wars, coups, and long-term instability.

Example of this pattern can be seen in countries such as Nigeria, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda, where ethnic divisions have contributed to conflict in a post-independence era.

Unequal trade networks.

Colonial powers like Britain relied on their colonies for valuable raw materials that fueled their industries and economies.

These materials were often extracted at low costs and sometimes through forced labour and then processed into finished goods in the colonising country.

The system created wealth for the colonisers while often leaving the colonies independent on exporting raw materials rather than developing their own industries.

Some key examples include: The Caribbean.

Cotton and sugar plantations were worked by enslaved people, providing Britain with essential materials for textiles and food production.

Ghana, West Africa, rich in gold, cacao, and timber.

Ghana supplied valuable resources, especially cacao for chocolate production in Europe.

India, a major supplier of tea, cotton, and spices.

India played a crucial role in Britain's textile industry and global trade.

This unequal trade relationship kept many colonies economically dependent and hindered their ability to develop independent industries.

Even after independence, many former colonies continued to export raw materials while importing expensive manufactured goods, reinforcing economic inequality.

I would like you to fill in the blanks to show the raw materials that were shipped from the Caribbean to the UK during the colonial period.

Pause video here whilst you attempt this task.

Fantastic.

Cotton and sugar was imported from the Caribbean to the UK.

Well done.

During the colonial period, European powers exploited the natural resources of their economies to build their own wealth and economies.

These resources, such as gold, diamonds, oil, and timber, were extracted from colonies and transported to European countries.

European countries gained immense wealth from these resources, while economies lost their potential wealth they could have gained from their own resources.

Highly sophisticated nations such as Ghana and Aztec Empire and the Benin Kingdom were forcibly suppressed by European powers and their thriving economies and industries were dismantled.

Thriving industries like cotton production in India were undermined by European powers, causing economic decline in the colonies.

This created significant inequality between the colonial powers and their colonies.

The colonies were primarily supplies of raw materials, while Europe benefited from the manufacturing of these materials into finished products.

The process worked like this.

Raw materials were extracted.

European powers extracted valuable resources like gold, rubber, tea, cotton, and oil from their colonies.

The raw materials were sent to Europe.

These resources were then shipped back to Europe where they were processed into more valuable manufactured goods.

The manufactured goods were then sold worldwide.

European countries would then sell these finished products such as clothes, machinery, and electronics around the world at a much higher price than raw materials.

As a result, inequality grew between the colonial powers and the colonies.

The colonies were economically disadvantaged, supplying raw materials to Europe, but unable to develop their own industries.

Even after gaining independence, many former colonies continue to export raw materials while purchasing expensive manufactured goods from European countries, perpetuating the cycle of economic dependency and inequality.

Slavery.

Slavery was where people were forced to work without pay and deprived of their freedom, has existed for thousands of years.

However, colonialism greatly expanded the practise of slavery and its impact continues to contribute to inequality that persists today.

Between the 1500s and 1800s, millions of people were forcibly taken from Africa and sold into slavery.

The majority of these enslaved individuals were taken to the Americas and Asia to work on plantations in mines and in other forms of forced labour.

Let's look at some figures showing the scale of forced migration during this period.

From West Africa, 500,000 people were taken to the USA, 4.

5 million people were taken to the Caribbean, 4.

9 million people were taken to South America and from East Africa, 1.

5 million were taken to Asia.

These enslaved people were subjected to brutal treatment with many suffering and dying during the journey or through the hard labour they were forced to perform.

The labour of these enslaved individuals was used to build industries that helped European powers grow wealthy, including plantations that grow sugar, cotton, tobacco, and coffee, as well as the mines extracting precious metals and other resources.

Colonialism's role in slavery has left deep scars on the social and economic systems of many regions.

The legacy of slavery continues to fuel inequality today.

Many industries in the UK during the 1700s and 1800s were heavily reliant on the slavery for profit.

One of the most common industries was the textile industry, which depended on cotton grown by enslaved people in the USA and the Caribbean.

The cotton produced by enslaved people in the plantations of the American South and the Caribbean was processed in factories in Britain where it was turned into fabric, clothes, and other products.

This was a key driver of the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the profits made from these goods fueled the economic growth of the country.

The connection between slavery and the British economy can also been seen in other sectors such as the sugar industry, where enslaved Africans worked on plantations to produce sugar for British consumption and exports.

The wealth generated by these industries allowed the British elite to build vast fortunes while enslaved people were subjected to brutal, dehumanising conditions.

The industrial growth in Britain, funded by the labour of enslaved people, also played a key role in the country's development as a global economic power.

However, this success was built in the exploitation and suffering of millions of enslaved people across the world.

The legacy of the system continues to affect inequality today.

Slavery has a long-lasting and a complicated impact on the global inequality, creating deep-rooted issues that continues to affect societies today.

