Colonial Administration, Business Structures, and Labor Movements

Types of Colonial Administration

A colony is a territory dominated entirely by the occupying power. There are two primary types:

• Settler colonies: Destinations for emigration from the parent country.
• Exploitation colonies: Primarily used to provide resources for export.

Protectorate: Theoretically, the metropolis respects the native government; however, the occupying power exploits local resources and controls foreign policy.

Concession: Administration and occupation of a territory within a state for the purpose of trade. For example, concessions were granted to colonial powers to use a number of Chinese ports.

New Ways of Organizing Business

• Trust: A group of companies operating under a single management body to hold a monopoly and control prices.
• Cartel: An agreement between several companies in the same industry to avoid mutual competition and regulate production, sales, and prices.
• Holding company: A financial company that holds or controls the majority of the shares in a group of companies.

The Labor Movement

In the second half of the 19th century, the labor movement sought to organize and coordinate the working class and the class struggle at an international level through international associations.

The First International

Founded in London in 1864, the members soon became divided into two factions:

• Marxists: Followers of Karl Marx who believed in the inevitable victory of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie. Their focus was on organizing the working class into revolutionary political parties to seize power.
• Anarchists: Led by Mikhail Bakunin, they wanted to abolish all authority and favored direct economic struggle rather than political action.

In 1872, the two groups split; the anarchists left the International, which dissolved a few years later.

The Second International

Formed in 1889, it had a largely social-democratic focus and was dominated by German socialism, the most powerful in Europe. The main source of friction within socialism during this period was the dispute between those who believed in the international nature of the working class and those who felt nationalism was important. Rosa Luxemburg was one of the leaders of the first group. In an age of international tensions, one of the basic aims of the International was to place the union of the working class above conflicts between countries.