preview

The Expansion Of A Nation State

Good Essays

Introduction Basically imperialism is empire building. When one state or nation becomes powerful it is likely that it decides to accomplish an expansion. The obstacles to expansion might not be strong enough to prevent the will of the conquerors. The obstacles are usually other states or people. There are also technological, geographic, physical, and cultural obstacles. A nation-state is always the nucleus from which the empire is going to expand. The Europeans and their civilization achieved a period of incredible rapid expansion all over the world during the last third of the 19th century. The industrialization of course made the states of Europe very powerful. Other factors were the efficiency of the state and the development of economy.
From1850 to 1913, Europe used to import wheat from the United States and India, wool from Australia, and beef from Argentina, and in exchange it exported coal, railroad equipment, textiles, and machinery to Asia, Africa and the Americas. Historically the expansion had in fact begun in the 15th century, although the process sped up in the 19th century. Also Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 is another precedent. At first, the Europeans started colonizing Latin America. All the Native Americans were put under the rule of Europe. Then the Europeans aimed at the seaports of Asia and Africa, so these continents were the first to be colonized. Some states of Latin America became independent from Spain and Portugal by the early 19th

Get Access