Railroads and their impact on empire building in Afro-Eurasia. How have railroads impacted empire building in Afro-Eurasian? Well for starters, railroads played a crucial role in shaping the expansion of empires across Afro Eurasia during the period 1860-1918 and while they weren’t the sole factor, their influence was substantial. They were part of the broader Industrial Revolution, revolutionizing transportation and connectivity. They provide a faster and more efficient method of overland transport than ever before. This technological advancement facilitated economic growth, movement of goods, and communication across vast distances although people may beg to differ. If you asked someone like Sir Henry Norman, an English politician, that hypothesized …show more content…
Furthermore, by removing the absence of communication and distance, people begin to work together and socialize together. Railroads have had an impact so immense that the governor of French West Africa, Ernest Roume, delivered a speech in 1904, “True economic activity cannot be conceived without railroads.” (Doc 6). What this means is that other people are acknowledging the benefits of railroads and have been deemed necessary for the economy and growth; one last example would be from a Qing dynasty official in a memorandum to the Qing court in 1867 discussing how they originally thought that the Great Wall was a failure but later generations relied on it and that the to railroads and telegraphs. “If telegraphs and railroads were built, China will likewise enjoy great benefits from them in the future.” (Doc 2) Despite all the cons, the majority of the world agrees that railroads have a positive effect on empire building in Afro