技术进步与美国“棉花王国”的崛起

Technology Innovation and the Rise of American “Cotton Kingdom”

19世纪初,美国南部奴隶种植园后来居上,成为全球最主要的原棉产地。其背后的技术进步值得关注,锯齿轧棉机和品种改良先后解决了原棉生产过程中的两个瓶颈,带动了原棉产量的提升。锯齿轧棉机的发明和品种改良,在技术层面上推动了美国棉花产业的兴盛以及棉花王国的崛起,并且变革了全球商品棉的流行品种。

As a late-comer, slave plantation of American South grew up as the primary cotton culture of the global market in the first half of the 19 th century. The technology innovation behind it is worthy of attention. The inventing of the saw gin and then the biological innovation of cotton varieties solved two bottlenecks of the raw cotton production and increased the yield. These two technology innovations contributed greatly to the American cotton culture and the rise of the "cotton kingdom". They also transformed the popular varieties of the global commodity cotton.