I've just read Paul Bairoch's Economics and World History. In it Bairoch argues that colonialism wasn't important to the economic rise of the West, as it was almost insignificant compared to GDP. Is this the dominant view? Where does Bairoch fit in the literature? Any ideas what to read from here? Thanks in advance.
I don't have time to write a full answer, but I think it's fair to say that Bairoch, for all his pedigree as an economic historian, is in the minority here. The importance of colonialism to reshaping both Europe and the world is obvious in so many other registers that the conclusion I'd draw from his work is that GDP is a very limited metric.