This is a reposting of a contribution to the "How did India go from Being a Rich Country to a Poor Country" thread.

Two of the earliest policies in India were to establish monopolies in key industries such as salt, tobacco, and essential spices, as well as to discourage manufacturing.

The most significant early economic policy of the British was the salt tax. It is said that in hot regions salt is worth more than gold. It was a necessity of life, which is...

The Western powers ended up conquering nearly the entire world and kept the indigenous populations in check with the promise they would help them industrialize and become civilized like Europe. Some of the native peoples of Asia and Africa put up a fight against losing their countries to the colonial powers such as England and France, but ended up losing. That was just the beginning of their troubles, colonialism helped to ruin and was a detriment to these once independent nations. One aspect...