Some key ways in which slavery contributed to global inequality include: Creation of a wealth gap between countries.

Slavery gave rise to racist attitudes and race inequality.

Families of enslaved people had fewer chances to build wealth.

And slavery helped rich countries control trade and resources, keeping power in their hands.

Who was correct? Jacob said, "People in Britain did not benefit from slavery as it was something that happened in other countries." Aisha said, "Many people who were enslaved were taken from the west coast of Africa to the Caribbean and then to Europe." Juan said, "More enslaved people were taken to South America than to any other continent." Pause the video here whilst you decide and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

The answer is Juan.

He is correct.

More enslaved people were taken to South America than to any other continent.

Well done if you identified that correctly.

Many people argue that the European countries such as the UK should pay money to former colonies for the lasting impact of colonialism, but people have strong views on either side of the debate.

Izzy said, "It's not right that people should pay for something that happened in the past." And Aisha said, "But the wealth that was created by slavery still exists today!" Andeep has answered the question, how did historical factors cause global inequality? And he has made five mistakes.

I would like you to find and correct each one.

Pause the video here whilst you read this text and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

Let's check our answers.

There are five mistakes as shown below.

The late 1900s, Europe, started, North America, so it no longer plays a role.

Well done if you identified those correctly.

You may have rewritten the answer as follows: History has a major cause of global inequality.

Colonialism in the 1500s to 1900s had a significant role to play.

Borders between countries in Africa were often decided by other countries.

This led to tension and conflict when different groups competed for power after they were made independent.

Slavery expanded during colonialism and led to people being removed from their home and forced to work without pay and without freedom.

Most people were taken from West Africa and forced to work in South America and the Caribbean.

Colonialism has ended, but its impact still affect global inequality.

Well done on this task.

You've done brilliantly.

The next topic we're going to explore in today's lesson is modern causes of inequality.

Along with historical reasons for inequality, there are also modern reasons that continue to create differences between rich and poor countries today.

And these include things like global trade, debt, and technology pattern.

Global trading pattern.

Wealthy countries in North America and Europe are known for exporting high-value manufactured goods like cars, electronics, and machinery.

These products are made in factories with advanced technology and they can be sold for lots of money around the world.

Recently, countries like China and Vietnam, which are considered emerging economies, have also become major exporters of manufactured goods.

They now make and sell products like smartphones, clothing, and electronics, which has helped them to grow their economies improve their wealth.

On the other hand, many less wealthy countries in central Africa still mainly export low value raw materials like cacao, oil, and minerals.

These raw materials don't make as much money when sold, and these countries often have to buy expensive manufactured goods from other places.

This creates an unequal trading system where richer countries make most of the money and poorer countries stay behind.

Let's look at Ethiopia.

Its GNI per capita is $2,748.

Germany, its GNI per capita is $65,122.

Their main imports: Refined oil, machinery, and cars.

Vehicle parts, machinery, and chemical products in Germany.

Their main exports: For Ethiopia, this is coffee, dried vegetables, and cut flowers.

And Germany's main exports are vehicles, machinery, chemical products.

As you can see, they're very different, and that is reflective in their GNI per capita.

Which country has these imports and exports? Pause the video here whilst you decide, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

It was Ethiopia, and Ethiopia has a GNI per capita of $2,748.

Well done on this task.

The tariffs and products are an example on how trade barriers can prevent poorer countries from earning more money through exports.

When we look at this, we can see that Ghana exports to a lot of EU countries.

When countries, like those in West Africa, export raw cacao beans, there is no tax on them, which means they can sell them without paying additional fees.

However, raw cacao beans have lower value than processed products, so the country doesn't make as much money.

If the cacao beans are then turned into partly processed cacao powder, the country faces a 7.

7% tax when trying to sell it to wealthier countries.

This increases the price, making it harder for poorer countries to compete in the global market, and they still don't get as much money from the sale as they would if they could sell the fully processed product.

If the cacao beans are turned into chocolate, a fully processed product, the tariff jumps up to 15%.

This is a high tax and makes a chocolate more expensive for wealthier countries to buy.

Because of this, poorer countries often can't compete with wealthy countries that have more resources to process the cacao beans into chocolate themselves.

Why is this a problem for poorer countries? Poorer countries get paid less for their products when they export raw or semi-processed goods, while wealthier countries earn more money from selling processed products.

The tariffs, taxes, on processed goods prevent poorer countries from moving up from the value chain, making more valuable products and earning more money.

In short, these tariffs make it harder for poorer countries to break out of the poverty by selling more valuable products, and instead keep them stuck in exporting raw materials.

True or false? Ghana has to process raw cacao beans into chocolate so they can export it to the EU.

Pause the video here whilst you decide if this statement is true or false, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

The answer is false.

I would now like you to explain why.

Pause the video here and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The reason this statement is false is because Ghana is charged a tariff on processed chocolate, whereas they can export raw cacao beans without a tariff.

