Colonialism And New Imperialism

Imperialism is the domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country. It occurred in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth century. Nationalism had produced strong, centrally governed nation-states. The Industrial Revolution had made economies stronger as well, with growing need for raw resources that continental European countries didn’t have. During this time, European industrialized nations became more aggressive into expanding into other lands. Despite the massive gains in land and resources, because of the economic and humanitarian costs, in the eyes of the conquerors, imperialism wasn’t justified.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the new imperialism in europe increased. The new imperialism characterizes a period of colonial expansion by european powers, the united states and japan. Europeans began colonizing africa and asia and used military force to take over local governments which led to the new imperialism. The new imperialism was led by many reasons such as economics, politics, and social forces.

Throughout history, many powerful nations interfered with nations that were weaker than they were. This form of sabotaging a nation is economic, political or cultural life is called as imperialism. Imperialism is often separated into two sects. The first one is old imperialism, which was the period from the 1500s to the 1800s, where European nation started to colonize many areas such as the Americas, and parts of Southeast Asia. On the other hand, the new imperialism was the period between the years “1870-1914”, where Europe became more focused on expanding their land into Asia and Africa. Imperialism had many pros and cons. In addition, it also had many causes led by the feeling of nationalism.

New Imperialism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries compared to Old Imperialism of the 16th and 17th centuries. Imperialism is the spread of control over territories across the globe. The Industrial Revolution and interests in nationalism created a new period of imperialism around 1750. Old imperialism lasted from 1450- 1750, but imperialism alone remained until 1914.Old imperialism and new imperialism shared the same basic concept of controlling and utilizing foreign countries. Old imperialism focused mainly on systems of trade while new imperialism took bolder steps to overtaking nations. Old Imperialism was the period from 1450-1750

Imperialism began during the 1870’s, it was a process in which states, companies, and people exercised their dominance over the rest of the world. Some characteristics of imperialism are: a system of dominance rather than exchange, the investment of wealth brought in alternated the whole infrastructure, lastly it is based on treating other class divisions poorly just to benefit from their work. Imperialism came into power through the disproportionate European power, the unparalleled domestic support, the non-western power vacuum, and lastly due to divide and conquer tactics in which local leaders would support the imperialist dominating.

Europeans sought out lands that provided new sources of raw materials, cheap labor, markets, areas of investment, and military boosters. As European nations became competitive with one another, there was an increased pressure to practice Imperialism to maintain power. New Imperialism was motivated greatly by the Industrial Revolution and its advancements, and efficiency of manufacturing and supplying products. European nations also focused on opening trade routes that would give them places to sell their goods. Also significant was the Europeans desire to Christianize and “civilize” other nations through missionary work and the enforcement of European cultures and beliefs. The new Imperialism brought on social changes as well. Many people urged the taking up of the “White Man’s Burden”, bringing the European version of civilization to the rest of the world, regardless whether they wanted it or not.

Imperialism is defined as a policy of extending a country 's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. Countries during the Industrial Revolution wanted to imperialize due to social, political, and economic reasons. As early as the mid 1800’s, the European countries craved the idea of power and conquering new lands in order to obtain resources/raw materials. They took over Africa, the Ottoman Empire, India, and Southeast Asia due to this as well as for their convenient location. They believed that the more land one owns, the stronger the country would be. Although some can argue the fact that imperialism had a detrimental effect because these countries lost their culture and independence, the end result of this was definitely more positive than negative both short term and long term. These countries would not be as thriving today if this had not happened. European Imperialism in parts of the Middle east, Africa, and Asia had more of a positive impact on the world due to education, modernization, healthcare/sanitation, and more trade/resources used.

Imperialism is a recurring theme in the history of the world. Stronger countries see themselves as superior to other societies and believe their ways are right. They force religion, government, and practices on countless foreign lands. At the very end of the nineteenth

Throughout the history of the world, imperialism has played a major role. Imperialism is one country’s complete domination of the political, economic, and social life of another country. Imperialism has many positive and negative effects. The Age of Imperialism is considered 1800 - 1914. During this time Europe became a major world leader. European countries set up colonies all over Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and encouraged their citizens to populate them. European imperialism boosted Europe’s economy, and made them a world power. Imperialization had an entirely different effect on Africa, Latin America, and Asia. People of these countries were mistreated, they lost their culture, land, and self respect. The negative effects of

