Influence Of Imperialism

Between the period of 1870 and 1914, European powers was at an all-time high. The European powers shifted from being land-based empires to sea-based empires. Land-based empires were typically short-lived, unstable and had limited power. While the new transition of sea-based empires according to class notes, shaped the modern world’s network of long-distance trade. European powers switching to sea-based empires caused major growth, such as global trade and the “New Imperialism”. Coming from this new entry was the Industrial Revolution, which according to John Hobson’s, “Imperialism caused mass production, development of communication and transportation, economic surplus and global trade”. This was the start of major imperial growth between European Powers. European powers started to realize that they had the power to expand their empire globally and take over undeveloped markets. In the 19th century before the war, nationalism and imperialism was extremely important to European Powers. European Powers realized they had the power to go from imperialism to direct colonialism, where they could gain control over other territories.

At the turn of the 19th century, the US was in a position to become the superpower it is today, after winning the Spanish American War, a new US viewpoint came to mind, the one of an imperialist. The driving forces of US imperialism in the late 1800s to early 1900s were to have new markets for goods to be sold, military expansion through new bases around the globe, and a need to uplift foreign cultures to American “standards”.

That Colonialism and imperialism played a significant role in shaping the modern world and particularly Asia is a prudent judgment. Colonialism is "a policy in which a country rules other nations and develops trade for its own benefit" and "the extension of power or authority over others in the interests of domination" (2004). 'The West', which refers to the societies of Europe and their genealogical, colonial, and philosophical descendants. Spain, France, Britain, Canada, and the United States of America are some examples of Western societies. These countries have spread their influence and hegemony over other nations for centuries; shaping today's North America,

In the 1890s some Americans were eager to expand. Post-Civil War the U.S. was going through a time where they thought that they were lagging behind other nations in terms of expansionism. America felt that they were lacking what they needed in order to become a powerhouse. Many Americans, like Theodore Roosevelt or Alfred Thayer Mahan, were imperialists who wanted to acquire land/territories for the U.S. The United States sought to find their identity as a nation in the world. American Identity to imperialists can be defined as patriotism, military power, and dominance/hegemony.  This was controversial because some Americans were anti-imperialists who did not believe in expansionism, but in defending the Constitution. This brought about both supporters and opponents of imperialism during the Spanish-American War.

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.

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.

The effects of imperialism during the late 1800s had been either the means of ruins of a society or the very means of success for a country. Due to the advanced technology, countries manipulated their new found power to the greatest potential. If not all, many industrialized countries expanded their rule over to foreign lands. As imperialism occurs within a country, the natives have the option to follow the new rulers or get destroyed. With inferior technology only such choice will result for the weaker nations. As imperialism continues throughout the early 1900s, nothing is resolved. Imperialist powers continues to depleted the foreign lands of the raw materials and colonized people will continue to suffer.

In analyzing the causes and effects of United States Imperialism from 1870 to 1916, one finds that there are three main factors. These major factors of United States Imperialism in this time period are: Hawaii, the Spanish-American war, and Theodore Roosevelt. In this time period Hawaiian islanders were very happy to live traditionally, but Americans were not content with the traditional ways of the Hawaiians (Buschini, n.pag.). Even though America seemed to be on the road to imperialism with Hawaii, the Spanish- American war actually set the United States on the new road of Imperialism (The Spanish American War n.pag.). Theodore Roosevelt played an important role in the United States road to imperialism in the 1870 's while serving as

Imperialism can be defined as when a strong nation take over a weak nation. Strong nations would enforce their politics, economics and military control in the weak nations they took over. Imperialism was appealing to the United States because it would allow them to set up nations all around the world including overseas. In Europe and around the world imperialism was being used and by the 1880s, America wanted to do the same.

The effects of imperialism and nationalism brought the world into an unenviable position during the early 1900 's. Colonies began to revolt against their rulers and left civilian unrest behind. The people began to question and change different structures of governments. Wars began to brew amongst nations and revolutions sparked. These events, however, remain far from inconsequential to modern day societies. Certain aspects, specifically, Gandhi 's non-violent resistance, Karl Marx 's The Communist Manifesto, and Pablo Picasso 's Guernica, continue to hold significance in modern day politics and communities.

Imperialism is defined in the dictionary as being a " The policy of extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition or by establishing economic and political hegemony over other nations" (p 681 American Heritage college Dictionary). Usually people associate imperialism as being the domination of a small country by a larger, more powerful country, usually to the advantage of the larger country. At the beginning of the nineteenth century most of the countries in Europe were involved in imperialism. Each country had it's own motives for wanting to gain an empire and some of the reason were Economic, Political, Religious and Exploitation.

Imperialism. Noun. A policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force. Imperialism is an age-old practice in which powerful countries will engulf or take over smaller weaker countries to expand their empire. New imperialism has the same idea, but it would have started in the 1870’s and the motive to continue this practice was heavily economic. Imperial powers will expand their empire for many different reasons, the victims or the colonist will make an attempt to counter their actions, but to their own prevail not be very successful. The actions performed by the imperialists during this time will create many negative impacts that are still seen today.

New imperialism was a period of colonial expansion by European powers during the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is distinguished by the continuous territorial acquisitions of Africa and Asia by European powers. These powers include Great Britain, France, Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium (Tusan, Scramble for Africa, October 23rd). There were many reasons behind this aggressive competition. To them, these newfound lands were an opportunity to expand their power and exploit further resources. To put it bluntly, economic, political, cultural, and ideological motivations all helped start the era of New Imperialism and its new form of empire.

Imperialism has been one of the most powerful forces in human history, serving to set the foundation of our modern world. While this has led to the formation of a global society where cultures, ideas, and innovations are spread across countries, imperialism has also left a history of exploitation, racism, and violence that is still affecting the world today. Imperial relationships are always imbalanced when it comes to power and influence; that is, one group (known as the metropole) maintains authority and control over another group (known as the periphery) with economic, political, and cultural dominance (Spiegel 2012). There are many reasons why one group chooses to dominate the other, such as expanding territory, extracting raw resources to fuel economic development, or to spread their beliefs (i.e. religion) (Spiegel 2012). In spite of these varied reasons, one of the main motivators for imperialism began with competition between empires.

Many nations wanted to expand their territory and gain control of natural resources that are nonnative. As a result, Imperialism began in the late nineteenth century due to economic, political, and social forces including the Industrial Revolution, trade, and military conditions. Imperialism is the domination over an undeveloped, less industrialized country by a stronger, more industrialized nation. Although Imperialism has shaped the culture and customs all over the world, it had both negative and positive impacts throughout imperialized nations. The Perspectives on imperialism varied widely between those who imposed it and those who were affected by it.