CHAPTER
25. RESOURCES AND REGIONS:
THE GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF INDUSTRY
CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION
The future of the world is today being shaped by
industrialization. The remarkable achievements that began in a single nation
have not yet been shared equally by all humanity but this may be about to
change. Modern industry is largely a phenomenon of countries in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere with few peripheral countries as yet
members of this rather exclusive club. As the world approaches the twenty-first
century much has changed concerning industrialization and the resources that
support it. Industry is presently undergoing a global shift which portends a new
era for the world as we have come to know it.
When the Bolsheviks took control of the Russian
Empire, they found themselves in charge of a vast realm with a mainly
agricultural economy. There was nothing in the Soviet Union of the 1920s to
rival what was happening in Europe or North America. Soviet communist rulers
were determined to change this. They wanted to transform the Soviet economy into
an industrial one. The human cost of this gigantic scheme was dreadful, but the
desired transformation was accomplished. The Soviet Union became a major
industrial power with vast manufacturing complexes.
Outside the Soviet Union, industrial development took
a very different course. Market forces, not state planning propelled the
Industrial Revolution in Europe and North America, and industrial economies on
both sides of the Atlantic Ocean rose to global prominence. Because of the
imposition of Soviet ideology and economic planning on Eastern Europe’s
industrial development, for more than four decades after World War II, East
Europe’s economic geography was constrained. Western Europe’s industrial
growth proceeded more freely, and in the postwar period Japan, Taiwan, and South
Korea industrialized under free-enterprise rules as well. China, on the other
hand, collectivized its agriculture and put its industries under state control.
Major
Industrial Regions
Whatever the ideological basis (market-commercial,
communist-state, or some combination), the world map of major
regional-industrial development reveals that only a small minority of countries
have become major industrial economies. Four major industrial regions have
developed, all in the Northern Hemisphere:
Western and
While the older manufacturing regions are quite
entrenched, notable shifts are occurring. This dispersal is especially evident
in East Asia, where Japan’s dominance is being challenged by the “Four
Tigers” of East Asia (see Focus on: ‘The Four Tigers” in Chapter 24). In
addition, the entrance of China into the global manufacturing economy in the
1980s is certain to gain in significance in the twenty-first century.
The location of
Europe’s coal deposits lie in a belt across northern
France, Belgium, north-central Germany, the northwestern Czech Republic, and
southern Poland—and when the Industrial Revolution diffused from Britain onto
the mainland it was along this zone that Europe’s major concentrations of
heavy industry developed. Europe’s industrial success also depended on the
skills of its labor force and the high degree of specialization achieved in
various industrial zones.
In
The most important country detached from the Soviet
Empire (after
Two centuries after the onset of the Industrial
Revolution,
CHAPTER
QUIZ
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1.
Which of the following is p~ a major industrial region
a.
Eastern Asia
b.
South Asia
c.
West Europe
d.
Russia
2.
One reason London is now considered a key industrial district is:
a.
nearby new coal deposits were discovered
b.
the government shut down older plants in the
c.
the supply of coal ran out in the
d.
coal has decreased in importance
3.
Europe’s greatest industrial region is called:
a.
the
b.
Saxony
c.
Silesia
d.
the Rühr
4.
The
a.
coal
b.
petroleum
c.
oil shale
d.
hydroelectric
5.
Industrial growth in the Upstate New York district started with the:
a.
discovery iron ore deposits
b.
building of the
c.
large ships using
d.
invention of electrical appliances
6.
The Northwest district from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver. Canada is
noted fbr its:
a.
agricultural products
b.
timber industry
c.
aerospace industry
d.
optical industry
7.
After 1900
a.
55
b.
70
c.
80
d.
90
8.
One of Russia’s oldest and still thriving manufacturing areas is:
a.
the
b.
Urals
c.
St. Petersburg
d.
Vladivostok
9.
With its
a.
third
b.
second
c.
fourth
d.
first
10. Japan’s dominant industrial district
is the:
a.
Kansai
b.
Kanto Plain
c.
Kitakyushu
d.
Toyama
TRUE/FALSE
QUESTIONS
1.
Manufacturing cities in
2.
Paris’s relative location was one factor that helped it to become a
major industrial center. (TF)
3.
4.
The manufacturing region known as the Erie Horseshoe encompasses both the
5.
Because of hurricanes, little industrial activity takes place along the
6.
7. Russia’s Volga industrial region was originally started when
the Russians felt threatened by the Germans before and during World War II. This
region has not progressed much since that time because of a lack of available
power. (TF)
8. The Pacific Rim of East Asia is a region of varying
industrialization depending on the country involved. (TF)
9. Japan has three major industrial areas. (TF)
10.
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. Referring
to figures 25-2 and 25-3 can you find a correlation between the location of
fossil fuel and manufacturing regions? Is energy readily availability in the
major manufacturing belt? Identify the other manufacturing areas and what they
produce. What are maquiladora plants, where are they located, and what do they
produce?
2. When you look at Figure 25-1,
what do almost all of
3. Looking at Figure 25-4, what connects all of
4. Identify manufacturing regions in