Colonial Expansion started as early as the fifteenth century with the European expansion into the Americas. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that was known as new imperialism (notes). During this time, new imperialism sparked the colonial empires expansion and this caused the colonial empires completely take off. These imperialist powers were inspired and motivated to build these colonial empires due to the economic, political and cultural values. These highly industrialized countries were in need of more raw materials like oil, copper, tin, and rubber along with industrial crops and stimulants (notes). Securing these raw materials would fuel their industrialized economies. Due to the domestic markets of Western Europe being full meaning no more increase of profit, these overseas colonies became more profitable. The economy was a large part important in building these colonial empires. In addition, each country wanted to further politically, so that each Western Empire wanted more prestige. This would show the more power and overall national security in competition with other Western countries. Culturally, each country wanted to be the most powerful and believed that their way of life was the greatest. With a strong feeling of cultural superiority, the Europeans felt a moral duty to their countries. This is where nationalism played a role. In many ways, the dominating countries like

Imperialism has been a long standing ideology that is able to withstand the tests of time due to the applicability of the concept. The general definition of Imperialism, as provided by Merriam-Webster, is the practice in which a country furthers its power by the means of control and domination in other regions of the world. This took on a new form as the nineteenth-century approached, as Traditions & Encounters a Global Perspective on the Past elaborated, it mainly pertained to European powers at this time and their control over colonial land and the world of influence. 19th century imperialists had three main foci, these being economic, political, and cultural motifs, these foci dominated the reasons for imperialism in the nineteenth-century and determined how nations would interact with the world and others; these foci would often find conflicts with each other and overlap causing disruption in the goals of the nations involved.

Some people may wonder as to why the Neo Imperialist movement started at all. As previously stated, Europe 's stability and immense power compared to other areas of the world had an effect on this. Another cause of Imperialism was the imbalance of power that already existed between Europe and other regions, most notably Asia and Africa. In fact, the “corrosive impact of an industrializing West on societies in Africa and Asia” (Lynn) left problems not only in economic regards, but also in social and cultural ones as well. The big boom in Neo Imperialism, however, was because of Germany. In fact, it was noted that “colonial expansion was relatively cheap and was popular in Germany” (Lynn), which is what drove the rest of Europe to fully devote to Imperialism. This caused panic to sweep through the continent, as the threat to major European powerhouses from Germany “ensured that Britain and France had to expand in order to defend their oversea interests”. (Lynn)

“What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.” – Mahatma Gandhi

There is a large variation in levels of development amongst nations around the world. Some countries like America are described as being fully developed because of their high levels of GDP’s, industrialization and other advances. On the other hand, there are other places around the world like Ghana, Afghanistan, and Algeria that are described as developing nations meaning they have low GDP’s, are not industrialized fully yet and have many more advancements to make until they become developed. Colonialism is the reason why most of the world’s countries are still described as developing Nations. Colonialism is when a ruling power takes control over an alien people or a nation that is separate from their own, over an extended period of time. The legacies left by colonialism have made it difficult for those countries to build back their economies, governments and gain overall stability. As those countries that were colonized tried to develop, a new type of colonialism called neo- colonialism that has infiltrated itself all throughout the world is making it even more difficult for those nations to develop because it is drastically affecting their economies. Neo- colonialism is the continuation or the extension of the economic model of colonialism within the previously colonized countries after they have gained independence. This new colonialism is more effective and less direct than the old type of colonialism because it is done through the economy, but the neo- colonizers

What shapes a society? Throughout history, colonization has impacted many societies and their ways of life. European colonization and colonialism largely impacted the Canadian First Nations’ way of life. Alfred (2009) referred to European colonization as “the invasion and eventual domination of North America by European empires” (p. 45). However, colonialism is a more complex concept that describes the relationship that occurred between the European and Indigenous peoples. Alfred (2009) inferred that “colonialism is the development of institutions and policies by European imperial and Euroamerican settler governments towards Indigenous peoples” (p. 45). The imbalanced relationship formed by European colonialism created lasting and long-term impacts for the Indigenous. These lasting impacts have implications for social workers when choosing an approach to helping Indigenous peoples today. European contact and colonialism created extensive and both immediate and long-term impacts on the Canadian First Nations. European colonization brought the introduction of commercial trade, creating capitalism and transforming the Indigenous political economy. The European imposition of capitalism forced Indigenous peoples to shift away from their traditional subsistence economy, creating four immediate effects: first, a disruption of their traditional pattern of economic life; second, a loss of their self-sufficient lifestyle; third, damage to the natural environment; and fourth, poverty.