European Imperialism

For centuries, European nations had been trading slaves, gold, ivory, and more with the west coast of Africa. Throughout the early 1800s, Europeans barely knew anything about the rest of the country of Africa. This quickly changed as Europe grew a sudden interest in exploring the rest of the country and taking advantage of their many valuable resources. Many wonder what motivated Europeans to Imperialize Africa, or extend their country’s power throughout Africa. The driving forces behind European Imperialism in Africa were the strive for ultimate power in Africa between competing countries, the need for money and technological advancements in European civilizations, and the constant attempt for Europeans to spread their cultures throughout

What were some of the political, economic, social, intellectual, and military factors that explained the sudden increase in the pace and importance of European imperialism in the late 19c? The essential impetus was the Industrial Revolution which led to a search for (and control of) sources of raw materials and captive markets to sell manufactured goods, and become a world power with the most colonies and most money.

Imperialism and colonialism have changed the perception of international relations in present day. Imperialism is a policy that enhances the power of a country through authority. For example, the authority would be an emperor, empress, military, government, etc. The imperialism and colonialism policy correlate to each other. Colonialism is a practice of obtaining full or partial control over other countries or areas filling these places with settlers and harnessing it economically (Amardeep, 2001). This practice is usually seen when countries with less power become overpowered by another country in which they take over and colonize their areas. When thinking about these two practices you may see colonialism as the actual practice and imperialism as the idea guiding the practice.

Before European countries began to compete for Africa and its land, before there was a struggle against imperialism, there was the demand of more material goods for the European lifestyle. Since the demand increased, the rate of which countries had to produce the goods increased. Africa was the top supplier for cotton, rubber, and petroleum. Since European countries needed these items they needed to take control of africa, which means they would also get more power. Militaries were crucial to have power, if a country has a powerful military and a lot of land then they have more power.

“Imperialism is a policy in which a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries politically, economically, and socially” (Chapter 11 sec.1). Europeans looked to Africa as a source of raw materials, which could be used for Industrial products.The Europeans used technology to their advantage. They had better artillery, a long range of communication, a cure for the malaria disease, and transportation. The Europeans used all of their resources to help them imperialize Africa. However, there were other driving forces such as competition, economy, cultural diversity, and technology. The Europeans plan was to use their new technology to fight against Africa. The europeans philosophy was that technology was the most effective driving force towards imperializing Africa.

Throughout history as well as in modern times, revolution, imperialism and colonialism have played part in the rise and fall of governance and power structures in the world. Wars have occurred to gain power over a government or society. Colonialism benefits the motherland by sending citizens into a new territory and securing raw materials for the economic benefit of the mother country. King James l, in 1604 granted The Virginia Company, a group on entrepreneurs, a land grant in the Chesapeake Bay of North America to establish a colony. Captain John Smith headed up the colony and the expedition was launched in hopes of finding a trade route to the Orient, as well hoping to find gold. The Virginia Company selected the Chesapeake area because it was uninhabited by Native Americans.

The Spanish war gave the United States an empire. At the end of the Spanish war the United States took Spanish colonies such as Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and many other islands. The creation of the American Empire leads to the end of the Spanish Empire. The United States wanted to build up the countries so that markets would open up and purchase American goods and to improve the American economy.

Although imperialization indeed altered the political landscape of Europe it was no comparison to the radical transformation it brought to the populations that fell under colonial rule. Over time colonization successfully deteriorated the previous social, political, and economic norms these societies once had. Such dramatic shifts in lifestyle were due largely in part to a forced change in the land tenure system. European administrators sought to create colonies which were profitable and cohesive to the western economic system— capitalism. However, when colonist first arrived the land was not “legible” to the Europeans as village members didn’t independently or indefinitely own a piece of land. Instead, in many societies land was not viewed

“The sun never sets on the British Empire,” is an ancient saying, referring to the immense territory Britain has conquered throughout its years of Imperialism.. Often times, many countries that colonize other nations usually have a purpose of doing so, such as the want for money, resources, humanitarian aid, greed, and or power. However, Britain wasn’t the only country responsible for Imperialization. Other countries such as France, America, and Japan also played their parts in Imperialism. The driving force of European Imperialism was power over a people in colonized nations. The reasons for these include the beliefs that Caucasoid Europeans were the superior beings and the European continent being the most superior civilization on the face of the planet.

their own gain. They ensured that China wouldn’t progress. They wanted America and Europe to keep progressing economically. Britain also wanted to help the Ottoman empire so it sent help to them in order to get Egypt back. Afterwards, Egypt de-industrialized and stayed behind in their developments, just like India and China. The European involvement in world affairs is seen as a good thing. They are the heroes of the world. If we dig deeper into European imperialism, we are able to see the destruction they brought.

The course of global imperialism during the late 19th and early 20th century was a byproduct of the development of nationalism, the expansion of industrialization, and shift toward Liberal values. In the 18th and 19th century, nationalism was a sensation that national leaders and governments utilized to unite its citizens under a single identity. The Industrial Revolution was a period of tremendous technological and commercial growth that required the expansion of its market to maintain its economic prosperity. In the 19th century, Liberalism questioned old societal beliefs of nobility, favoring instead a competitive free market economy that allows individuals to work themselves up in society. Together, these factors helped set the socio-economic

According to Oxford Dictionaries, imperialism is a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force. Based on this definition, I can already infer that imperialism is not a good thing because it is well known throughout history and even today, that stronger nations have taken advantage of weaker ones for their own benefit and not the greater good. When it comes to figuring out whether or not imperialism did more harm than good I would agree with that because act of colonizing and developing indigenous populations was, for the most part, about expanding territories, and self-economic gain for the imperialists that terrorized these weaker nations. Furthermore,

The thought of expansionism has been checked through the historical backdrop of present day Europe. The Industrial Revolution made ocean travel more less demanding so individuals could travel further. The yearning for force prompted the longing for area. The more land a nation had the more power and impact. The thought of exchange was exceptionally powerful in the movement of government and expansionism. New markets were constantly required so the likelihood of numerous individuals to purchase their items was appealing. All these and the affection for experience made the three ranges overwhelming. The terms expansionism and dominion are now and then utilized reciprocally, however researchers for the most part recognize the two, holding expansionism

A political-economic phenomenon whereby various European nations explored, conquered, settled, and exploited large areas of the world.

In the fourth group of documents, Texts from the Modern World, the common theme in all five primary sources is European colonialism. The documents show different beliefs and notions about European Colonialism drawing from the point of view of both its beneficiaries and its victims; out of the five documents three were written by people of European descent and two were written by indigenous people. Europeans, such as Rudyard Kipling, John Stuart Mill, and Lewis Cass, see colonialism as being a mutually beneficial relationship between Europeans and the indigenous people they encounter. They believe that they there are not only benefitting economically from colonialism, but that they are also doing a good to the human race by introducing the indigenous people they encounter to civilization. While some indigenous people refuted European efforts of Westernization, others fought for the right to benefit economically and socially from colonialism, and argued that the Europeans were not keeping their promise to them.