This makes it harder for Ghana to add value to their raw materials.

Well done if you explained that correctly.

Debt.

After former economies gained independence, many needed money to build their economies and improve public services, like education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

To do this, they borrowed money from international banks or wealthier countries.

However, this borrowing has often led to a negative cycle that makes it harder for these countries to escape the poverty.

Here's how the cycle works.

The country lacks money to develop public services.

Many newly independent countries do not have enough money to improve basic services like schools, hospitals, or roads.

These things are important for a country to grow.

The country borrows money to fund improvements.

To pay for these improvements, countries borrow the money from international banks or wealthier nations.

They hope that over time, they'll be able to repay these loans with the economic growth they achieve.

Interest rates rise.

However, the loans often come with interest and extra amount of money that the country has to pay back in addition to the loan.

If the country's economy does not grow as expected or if the loan is too big, the interest rates can rise, making the loan even more expensive.

Debt grows with interest and the country struggles to repay.

As the country struggles to repay the loan, the debt grows because of the interest.

The country finds itself in a position where it owes more than it originally borrowed.

Country cuts back spending.

To try and handle the growing debt, the country may have to cut back spending on things like education, healthcare, or infrastructure, and this will slow down development.

The country spends its money on debt repayment.

Instead of spending the money to improve the country's services, the government has to spend a large portion of its money just repaying the debt.

The cycle continues, the country's situation does not improve, and the cycle repeats.

The country borrows more money because it is already in debt, and so it is harder to make progress.

This cycle can trap countries in poverty, preventing them from improving their infrastructure and public services, which are essential for development.

Which of the following statements are true? A, many countries borrow money to pay for better public services.

B, interest rates can make debts easier to repay.

C, low income countries often borrow money from international banks and wealthier countries.

Pause video here whilst you decide, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The answer is A, many countries borrow to pay for better public services, and C, low income countries often borrow money from international banks and wealthier countries.

Well done on this task.

The technological gap.

Technological limitations can have a big impact on people and the economy, especially in poorer country.

Here's how.

Investors are put off.

When a country lacks advanced technology, it can be harder for businesses to grow or even start.

Investors, who are people or companies that put money into businesses, might be put off or discouraged from investing in that country.

They may feel that without the right technology, it'll be harder to make profits.

Education and health improvements are restricted.

Technology is key to improving education and healthcare.

Without modern technology, it's harder for schools and universities to provide the best learning tools.

Likewise, healthcare systems may struggle without the latest equipment for medicine, leading to worse outcomes for people's health and limited access to internet.

Businesses may not be able to expand.

Without access to the latest technology, businesses can have trouble growing and competing in the global market.

Technology helps businesses run more efficiently, communicate better, and offer improved products or services.

If businesses can't access the technology they need, they may struggle to expand and create more jobs, which limits the country's economic growth.

In short, technological limitations can prevent a country from developing quickly and can affect people's quality of life, limiting access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.

It is important to understand that modern causes of inequality are not separate from historical causes.

Modern causes: global trading pattern, debt, technological gap.

Historical causes: The global trading pattern was established during the colonial period; debt due to historical inequalities; and the technological gap due to differences in investment because of historical wealth gap.

I would like you to explain why the global trading pattern, debt, and technology can lead to global inequality.

And then I would like you to say, out of these causes of inequality, which would you argue is the hardest to overcome? Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

Let's check our answers.

For the first question, I asked you to explain why global trading pattern, debt, and technology can lead to global inequality.

Your answer might have included some of the following points.

Global trading pattern: Wealthy countries often export high value goods whereas less wealthy countries often export non-processed raw materials.

This leads to an inequality in the money they make from trade.

Debt: When countries get in debt, they can end up spending a lot of money on interest payments rather than things that help people's quality of life.

This cycle is hard to escape.

Technology: If technology in a country is limited, it can put off investors, hinder businesses, and restrict improvements in education and health.

Well done on this task.

I then asked you to say, which would you argue is the hardest to overcome? There is no right answer to this question, but an example of a response could be: I think the global trading pattern is the hardest to overcome as without a lot of money, countries will struggle to develop industries in high value products like cars.

Technology may be better over time as a price of things like mobile phones has fallen over time.

Debt is a difficult problem to solve, but it is possible that it could be cancelled or slowly paid back.

Well done on this task.

You've done brilliantly.

We've now come to the end of our learning in past and present causes of inequality, and you've done brilliantly.

Before we end this lesson, let's summarise everything we've learned today.

Colonialism was a system where powerful countries controlled others for power, land, and resources.

Colonialism shaped modern trade and wealth gaps.

Debt and global trade rules reinforce global inequality.

Technology gaps limit opportunities in poor nations.

And historical inequalities still impact development today.

Well done in today's lesson.

You've done brilliantly, and I look forward to learning with you again very soon.